For CIOs

Benchmarking ANZ IT Budgets

Despite A Resilient Economy, IT Spending Plans Remain Conservative

by Tim Sheedy, November 13, 2009

Since the credit crunch began to bite, Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) IT leaders have faced more positive market conditions than their peers in many other countries around the world — particularly those in North America and Europe. This is reflected . . .

For CIOs

Best Practices In IT Financial Management

The Foundation For Running IT Like A Business

by Craig Symons, November 6, 2009

In a recent Forrester survey of 84 enterprise IT decision-makers, only 52% said that they have a formal IT chargeback process in place. It is difficult to run IT like a business when the product appears to be free to customers but costs the business hundreds . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

The State Of WAN Services Adoption In North America 2009: CIOs Lead On Cost Reduction

by Phil Sayer, October 30, 2009

The need to cut costs dominates North American enterprises' 2009 plans for wide-area networks (WANs). This is the top priority for almost three-quarters of enterprises as part of IT budget cuts mandated at board level. At the same time, network traffic . . .

For CIOs

IT In The Public Sector In Australia

Benchmarking Your Practice Against Your Global Peers

by Tim Sheedy, October 28, 2009

With the tightening of IT budgets in the Australian federal government due to the review of IT operations by Sir Peter Gershon, the considerable consolidation of public sector agencies at the state level, and the considerable drop in tax revenues brought . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

How Efficient Is Your Storage Environment?

The KPIs That Matter Most In Enterprise Storage and How To Measure Them

by Andrew Reichman, October 22, 2009

Building an effective storage environment is a balancing act between performance, reliability, and efficiency. For years, improving storage efficiency took a back seat to the other goals. Now, with infrastructure budgets being cut and data growth continuing . . .

For CIOs

Reducing The Costs Of IT — Views From Consultancies

by Marc Cecere, October 22, 2009

How do you reduce the costs of IT? To answer this question, Forrester interviewed 21 consultancies that provide cost-reduction services. What did we find? Nearly all consultancies suggested upgrading governance and establishing foundational pieces before . . .

For CIOs

The Value Of A Green IT Maturity Assessment

Introducing Forrester's Green IT Maturity Assessment Methodology

by Doug Washburn, Christopher Mines, October 20, 2009

CIOs recognize the importance of environmental considerations in planning IT operations, but they are often unsure about how to put that recognition into action. With sustainability rising on the corporate agenda, and the cost, risk, and revenue benefits . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Economic Pressures Reshape Ideas About Outsourcing Deal Financing Options

by Paul Roehrig, Ph.D., October 19, 2009

Extreme financial pressures can make people — and companies — explore options they may not have considered in more flush times. Even though the credit crisis has hit almost every firm in some way, many major IT service providers still have the means to . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Trends: Selective Sourcing For IT Services  (718 KB PPT)

by Euan Davis, October 15, 2009

These data charts from Forrester's Enterprise IT Services Survey highlight market trends for selective sourcing. The data reveals that more firms are moving from selective sourcing to systematic multisourcing approaches and offers an industry insight . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Assessing Your Onshore/Offshore Staffing Ratios

Shifting More Staff Offshore Drives More Savings Than 5% To 10% Rate Reductions

by John C. McCarthy, October 13, 2009

With the economic collapse and the sudden downturn in IT budgets, we have seen a large spike in the number of inquiries from clients asking about the best mix of onshore versus offshore staff at their global delivery model suppliers. Based on more than . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

A Sample IT Infrastructure And Operations Balanced Scorecard  (41 KB XLS)

by Rachel A. Dines, Evelyn Hubbert, October 1, 2009

The Balanced Scorecard is built around four dimensions that have been adjusted for use in information technology: the value perspective, the user orientation perspective, the operational excellence perspective, and the future orientation perspective. . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Building The IT Infrastructure And Operations Balanced Scorecard

The Eight Essential Metrics That Infrastructure And Operations Should Be Measuring

by Rachel A. Dines, Evelyn Hubbert, October 1, 2009

"You can't manage what you can't measure" is the stated adage, but when it comes to infrastructure and operations (I&O), what to measure is the first challenge. Many firms don't know which metrics to use, or how to collect the information they need . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

