For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Looking Beyond Global Providers For SAP Services

Smaller Providers, Regional, And Industry Specialists Offer Strong Options

by Liz Herbert, November 10, 2009

Firms seeking SAP services expertise often ask if smaller, regional providers and industry specialists can fill their needs. Beyond the global multinational consultancies (MNCs) and leading offshore providers featured in The Forrester Wave™: SAP . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The State Of ERP 2009: Market Forces Drive Specialization, Consolidation, And Innovation

by Paul D. Hamerman, November 2, 2009

As the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software market struggles against an unprecedented tide of economic woes, strategic opportunities are surfacing for customers. Soft market conditions mean fewer deals for vendors and better deals for buyers of . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Oracle Services Providers, Q4 2009

IBM And Accenture Lead; Infosys, Oracle, and Deloitte Are Strongest In Key Areas

by Liz Herbert, October 30, 2009

In Forrester's 60-criteria evaluation of Oracle services providers, we found that IBM and Accenture led the pack because of the overall breadth and depth of their Oracle services resources across applications and industries, and the breadth of services . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Market Overview: PLM Deployment Support

New Offerings From Vendors And Service Providers Lower Implementation Hurdles

by Roy C. Wildeman, October 21, 2009

As companies pursue a more ambitious agenda for product life-cycle management (PLM), the complexity of their application deployments is on the rise, creating a host of new integration, data migration, and customization challenges for application development . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Best Practices For Selecting And Managing Your Oracle Implementation Provider

Lessons Learned From Oracle Implementation Providers' Clients

by Liz Herbert, September 18, 2009

Forrester surveyed 139 Oracle implementation client references and found that Oracle implementation services buyers were most satisfied with technical expertise and pricing transparency, but rated their providers lower on the effectiveness of their methodology . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

In Hard Economic Times, Technology Companies Must Make Implementation The Priority

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., September 15, 2009

As the current recession continues, and technology buyers keep a keen eye on total costs, missing or poorly defined implementation capabilities can stop new purchases short. Technology vendors must put implementation program design and execution high . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Outsourcing SAP Operations Expands With Economic Uncertainty

by Bill Martorelli, Liz Herbert, August 17, 2009

Continuing economic pressures are contributing to the new popularity of outsourcing services for SAP operational services, complementing the large, well-established market for implementation services. Diverse offerings now coexist within the marketplace, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: SAP Implementation Providers, Q3 2009

Accenture and IBM Lead As The Landscape Continues To Evolve

by Liz Herbert, August 10, 2009

In Forrester's 60-criteria evaluation of SAP implementation providers, we found that Accenture and IBM led the pack because of the breadth and depth of their SAP implementation capabilities. Both of these firms are strong across a wide range of industries, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Best Practices For Selecting And Managing Your SAP Implementation Provider

Lessons Learned From Interviewing SAP Client References

by Liz Herbert, May 18, 2009

Forrester surveyed 154 SAP implementation client references and found that they were most satisfied with providers' technical expertise and pricing transparency, but rated them lower on change management, training, and skills transfer. References also . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

ISV Partner Programs Heat Up As SAP Doubles Down

Microsoft And IBM Add SaaS Dimensions To Leading Programs

by Merv Adrian, January 30, 2009

Software platform vendors are bidding for independent software vendor (ISV) loyalty with new features and benefits in their partner programs. In recent months, SAP has aggressively revamped and expanded its offering, Microsoft has begun to shepherd partners . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

European SAP Implementation Providers Are Top Contenders For European Engagements

by Euan Davis, Stephanie Moore, November 26, 2008

Recently, SAP has changed and broadened its product offerings while expanding its relevance to new industries and new buyers. This evolution has fostered increased buyer demand for SAP implementation skills and requirements for more specialized implementation . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Health Check For The Software Industry: Software Market Momentum, H1 2008

Is The Financial Crisis The Dawn Of A Technology Depression?

