For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends 2009: Master Data Management

Findings From Forrester's August 2009 Global Master Data Management/Data Quality Online Survey

by Rob Karel, October 23, 2009

Forrester continues to witness growing enthusiasm for master data management (MDM) initiatives across all industries, and in many cases those visions are slowly becoming reality. Yet while many large organizations work to either improve an existing MDM . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends In Data Quality  (582 KB PPT)

by Rob Karel, October 23, 2009

This set of data charts will examine key trends in data quality gleaned from Forrester's August 2009 Global Master Data Management/Data Quality Online Survey.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Warning: Don't Assume Your Business Processes Use Master Data

Synchronize Your Business Process And Master Data Strategies

by Rob Karel, Clay Richardson, September 21, 2009

Business process management (BPM) professionals understand the need for data but often only pay it lip service, doing little to take responsibility for ensuring data quality within their processes. Data management professionals, on the other hand, drive . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Forrester's BI Maturity Assessment Tool  (85 KB XLS)

by Boris Evelson, Connie Moore, Rob Karel, James G. Kobielus, Charles Coit, September 11, 2009

Business intelligence is a set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information used to enable more effective strategic, tactical, and operational insight and decision-making. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Refresh Your Information Management Strategy To Deliver Business Results

by Rob Karel, James G. Kobielus, August 11, 2009

Many enterprises lack a framework to ensure business alignment with their information management (IM) strategies. Yet sound strategy is critical for prioritizing IM investments. Business issues driving the urgency for a revitalized strategy include: 1) . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

It's Time To Revisit Product Information Management (PIM)

PIM Looks And Feels Like MDM, But It's Really An App

by Rob Karel, July 21, 2009

Product data is the lifeblood of many large enterprises. For manufacturers and consumer product goods (CPG) companies, the efficiency of the product supply and distribution chain may be their one and only true differentiator. For retailers, the product . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Fit Your Data Architecture To Your Analytical Needs

Forrester's Business Intelligence Data Architecture Decision Tool Helps You Make The Right Choice

by Boris Evelson, Rob Karel, July 9, 2009

Delivering business intelligence (BI) effectively depends on a data management architecture that fits your reporting and analytical requirements. Unfortunately, many data warehousing (DW) and BI professionals overlook the need to optimize an end-to-end . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Master Data Management, Q1 2009

by Rob Karel, March 23, 2009

Information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals continue to investigate master data management (MDM) as a strategic means to deliver a trusted view of critical data throughout the enterprise. Unfortunately, MDM remains an immature business . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Enterprise BI Survey Q&A: BI Professionals Recognize The Need To Focus Beyond Tools

Forrester's Perspective On BI Survey Client Responses

by Boris Evelson, Rob Karel, March 17, 2009

Business intelligence (BI) remains a top priority for many enterprises, but delivering successful BI capabilities goes far beyond just the tools and enabling technologies. Historically, foundational BI best practices in data governance, data quality management, . . .

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 Business Process & Applications Professionals

Data And Content Classification: Your Trusted Information Backbone

by Rob Karel, Leslie Owens, January 14, 2009

The information that powers your business — like a sales forecast or voice of the customer analysis — mixes data (such as inventory counts) and content (such as promotional strategies). Enterprises rarely store such data and content in the same place . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Forrester's Business Intelligence Data Architecture Decision Tool  (130 KB XLS)

by Boris Evelson, Rob Karel, January 12, 2009

This decision tool will help I&KM professionals evaluate their options for logical data architectures to support Business Intelligence, such as physical BI repositories vs. federated data access to operational data stores, enterprise data warehouses . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The ROI Of Master Data Management

A Total Economic Impact™ Analysis Uncovers Modest Short-Term Gains

by Rob Karel, October 29, 2008

Information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals evangelize trusted data initiatives such as data quality or master data management (MDM) because they recognize that improving the usefulness of and end-user confidence in critical enterprise . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Topic Overview: Must-Read I&KM Research For An Economic Downturn

by Matthew Brown, Connie Moore, Rob Karel, October 29, 2008

Financial bailouts, downward consumer spending, and roller-coaster stock markets are starting to put pressure on information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals. Will industry consolidation mean gut-wrenching systems consolidation? How will . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

It's Time To Invest In Upstream Data Quality

by Rob Karel, October 2, 2008

Information & knowledge management (I&KM) professionals typically focus on cleansing "dirty data" downstream — like in the data warehouse — rather than on improving data capture and validation processes upstream. Why? When you can realize short-term . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

A Truism For Trusted Data: Think Big, Start Small

A Bottom-Up Valuation Approach For Your Data Quality Initiative

by Rob Karel, July 28, 2008

Data quality professionals in large enterprises spend much of their time trying to convince senior management to support and prioritize trusted data initiatives, too often with disappointing results. Why so difficult? Delivering trusted data will not . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Building The Business Case For Master Data Management

MDM Projects Should Start By Aligning With Key Business Drivers

by Rob Karel, R "Ray" Wang, May 30, 2008

Most information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals today understand the value that a master data management (MDM) strategy could bring to their organizations. But many often fail to secure the necessary prioritization, resources, and funding . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends 2008: Master Data Management

Focus On People And Process Will Continue To Trump Technology Decisions

by R "Ray" Wang, Rob Karel, May 16, 2008

Information and knowledge management professionals continue to turn their attention to defining master data management (MDM) strategies. However, early adopters in 2008 will focus on mitigating the organizational, process, and business case challenges . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

How To Make MDM And SOA Better Together

Use SOA Principles To Simplify MDM Delivery

by Rob Karel, Larry Fulton, April 24, 2008

Master data management (MDM) initiatives seek to deliver a single, trusted version of enterprise data, while service-oriented architecture (SOA) programs try to provide shared business and information services for key business processes. MDM and SOA initiatives . . .

For CIOs

The Business Analyst's Dual Focus: Technology And The Business  (214 KB PPT)

by Carey Schwaber, Rob Karel, April 10, 2008

The role of the business analyst is changing. This data chart will showcase some Forrester data that highlights the trends.

For CIOs

The New Business Analyst

Business Technology Analysts Become The CIO's Most Valuable Business Ally

by Carey Schwaber, Rob Karel, April 8, 2008

Everyone agrees on the importance of the business analyst role, but few know exactly what it is that business analysts do. In truth, there are two main types of business analyst: business-oriented and IT-oriented. But with the move from information technology . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Five Top Challenges Information And Knowledge Managers Must Master In 2008

by Connie Moore, Rob Karel, January 30, 2008

Information and knowledge managers are constantly bombarded by new technologies — like RIAs, wikis, blogs, and virtual worlds — or new market trends, such as the recent consolidation in business intelligence (BI). Plus there's the ever-changing organizational . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Information Managers: Deliver Trusted Data With A Focus On Data Quality

by Rob Karel, January 3, 2008

Information managers have gone through ten or more years of underperforming CRM, ERP, data warehousing (DW), and business intelligence (BI) initiatives. These projects' want of success often shares the same root cause: lack of business user confidence . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Winning In A Unique Technology Niche

Succeeding With A Consistent, Targeted Business Model

by Merv Adrian, Rob Karel, December 11, 2007

Many technology industry firms squander the opportunity to craft a go-to-market strategy that leverages truly differentiated technology, target markets, and business models. A careful examination of these should drive practices for customer acquisition, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Market Overview: Open Source ETL Tools

An Attractive Alternative To Custom Code

by Rob Karel, Michael Goulde, November 6, 2007

As open source, community-driven software continues its evolution from an interesting experiment to a viable technology alternative for enterprises, additional market segments develop open-source alternatives. The latest segment in the trend is open source . . .