For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: B2B Service Providers, Q4 2009

GXS, Inovis, And Sterling Commerce Lead, With Seeburger, Axway, And Crossgate Close Behind

by Ken Vollmer, October 29, 2009

In Forrester's 85-criteria evaluation of B2B service provider vendors, we found that GXS, Inovis, and Sterling Commerce led the pack due to the comprehensive nature of their business to business (B2B) hosted document exchange and managed services offerings . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Importance Of Matching BPM Tools To The Process

Single Vendor Solutions Are Not Ready Yet To Meet Customers' Full Needs

by Ken Vollmer, Clay Richardson, Craig Le Clair, September 4, 2009

The world is a complex place, and business process management (BPM) is no exception. Forrester defines BPM as a discipline for continually improving cross-functional business processes. In contrast, BPM suites (BPMS) have a narrower focus as software . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: Using SOA And BPM To Support Enterprise Agility

How A Florida College Used An Integrated Approach To Reach Its Goals

by Ken Vollmer, August 14, 2009

Case studies are often the best way to illustrate technology's dramatic impact on enterprises. This case study provides an excellent example of how a joint implementation of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) can . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Forrester TechRadar™ For BP&A Pros: Business Process Management Suites, Q3 2009

The Need For Increased Business Agility Drives BPM Adoption

by Clay Richardson, Ken Vollmer, Craig Le Clair, August 13, 2009

Business process management (BPM) refers to a broad category of software, typically sold as a suite, that automates, improves, and optimizes business processes across the full range of process activity — including human-, document-, and integration-centric . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Selecting A Comprehensive Integration Solution  (1.6 MB PPT)

by Ken Vollmer, July 7, 2009

This presentation discusses the factors that should be considered when choosing a comprehensive integration solution. Refer to the recent Forrester document entitled "Create An Enterprise Integration Strategy To Lower Your Costs" for additional information . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Create An Enterprise Integration Strategy To Lower Your Costs

A Methodology For Effectively Addressing Today's Business Integration Challenges

by Ken Vollmer, June 12, 2009

Enterprises have traditionally tackled integration challenges as an offshoot of their application development activities, but this approach's effectiveness is waning rapidly. As business challenges become more complex and involve more intricate interactions . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Operational Intelligence Builds On Event Processing  (1.7 MB PPT)

by Ken Vollmer, April 21, 2009

This workbook discusses the impact of event processing capability on real-time operational intelligence. Tools are beginning to appear that provide this capability, and this can have a significant impact on the level of business agility that an enterprise . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Case Study: How Wyeth Upgraded Its B2B Operations To Support A Global ERP Strategy

by Ken Vollmer, April 17, 2009

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals recently completed a major upgrade to its business-to-business (B2B) capability that supports a global rollout of a single-instance SAP implementation. The upgrade resulted in a more agile B2B operation, labor savings in excess of . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Topic Overview: How BPM Can Help The Bottom Line In Difficult Financial Times

BPM-Enabled Improvements In Business Agility Flow To The Bottom Line

by Ken Vollmer, March 17, 2009

The current global economic crisis is putting increasing pressure on enterprise architects to find new — and more cost-effective — ways of meeting business needs. One software category in particular offers proven solutions to help increase operational . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

2009 Update: Evaluating Integration Alternatives

Scenario-Based Guidance For Choosing Products That Provide Application, Process, And Data Integration Features

by Ken Vollmer, Rob Karel, Larry Fulton, Noel Yuhanna, January 26, 2009

Technical innovation and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity continue to drive the evolution of the integration marketplace, leading to a market with a significantly different array of features and tools than what existed just 18 months ago. In . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Trends For EA Professionals In 2009

Enterprise Architects: Use Today's Economic Challenges To Focus And Sharpen Your Efforts

by Jost Hoppermann, Gene Leganza, Jeff Scott, Ken Vollmer, January 7, 2009

Enterprise architecture (EA) will continue its journey up the value chain in 2009, but there's no doubt that the road will be bumpy at best. Helping their organizations deal with economic conditions will consume some EA teams, and most will have to narrow . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Critical Success Factors For BPM Implementation

Key Issues That Enterprise Architects Must Consider

by Ken Vollmer, December 24, 2008

BPM implementations have assisted many enterprises by enhancing their operational efficiency and level of business innovation, and improvements in these two areas can go a long way toward helping enterprises navigate the shoals of enterprise performance . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Integration-Centric Business Process Management Suites, Q4 2008