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., November 20, 2008

The financial crisis is hitting industries across the globe. As a result, the financial industry and other affected industries will clearly spend less on software licenses in 2009 in most regions. But, is this a technology depression comparable with the . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

ECM Systems Integrators: Fit Matters Most

Strategy, Platform Breadth, And Industry Experience Provide Value

by Craig Le Clair, Sheri McLeish, November 14, 2008

Every dollar spent on enterprise content management (ECM) software usually requires another dollar to make it work. Services such as project management, systems design, and integration support are a few of the needed services that systems integrators . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Looking Beyond Oracle's Global Partner Network For PeopleSoft Implementation Expertise

by Liz Herbert, October 31, 2008

Many clients ask Forrester to help identify PeopleSoft providers beyond Oracle's Global Partner list for projects ranging from full-scale implementation projects to add-on work, to training, and to upgrades. These other firms demonstrate the ability to . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

RFP Template For Packaged Application Implementation Services  (122 KB XLS)

by Liz Herbert, October 30, 2008

An RFP template, which will be an attached tool for our website.

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Infosys Acquires Axon To Bolster Its High-End SAP Capabilities

Onshore Resources Strengthen Infosys' Global Delivery Capability

by Sudin Apte, Stephanie Moore, September 11, 2008

Infosys Technologies recently announced that it has agreed to acquire UK-based SAP consulting and business transformation boutique, Axon Group. Infosys will pay £407.1 million — approximately $753.1 million — in a deal that should be complete by November . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Resilient Applications Outsourcing Demand Will Constrain Buyers' Supplier Options

by Bill Martorelli, September 5, 2008

Despite the prospect of economic uncertainty, demand for applications outsourcing services is robust according to the results of Forrester's Enterprise IT Services Survey, North America And Europe, Q2 2008. Survey findings show that a considerable percentage . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Successfully Managing ERP Implementation Providers

by Liz Herbert, July 23, 2008

Firms are spending significant services dollars on consulting and systems integration (SI) work, but many firms do not maximize the value that they obtain from implementation providers. Most firms expect that their provider will proactively suggest best . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

People Management Is Fundamental To The Success Of Large Systems Integration Projects

by Tim Sheedy, June 12, 2008

For large IT projects, firms usually hire IT services partners to assist with the design, implementation, support, and management of the solution. The partners provide simple staff augmentation, technical skills, top-level business consulting, and anything . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Sourcing IT Solutions In Asia Pacific

Key Considerations For Global Sourcing Professionals

by Tim Sheedy, June 11, 2008

Global sourcing professionals often struggle to deliver an appropriate solution for their Asia Pacific employees or customers because of the many challenges that exist when rolling out IT solutions in the region. There are many pitfalls that the sourcing . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Australia/New Zealand SAP Implementation Providers, Q2 2008

Accenture Leads Many Excellent Providers

by Tim Sheedy, May 1, 2008

Forrester evaluated seven of the leading SAP implementation providers in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) market across approximately 100 criteria and found that Accenture established the leadership position thanks to the breadth, depth, maturity, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Oracle Implementation Providers, Q1 2008

Accenture And Deloitte Lead An Extremely Well-Qualified Pack

by Liz Herbert, March 10, 2008

Forrester evaluated major Oracle implementation providers across 107 criteria and found that Accenture and Deloitte lead due to overall strong end-to-end implementation capabilities as well as industry breadth and depth. Oracle and Satyam fare well based . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Understanding Who To Call For Help With Your WCM Projects

by Stephen Powers, February 14, 2008

Web content management (WCM) projects require a wide range of skills for successful implementation. Information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals who undertake these complex initiatives don't always have in-house access to all the expertise . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

EDS Reenters The Applications Consulting Market With SAP

by Julie Giera, January 31, 2008

After a long hiatus, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) is reentering the applications consulting market via a newly announced partnership with SAP. Although EDS has been delivering applications development and maintenance to its existing customers for many . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Which Service Provider Is Right For Your Supply Chain Project?

by Patrick M. Connaughton, January 23, 2008

Supply chain management (SCM) service providers play an important role in helping enterprises more efficiently plan and execute their supply chain strategies. Spending on SCM services will continue to grow due to increasingly complicated global networks, . . .