For Vendor Strategy Professionals

3Com Gives HP Core Networking — And Amps Up Cisco Competition

The Converged Infrastructure Market Heats Up

by Ellen Daley, November 12, 2009

HP announced an agreement yesterday to acquire 3Com for about $2.7 billion. This deal is mostly about market — not product — acquisition. HP gets China (a strong growth market), a good enterprise switch, a solid security product, and a router portfolio. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The IT Management Software Challengers

SWOT Analysis For ASG, Compuware, EMC, Quest Software, And Microsoft, Q3 2009

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, October 26, 2009

The 2009 IT management software (ITMS) market seems to favor smaller vendors to the detriment of larger ones. Preliminary results for the first three quarters of 2009 show that the megavendors' share of the ITMS market has again declined from 2008. This . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Capgemini Consulting Is Moving To Become A Global Transformation Partner For M&A

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: Capgemini Consulting, Q4 2009

by Daniel Krauss, Pascal Matzke, October 21, 2009

Capgemini Consulting, the newly formed global consulting business unit of Capgemini, provides a well-defined portfolio for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) services. This step of globalizing its business is timely, given that strategic decisions in . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Tata Consultancy Services: Using The Downturn To Reposition Its IT M&A Services

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Q4 2009

by Daniel Krauss, Pascal Matzke, October 6, 2009

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has primarily focused on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) IT requirements of clients in the financial services industry for many years. Backed by its strong IT system and process knowledge and experience, it has mainly . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Tier One Middleware Vendors

A SWOT Analysis Of The Leading Business Process Platform Vendors: IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, And SAP

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., September 4, 2009

The four largest traditional software vendors — IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP — compete around business process platform software. This broader software segment covers all the components that independent software vendors (ISVs) need to create a packaged . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Key Takeaways For IT Asset Life-Cycle Management

The Recent Forrester Wave™ Separates IT Asset Life-Cycle Management Vendors In A Cloud From The Rest

by Peter O'Neill, August 19, 2009

We published a Forrester Wave™ on IT asset life-cycle management (ITALM) in April 2009. It has generated a lot of interest in the topic among users and some interest among vendors. Users are downloading the Wave tool and adjusting the criteria weightings . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The IT Management Software Megavendors

SWOT Analysis For BMC Software, CA, HP Software, And IBM Tivoli, Q3 2009

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, Peter O'Neill, August 12, 2009

The current recession and credit crunch deeply affected IT spending in the last quarter of 2008 and into 2009. Despite this bleak overall picture, Forrester forecasts 4% growth in nonapplication software products (e.g., storage management, middleware), . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Chrome OS Will Extend Google's Online Services, Not Imitate Windows

Google's New PC OS Moves It Further Toward A Personal Cloud Strategy

by Frank E. Gillett, July 9, 2009

On the evening of July 7, 2009, Google created a tech media storm with the announcement of Chrome OS, an operating system for netbooks and personal computers (PCs) separate from Google's Android, which is designed for smartphones and was rumored to be . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

SWOT: The Evolution Of IT Service Providers To Business Technology Competitors

The Business Technology Offerings Of Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, And IBM

by Chris Andrews, June 22, 2009

The market for traditional IT services will change dramatically over the next five years as more vendors realize the benefits of aligning their technology solutions with the needs of business customers. Unlike other technology trends that come and go, . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

How Consumers Get Online Video To The TV

The Convenience Quotient Reveals The TV-Connected PC Is The One To Watch

by James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., June 8, 2009

Online video has finally come to the living room. Forrester estimates that nearly 9 million homes in the US watch at least some online video on a TV set in a typical month. Why they do so is obvious: They get more control over when they watch their favorite . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Napster Legacy: File Sharing 10 Years On

by Sonal Gandhi, Mark Mulligan, June 5, 2009

After 10 years and numerous attempts to combat it, file sharing remains the biggest thorn in the media industry's side. While the true financial impact of file sharing remains a contentious topic, it has permanently shaped consumers' expectations of digital . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Competing With Hulu

The Battle To Be The Internet TV Destination

by Bobby Tulsiani, May 11, 2009

In just one year since its public launch, Hulu has climbed to the top of the video site rankings and is becoming one of the Internet's premier brands. However, numerous competitors are lining up to challenge the young company in a battle to control the . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