Software AG, IBM, And TIBCO Software Lead

by Ken Vollmer, October 6, 2008

Forrester evaluated leading integration-centric business process management suite (IC-BPMS) vendors across 109 criteria and found that Software AG, IBM, TIBCO Software, Vitria Technology, Oracle , SAP, and Cordys Software achieved leadership status based . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Many Enterprises Don't Use Their Enterprise Integration Tools For B2B

by Ken Vollmer, October 1, 2008

A recent Forrester survey indicates that just 53% of organizations use their enterprise integration tools to meet their B2B needs. The other 47% rely on B2B-specific integration tools to accomplish their objectives in this area. There are many reasons . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

User Interviews Reveal Broad Adoption Of IC-BPMS Components

Customers Use BPM And SOA Features The Most; B2B The Least

by Katie Smillie, Ken Vollmer, September 19, 2008

In just the past three years, we've seen the features available in integration-centric business process management suites (IC-BPMSes) rapidly evolve well beyond their enterprise application integration (EAI) roots. This raises the question of whether . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Using BPM To Support Innovation

Exploring The Benefits Of BPM

by Ken Vollmer, July 7, 2008

BPM solutions can provide the foundation for many types of innovation, and architects' awareness of how other firms are using these tools can provide a catalyst for joint business/IT brainstorming sessions. Enterprise architects should use this information . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Using BPM To Improve Operational Efficiency

Exploring The Benefits Of BPM

by Ken Vollmer, July 7, 2008

In most enterprises, the ongoing level of manual operations offers fertile ground for improvements in operational efficiency. Enterprise architects can provide leadership in this area by finding out what other enterprises are doing to support these types . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Use A Comprehensive Set Of Criteria When Selecting An IC-BPMS Tool

Targeting Products That Support Integration, BPM, And SOA Efforts

by Ken Vollmer, Henry Peyret, June 25, 2008

Integration-centric business process management suites (IC-BPMSes) are the most comprehensive tools available to assist enterprises with their service-oriented-architecture-based (SOA-based) business process management (BPM), business-to-business integration . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Can EA Drive Business Innovation?

Point/Counterpoint From Forrester's Enterprise Architecture Forum 2008

by Gene Leganza, Ken Vollmer, April 17, 2008

In spite of the existence of many organizational barriers, enterprise architecture (EA) can successfully drive business innovation efforts. However, this must be done through close collaboration with the business units that will be the ultimate beneficiaries . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

BPM Tool Usage Varies By Sector

Manufacturing And Financial Services Sectors Highlight Key Differences

by Ken Vollmer, April 4, 2008

Forrester's October 2007 US And UK Enterprise Architecture And Business Process Management Online Survey indicates that the most widely used business process management (BPM) tools fall into the integration-centric business process management suite (IC-BPMS) . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The EA View: BPM Has Become Mainstream

BPM Centers Of Excellence Provide The Catalyst For Success

by Ken Vollmer, February 19, 2008

Two recent Forrester surveys highlight the increased adoption rate of business process management (BPM) technology and processes within enterprises. And while both surveys confirm that BPM has achieved mainstream status in the business world, the success . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

B2B Integration Trends: B2B Modernization

Using SOA And BPM To Improve The Value Of B2B Exchanges

by Ken Vollmer, December 10, 2007

Many enterprises are still supporting their B2B requirements with basic electronic data interchange (EDI) technology that is more than 20 years old. While this technology still provides value, its ongoing use in isolation from newer alternatives will . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The IC-BPMS Reference Architecture Model

Choosing A Comprehensive SOA-Based Framework For BPM And Integration

by Ken Vollmer, October 2, 2007

Integration-centric business process management suites (IC-BPMSes) have become the leading alternative for organizations seeking to implement combined business process management and integration capability that is based on a service-oriented architecture . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

EA And Metrics: For Maximum Impact, Measure The Business Value

by Ken Vollmer, September 13, 2007

Enterprise architects have a variety of options for defining metrics related to projects or day-to-day activities, and the most obvious ones are those that relate to the technical aspects of these efforts. However, by highlighting the positive impact . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Topic Overview: Business Process Management

by Ken Vollmer, August 10, 2007

Business process management (BPM) tools have become a popular alternative used by many enterprises to support improvements to their core business processes. These tools come in several types that focus on human-centric, integration-centric, and document-centric . . .