For CIOs

Inquiry Spotlight: Demand Management, Q3 2009

by Tim DeGennaro, September 30, 2009

Despite reduced IT budgets, demand for IT services continues and in some cases accelerates as the business strives to use IT to cut its own costs. Organizations that simply roll with the punches with a FIFO approach quickly find that IT's efforts produce . . .

For CIOs

A Framework For Managing IT Investment Risk

by Craig Symons, August 25, 2009

There is no shortage of articles, reports, and blogs on the topic of IT risk; however, they almost always focus on security-related risks, including computer viruses and worms, denial of service attacks, and theft of data, or infrastructure-related risks, . . .

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 Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Next-Generation IT Requires Next-Generation EA

EA Makes The New Core Processes Of IT Work

by Alex Cullen, Gene Leganza, Jeff Scott, Jost Hoppermann, June 30, 2009

What business wants from IT is changing, and that means IT has to change how it manages itself and the IT-business relationship. Building on current project delivery and operational management competencies, CIOs are adding new core management processes: . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Anatomy Of A Portfolio Management Tool

Common Qualities Apply To All Types Of Portfolio Management Tools

by Phil Murphy, June 23, 2009

The term "portfolio management" is officially in vogue — it has been appended to applications, projects and programs, enterprises, and to IT itself. But what does it mean to manage a portfolio? What are the criteria for determining whether portfolio management . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Adapt To Changing IT Requirements

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., February 3, 2009

Forrester has argued that a fundamental shift from information technology (IT) to business technology (BT) is occurring. As part of this shift, the metrics upon which IT executives are evaluated will change, and tech vendors need to be prepared for this.

For CIOs

The Lean Foundation For Business Service Portfolio Management

by Alexander Peters, Ph.D., December 24, 2008

In a time when resources are scarce and expensive, the portfolio of business services constitutes a powerful framework for maximizing the business value of IT capabilities. This portfolio must display a holistic but sharp picture of how IT's capabilities . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Must-Read Research In Economic Downturns

by Alex Cullen, November 5, 2008

The signs all point to an economic recession having started in 2008 and continuing into 2009, although there is no useful consensus on how long or how deep this recession will be. CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs struggle to make plans in this uncertain environment, . . .

For CIOs

Service Portfolio Management Links IT Capabilities To Business Value

SPM Provides The Transparency That Is Essential To The BT Transformation

by Craig Symons, November 3, 2008

Many IT organizations struggle to demonstrate the value of IT to the business. Business stakeholders find IT to be impenetrable, a black box. Much of this is a result of IT's culture of acquiring and operating assets (e.g., servers, storage, networks, . . .

For CIOs

Governing The Business Technology Service Portfolio

BT Portfolio Management Requires Demand-Supply Governance

by Alexander Peters, Ph.D., October 10, 2008

The business technology service portfolio is a management tool that enables firms to develop a holistic perspective of their technology usage and maximize business value. To develop its potential, IT executives must implement a demand-supply model, making . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

What Does IT Do For The Business?

The Five Essential Metrics For Managing IT

by Robert Whiteley, September 29, 2008

Providing understandable and relevant metrics to business leaders is an integral part of the transformation from traditional IT to service-oriented business technology. However, many IT metrics lack clear relevance to business outcomes and are difficult . . .

For CIOs

The Building Blocks Of An Effective IT PMO

by Lewis Cardin, August 6, 2008

All but the smallest IT organizations need a portfolio management office (PMO). IT will always have more work in its list than it can work on, and, given the complex operating environment of most IT shops, managing all the resulting projects to successful . . .

For CIOs

The Efficient Frontier: Balancing Risk And Reward In Your IT Portfolio

by Craig Symons, July 31, 2008

Successful IT investments have a track record of delivering outsized returns. However, they are the minority. The majority of IT investments tend to produce returns that don't justify their high risks. Portfolio management should be used to ensure that . . .

For CIOs

Synchronizing Strategy And The IT Portfolio

Doing The Right Things Every Time

by Craig Symons, July 25, 2008

IT and business strategy alignment remains a concern of many IT and business executives, yet few organizations have put in place any formal processes or activities to improve it, and even fewer attempt to measure it. At the same time, portfolio management . . .

For CIOs

The Application Management Continuum Offers CIOs A Contemporary Approach To Modernization

by Phil Murphy, July 14, 2008

The technology needs of an industry evolve and mature unevenly — in the early years, companies replace technology frequently to scale in step with organic growth. As the industry matures, it reaches a leveling-off point where the need to gain and retain . . .

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

The Five Essential Metrics For Managing IT

by Craig Symons, April 4, 2008

CIOs frequently ask what IT should measure and report to business executives. The key to success is choosing a small number of metrics that are relevant to the business and have the most impact on business outcomes. The five metrics that meet the criteria . . .

For CIOs

Executive Q&A: Level 5 Portfolio Management

by Craig Symons, February 28, 2008

Level 5 portfolio management represents the highest (optimized) level of maturity an IT organization can aspire to. It is characterized by an enterprisewide use of best practices and results in the maximum return on its IT-enabled business change investments. . . .

For CIOs

Getting Portfolio Management To Level 5 Maturity

Following A Maturity Model To Value Optimization

by Craig Symons, October 31, 2007

Portfolio management continues to gain traction across our client companies as a governance process best practice — a recent Forrester survey of 317 IT decision-makers has 60% of respondents indicating that they are practicing portfolio management somewhere . . .

SeaQuation: Leading The Way In IT Investment Management

by Craig Symons, November 13, 2006

Maximizing the business value of IT investments is top of mind for many organizations and is increasingly the focus of IT steering committees, business executives, and even the board of directors at publicly held companies. However, most organizations . . .

How To Manage Your Technology Portfolio

Using A Technology Life-Cycle Management Process

by Alex Cullen, October 26, 2006

Many enterprises struggle to manage the financial and labor costs incurred through technology diversity because of the absence of a formal process for approving and adopting new technologies and retiring older ones. By establishing a technology life-cycle . . .

Five Best Practices For Portfolio Management

by Craig Symons, September 25, 2006

The foundation of good IT governance is built on an active portfolio management process that enables decisions on what IT investments to approve and fund and how they should be sequenced. Equally important is a regular review of the existing portfolio . . .

Optimizing The IT Portfolio For Maximum Business Value

by Craig Symons, September 30, 2005

One of the most frequently used IT benchmarks measures the IT budget as a percent of the firm's revenues. The average depends on the industry and varies from 1.1% to 8.2%, but it is not uncommon for financial services firms to spend more than 10% of their . . .

Integrated IT Management Drives Efficiency

Role-Based Dashboard Views Will Make It Happen — Get Ready

by Margo Visitacion, Phil Murphy, Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., February 2, 2005

Dashboard-type views permit business managers and executives to see business events, to understand their subsequent impact, and to take corrective action. It is ironic, then, that IT — the enabler of many dashboard views — lacks any comprehensive view . . .

Service Desk: IT Integrated Resource Planning Is Coming

by Chip Gliedman, December 28, 2004

Most IT staff spend their days looking inward at systems, applications, infrastructure, or other technology resources. However, the IT service desk, or help desk, faces outward, as first- and second-line support people are constantly interacting with . . .