A Formal Policy Is Needed To Reduce Mobility Costs

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., September 9, 2009

Corporate mobile is growing fast, which naturally increases costs — for usage, support, and administration. By 2012, nearly three-quarters of corporate employees will use mobile devices for work. To control costs while also ensuring employee productivity, . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Q&A: The Value Of TEM Solutions In A Recession

Telecom Expense Management Cuts Costs In Challenging Economic Times

by Phil Sayer, August 28, 2009

Telecom expense management (TEM) solutions aren't new, but with IT budgets and headcount under the microscope they are getting more attention as organizations look for quick wins and to gain greater visibility and control over costs. With telecom expenses . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

The Four Decision Factors For Open Source Enterprise Content Management

by Stephen Powers, August 5, 2009

Open source enterprise content management (ECM) initiatives are common in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) or in department-level projects. Yet information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals in major enterprises have started to . . .

For CIOs

Examining Changes In IT Spend In Asia Pacific

A Two-Speed IT Economy Is Emerging

by Tim Sheedy, July 20, 2009

IT budgets in the Asia Pacific region are hardly immune to the economic downturn — even in those economies witnessing growth, the IT spend is down. From January to March 2009, Forrester surveyed 774 senior IT executives at enterprises with more than 500 . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Case Study: Aspirus Lowers IT Costs By Consolidating Client Security And Management

Single-Sourcing Client Security And Management Eases Desktop Management

by Natalie Lambert, July 16, 2009

Companies are constantly challenged by the ever-increasing number of tools needed to ensure the security of their PCs. Aspirus, a Wisconsin-based healthcare provider, found that too many best-of-breed tools were being used to secure and manage its PC . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Enterprises Need Innovative Telecom Service Options And Flexibility To Address Cost Pressures

by Brownlee Thomas, Ph.D., June 29, 2009

The global economic recession is extracting a heavy toll on enterprise IT budgets. As a result, sourcing and vendor management executives at multinational firms responsible for network and telecommunications (N&T) are looking for improved flexibility . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

Software Budget Outlook And Goals By Region: 2008 To 2009  (256 KB PPT)

by Ellen Daley, June 5, 2009

Software budget outlook and goals of North American and European firms for 2008 to 2009. An overview of spending on new initiatives versus ongoing software operations and maintenance, as well as budget breakdowns for software spending, and goals that . . .

For CIOs

Australian And New Zealand CIO Priorities In 2009

Managing The Balance Between Cost Cutting And Business Priorities

by Tim Sheedy, June 2, 2009

With IT departments really feeling the pinch in 2009, there is considerable pressure on CIOs to make a concerted effort to cut costs while at the same time delivering the essential capabilities that the business requires. From January to March 2009, Forrester . . .

For CIOs

Innovation And Agility — Driving IT Success In Economic Hard Times

Firms Invest Beyond Tactical Approaches To Accelerate Out Of The Downturn

by Bobby Cameron, June 2, 2009

To understand how IT organizations are addressing the downturn, Forrester interviewed 46 enterprise IT decision-makers from around the globe. We found three scenarios: Those who have yet to cut their budgets and are keeping their options open; those who . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Yes We Can (Cut Our Software Maintenance Costs)

IT Sourcing Executives Can Take Advantage Of Increasing Flexibility To Obtain The Cost Savings They Need

by Duncan Jones, May 8, 2009

It's one of the unwritten rules of software that maintenance costs only go up — never down. But we used to say that about house prices too. Today, software vendors are coming under increasing pressure from customers to cut maintenance bills, but the vendors . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Data Center Facilities, Q2 2009

by Galen Schreck, Rachel A. Dines, May 8, 2009

In 2008, Forrester fielded 231 inquiries on data centers from IT end user professionals, with 137 on data center facilities specifically. Since when does IT care about data center facilities? Since more and more organizations are running out of capacity . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

No Capex, No Problem: Eight "Guerrilla" Tactics To Reduce Facilities Costs Without Capital Investment

by Doug Washburn, May 8, 2009

Reducing facilities costs — such as energy, paper, and real estate — is a top priority in 2009 for IT infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals as organizations look to cut expenses. As investment plans shift to supporting these broader cost . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Searching For eDiscovery Cost Control

Search Products Play A Small But Important Role

by Brian W. Hill, Leslie Owens, April 27, 2009

Search is a critical component of the eDiscovery process, but search in the context of litigation differs from other enterprise search initiatives. As escalating volumes and types of information drive ballooning eDiscovery costs, many are exploring how . . .