How Digital Consumption Is Reinventing The Media Industry

How The Forrester Content Strategy Review Can Help

by Nick Thomas, May 1, 2009

The media industry is in the middle of a revolution, and it's tough out there. As content and consumption become increasingly digital, old business models based on tightly controlling the distribution of premium content are no longer relevant. As we shift . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Green IT 2008

A Look At Sustainability Announcements Of Leading Systems Vendors

by Christopher Mines, April 29, 2009

We reviewed the sustainability-related activities of 13 leading IT systems vendors from 2007 to 2008 by examining public announcements on their Web sites. Three takeaways emerged from our analysis: 1) The rate of green-related announcements increased . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Accenture Provides Truly Integrated M&A Services, Backed By Strong Industry Expertise

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: Accenture, Q2 2009

by Daniel Krauss, April 27, 2009

Accenture's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) services portfolio represents a core element of its offerings and is provided through a truly integrated and global go-to-market strategy. Thanks to its deep business expertise as well as its strong and trusted . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

IBM Offers A Broad M&A Services Portfolio With Strong Integration Capabilities

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: IBM Global Business Services, Q2 2009

by Daniel Krauss, Pascal Matzke, April 27, 2009

IBM Global Business Services (IBM GBS) provides a broad mergers and acquisitions (M&A) services portfolio, which is also fueled by IBM's ample M&A knowledge and business expertise. The company benefits not only from its strong brand and global . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Siemens IT Solutions And Services Evolves A Strong IT-Based M&A Services Proposition

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: Siemens IT Solutions And Services, Q2 2009

by Daniel Krauss, Pascal Matzke, April 27, 2009

Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS) has made significant efforts to build out its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) services portfolio over the past two years, with a strong focus on the IT requirements of clients during the course of transactions. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Deloitte Offers A Strong Globally Integrated Services Portfolio For Complex M&A

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: Deloitte, Q2 2009

by Daniel Krauss, April 27, 2009

Deloitte provides a highly compelling mergers and acquisitions (M&A) services proposition through its broad portfolio and deep business expertise, which are underpinned by a highly consistent and integrated go-to-market strategy. Deloitte primarily . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Global Landscape Of Online Music Stores And Services

by Sonal Gandhi, April 17, 2009

Given the decline of physical stores along with physical media, online music stores and services represent the future of music commerce. Although iTunes leads in most markets on either side of the Atlantic, the online music landscape has become very competitive. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Overview: The IT Management Software Market In 2009

The Current Economy Is A Catalyst For Change

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, Peter O'Neill, March 13, 2009

In 2009, IT faces the problem of cutting costs without affecting the productivity of business users. Ideally, enterprises will look at solutions that increase IT ops' productivity, reduce the time needed to correct problems, and eliminate wasted time: . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

IT Management Software Positioning Benchmark, Q4 2008

A Review Of IT Management Software Marketing Practices With A Self-Assessment Tool

by Peter O'Neill, February 12, 2009

Forrester used its vendor positioning review methodology to re-evaluate the four leading IT management software vendors across 14 criteria and three product domains and determine where they are now positioning themselves on the continuum between information . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Strategic Turnaround: Cordys Repositions To Verticals With An Indirect Sales Model

SWOT Analysis: Cordys, Q4 2008

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., January 30, 2009

Cordys is one of the few promising new entrants into the integration and process improvement middleware market; it was recently named a leader in the Forrester Wave™ of integration-centric business process management suites. While its technology . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Software Vendor Positioning Benchmark, Q4 2008

A Review Of Software Marketing Practices With A Self-Assessment Tool

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., December 23, 2008

A year after we first published it, Forrester's vendor positioning review (VPR) methodology has become a proven strategy tool; Forrester analysts have applied it in multiple advisory engagements, and marketing professionals actively leverage it as a self-assessment . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Leveraging Forrester's Research And Models For Strategic Advantage

Uncertain Economic Times Create Competitive Opportunities

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., Daniel Krauss, December 22, 2008

A recession provides companies in general and vendor strategists in particular with a unique opportunity to leapfrog the competition. But not all strategic paradigms and models are equally well suited for this task. We have designed Forrester's research . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Priorities Of Tech Strategists And Marketers

Results From Forrester's Survey of Tech Industry Professionals

by Chris Andrews, October 21, 2008

In August 2008, Forrester conducted an online survey of senior-level strategy and marketing professionals from global technology firms. We gathered information on a range of topics, such as individual interests, organizational priorities, and go-to-market . . .