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 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 Enterprise Architecture Professionals

What's Next For The IT-To-BT Transformation: The Contractualization Trend

by Henry Peyret, October 14, 2009

The combination of the current economic climate and business globalization is accelerating the evolution of business models toward a networked model, where businesses focus on their core competencies to add value and engage with other external and internal . . .

For CIOs

Global Initiatives Require Enterprise IT Executive Committees

by Marc Cecere, September 22, 2009

Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, committees are like democracy — the "worst form of government except for all those others." However, an enterprise IT executive committee is critical to making IT decisions that span the entire company. Consisting of the . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Integrate Enterprise Architecture With Application Portfolio Governance

by Henry Peyret, August 24, 2009

IT organizations that are seeking to drive down operating costs while delivering business projects on time and on budget find they must manage their application portfolios to provide an optimal foundation for execution. Application portfolio management . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Plan Effectiveness Review To Squeeze More Value From ERP Investments

by George Lawrie, August 11, 2009

Most CIOs have inherited mature enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations. As the years pass, the original implementation team disbands, retires, or dies, and the old use cases and best practices start to brown and curl at the edges like the . . .

For CIOs

Market The BT Service Portfolio To Fuel Innovation And Utility

by Alexander Peters, Ph.D., July 24, 2009

As businesses become infused with technology, CIOs are expected to provide portfolios of business technology (BT) services, which sustain the competitive advantage of their firms. To improve IT's responsiveness to this increasingly complex and dynamic . . .

For CIOs

Governance Communications

Measuring And Improving Governance With A Balanced Scorecard

by Craig Symons, February 6, 2009

Implementing strong IT governance is on the agenda for many organizations as they continue the seemingly endless pursuits of aligning IT and business strategy and getting more value from their IT investments. Developing a governance framework by defining . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Consolidation Looms For The IT GRC Market

Industry Takes Aim At More Complete Compliance Management

by Marc Othersen, Chris McClean, January 5, 2009

As companies find ways to streamline compliance programs and reduce costs, the IT governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) vendor market is quickly looking like prime feeding ground for merger and acquisition sharks. Low company valuations, recent leaps . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Establishing EA Governance Models  (1.5 MB PPT)

by Jeff Scott, January 5, 2009

This is a workbook on establishing EA governance models.

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

IT To BT — An Opportunity For Vendors

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., November 13, 2008

Forrester has argued that a fundamental shift from information technology (IT) to business technology (BT) is occurring. Vendor strategists need to realign their value proposition to take into account the different needs IT executives will develop when . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Clearing The Air On IT GRC

by Marc Othersen, Jonathan Penn, October 29, 2008

With the vast array of vendors claiming to have IT governance, risk, and compliance (IT GRC) products, the true definition of IT GRC has gotten lost, and security professionals are left confused and uncertain. In an effort to institute clarity, Forrester . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Cutting Through The IT GRC Hype

by Jonathan Penn, October 29, 2008

IT governance, risk, and compliance (IT GRC) provides a useful framework for coordinating many different endeavors to make more risk-informed business decisions. Market interest in IT GRC is at least as much about the practice of IT GRC as it is about . . .

For CIOs

The Three Basic Steps Toward Business Governance Of IT

Business Leadership Needs To Drive Governance, Not IT

by Craig Symons, October 14, 2008

Improving IT governance is on the agenda for many organizations as they attempt to improve the business value that they are getting from their IT investments, increase operational efficiencies, and reduce their risks. Unfortunately, there is a very important . . .

For CIOs

How CIOs Can Drive Business Change — Part 1

Credibility, Communications, Team, And Competitive Information

by Marc Cecere, September 3, 2008

CIOs are in a unique position to drive business change. Their responsibilities span the enterprise, and the systems they manage are critical to nearly all business processes. They can use this base of influence to initiate business change or merely to . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: North American Manufacturer Links IT Controls To Business Impacts

by Marc Othersen, August 28, 2008

A North American manufacturer struggled with meeting an executive mandate for quarterly IT controls testing in a financially responsible manner. Its solution was to categorize IT controls based on business impact and use the categorizations to set IT . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Enabling Business Technology

Five Essential Best Practices For The IT-To-BT Transformation

by Robert Whiteley, August 15, 2008

As technology becomes increasingly integral to firms' offerings, strategy, and organization, the traditional model of IT as an independent and monolithic entity within the larger business is outmoded. Business technology (BT) will replace IT's technology . . .

For CIOs

Case Study: PepsiAmericas' CIO Enables BT Partnership With IT Operational Excellence

by Alex Cullen, August 15, 2008

All CIOs want to be valued partners to their business peers, helping with company strategy and making smarter use of IT, instead of heads-down focused on running the IT organization. PepsiAmericas' Senior Vice President and CIO Ken Johnsen has established . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Reporting Relationship Defines Your Job Only At The Margin

by Bobby Cameron, July 16, 2008

Forrester's 2007 IT governance survey yielded a broad set of data on how the CIO's reporting relationship does — or doesn't — impact the way IT works and is perceived. We surveyed 503 senior IT decision-makers about how IT runs, how it is structured, . . .

For CIOs

Five Essential Best Practices For The IT-To-BT Transformation

CIOs Must Prepare IT For Its Future Role As BT Enabler

by Alexander Peters, Ph.D., May 13, 2008

Each wave of technology change challenges IT's management practices. Two forces coming together will frame IT's next set of challenges: ubiquitous computing and business technology (BT). Each will affect the CIO's organization differently, but the end . . .

For CIOs

The Road Map To BT Maturity

How CIOs Should Identify And Track Next Practices

by Craig Symons, April 30, 2008

IT maturity frameworks abound, but none take into account business technology (BT) — where technology is embedded in the business, recognized as indispensable, and managed as a shared and strategic capability. Forrester's BT Maturity Road Map examines . . .

For CIOs

IT Governance For The New Ecosystem

Adapting To A Multisource Provider Model

by Craig Symons, April 23, 2008

Today's IT organization often finds itself to be an IT service provider in a competitive environment. Consumers of IT services, which now include both internal and external customers, have a growing range of options beyond the organization's internal . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Best Practices: Maintaining An IT Control Framework

by Marc Othersen, April 9, 2008

Properly maintaining an IT control framework is the first step toward achieving a sustainable IT compliance program. To uncover best practices for maintaining an IT control framework, Forrester spoke with companies from a variety of industries having . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: A North American Financial Institution Centralizes Global IT Controls

by Marc Othersen, April 9, 2008

A North American financial institution struggled to maintain consistency of IT controls and their implementation within a globally distributed IT environment. Its solution was to create a central IT control library whose contents are derived from six . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: A North American Manufacturer Leads The IT Governance Charge

by Marc Othersen, April 9, 2008

A North American manufacturer struggled to establish a governance structure that would provide the necessary input to maintain an IT control framework. Its solution was to create a cross-function committee with representation from IT, legal, internal . . .