For Vendor Strategy Professionals

What Vendor Strategists Need To Know About Lean — The Hot Topic For CIOs Right Now

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., Alexander Peters, Ph.D., October 29, 2009

As smart executives delve into the core of Lean Thinking, the role of technology in Lean-based performance improvements becomes abundantly clear. Senior executives expect their chief information officers (CIOs) to drive improvements in the effectiveness . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Shift In Expectations: Modernizing Your SRM Program  (2 MB PPT)

by Robert Whiteley, October 28, 2009

In September 2009, Forrester hosted a two-day event designed to help security and risk professionals understand the top three shifts impacting their job heading. This document summarizes the key recommendations we made to help master the shift in expectations . . .

For CIOs

Role Descriptions For The Office Of The CIO

Key Roles Support The CIO In Driving IT's Success

by Marc Cecere, October 22, 2009

Forrester has assembled job descriptions for several roles within the Office of the CIO — the group of IT leaders who report to the CIO and provide services outside of applications and infrastructure. Based on analyst expertise and a sampling of actual . . .

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 CIOs

Two Texas Healthcare CIOs — Driven To Innovate

Texas Health And CHRISTUS Health Both Have Entrepreneurial Execs

by Sharyn Leaver, July 15, 2009

It's an exciting time to be a healthcare CIO. Technology advancements, healthcare consumerism, and government funding have created a perfect storm of opportunity for innovation. Forrester recently spoke with Texas Health CIO Ed Marx and CHRISTUS Health . . .

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

CIOs: Suggest Pricing And Promotions Technology To Drive Value

by George Lawrie, May 21, 2009

Firms — like banks or retailers — that provide services or merchandise in different locations are struggling to respond to consumers that are now much more price-conscious thanks to the economy. Smart CIOs will see this as an opportunity to showcase their . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

BT For I&O: Make IT Easy For The Business

BT Changes IT's Operating Model

by Simon Yates, May 12, 2009

IT's role is changing. As business units become ever more reliant on technology and more comfortable with implementing it themselves, IT is becoming an advisor and a service integrator rather than the direct manager of all technology assets. Forrester . . .

For CIOs

Business Realities Drive IT Globalization

by Bobby Cameron, March 12, 2009

Business leaders target globalization to deliver performance that spans geographic and organizational boundaries. What globalization means for CIOs is not simple — they have to help their firms deliver optimized global performance while meeting local . . .

For CIOs

BT Changes IT's Operating Model

CIOs And Business Execs Balance BT Leadership Along An Operating Model Continuum

by Bobby Cameron, March 6, 2009

The transition from IT to BT continues, evidenced by the absorption of traditional IT roles throughout the business organization and the increasing number of business executives who are taking ownership of technology decisions. Successful BT operating . . .

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 CIOs

Back To Basics — IT Strategy In Turbulent Times

Service Archetypes Focus IT Delivery Strategy

by Alexander Peters, Ph.D., February 4, 2009

Budget pressures and business expectations are squeezing IT as CIOs grapple with balancing efficiency and business enablement. CIOs can strengthen their position by mastering the business management practices identified by Harvard Business School's Evergreen . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Role Profile: The CIO

Understanding And Marketing To The CIO Professional

by Emily Van Metre, Eric G. Brown, December 18, 2008

Knowing your customers will help your sales force start the right conversation with a prospect, understand how your products are relevant to your customers' daily life, and in the end help to land you a sale. This role profile will take you through key . . .

For CIOs

Changing IT's Culture — What's Cheap And Easy?

by Marc Cecere, December 3, 2008

Forrester asked 72 IT professionals about the importance, enablers, and costs of culture change. Our analysis broke down culture change into eight enablers that included rewards, policies, and peer actions. Some of our findings: Leaders' actions and statements . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

How CIOs Evaluate Vendors

Tech Marketers Must Understand CIOs' Perspective On Fit

by Alex Cullen, November 17, 2008

Marketing and sales executives in technology firms aspire to develop a strong relationship with the CIOs in their target accounts in order to solidify a vendor's incumbent status or grease follow-on sales. But to most CIOs, the tech vendor remains "just . . .

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

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 CIOs

The Emerging Technology Trends That CIOs Should Care About

by Bobby Cameron, August 13, 2008

Today's technology trends may appear like only incremental changes compared with historic changes like ERP and the Internet, but Forrester believes that we are in the initial phases of a major technology innovation and growth wave called "IT everywhere." . . .

For CIOs

Indian CIOs Excel As Chief Innovation Officers

Western CIOs: Emulate Business-Focused, Well-Networked Indian CIOs

by Navi Radjou, August 12, 2008

During spring 2008, Forrester interacted with the CIOs and CTOs of leading Indian firms such as Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Suzlon, Tata Motors, and TCS to learn how they are driving business innovation within their organizations. . . .

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

Managing IT When Times Get Tough

Proactive CIOs Will Help Firms Amid Economic Uncertainties

by Alex Cullen, Phil Murphy, March 25, 2008

Macroeconomic conditions, whether they are downturns or boom times, broadly shape the CIO's job, but the firm's own context drives action. The reality is that any business at any time may need to shift its executive focus toward running lean — whether . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: So You Want To Be A Transformation Agent

Preparing For The Future — The Role Of The 21st Century CIO

by Alex Cullen, February 19, 2008

CIOs are looking at a fork in the road — and some see how they can effect change in their enterprises, becoming agents of business transformation. These 21st century CIOs realize that firms that remain the same really lose ground in a competitive economy . . .

For CIOs

Seven Trends That Will Shape The CIO Role

Two Distinct Career Options Emerge

by Alex Cullen, December 14, 2007

2008 will see the firming up of several trends that will shape the CIO role in the future, the foremost being the bifurcation of the role itself. Some CIOs will capitalize on their visibility across organizational silos along with their understanding . . .

For CIOs

Case Study: CIOs Can Learn From Kimberly-Clark's Innovation Design Studio

by Bobby Cameron, December 12, 2007

Innovative initiatives cascade from corporate strategies down to action. Example? Kimberly-Clark Corporation (K-C) advanced its enterprisewide strategy "to become an indispensable partner to \[its\] customers" with a virtual reality system that helps . . .