For Customer Intelligence Professionals

Understanding The Total Cost Of Listening Platforms

Marketers Must Account For Expenses Beyond Technology

by Suresh Vittal, September 9, 2009

Listening platforms are hot and marketers are keen to use consumer conversations to inform marketing and business strategy. But as more marketing teams adopt listening platforms, the question that comes up most often is: How much will these tools cost? . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Web Conferencing 2009 Market Overview

Pick A Portfolio Of Providers To Meet All Your Conferencing Scenarios

by Ted Schadler, Claire Schooley, August 27, 2009

Web conferencing has become a key real-time collaboration priority for most enterprises. IT is working hard to pick the right suppliers, negotiate the right price, and drive adoption. But the market remains fragmented, pricing is often mysterious and . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Tier Your Workforce To Save Money With Cloud-Based Corporate Email

Occasional Users Can Run Email In The Cloud For As Little As $2.43 Per Month

by Ted Schadler, August 13, 2009

Information and knowledge management (I&KM) pros are used to giving all employees the same software tools. While this has the benefit of simplicity, it often means buying licenses for software that is seldom or never used. With cloud-based email, . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

The Four Decision Factors For Open Source Enterprise Content Management

by Stephen Powers, August 5, 2009

Open source enterprise content management (ECM) initiatives are common in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) or in department-level projects. Yet information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals in major enterprises have started to . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Cloud-Based Email, Q3 2009

by Christopher Voce, July 31, 2009

Interest in cloud-based email is rapidly rising. The promise of reducing operational costs and refocusing on their core competencies has many Forrester customers asking about the cloud. Cloud-based services like those of Google and Microsoft are more . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Decoding Mainframe Pricing Mechanics And Metrics

by Brad Day, June 10, 2009

Unraveling the complex pricing metrics and mechanics of IBM System z hardware and software requires tapping your most investigative infrastructure, operations, and procurement specialists. The first order of business is to understand the performance metrics . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Enterprise Software Licensing And Pricing Update, Q2 2009

by R "Ray" Wang, June 1, 2009

Rapidly deteriorating market conditions led to a shift in the major enterprise apps vendors' overall software licensing and pricing strategies. Forrester examined the status and progress of 12 vendors and their responses to client requests and concerns. . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Yes We Can (Cut Our Software Maintenance Costs)

IT Sourcing Executives Can Take Advantage Of Increasing Flexibility To Obtain The Cost Savings They Need

by Duncan Jones, May 8, 2009

It's one of the unwritten rules of software that maintenance costs only go up — never down. But we used to say that about house prices too. Today, software vendors are coming under increasing pressure from customers to cut maintenance bills, but the vendors . . .

For CIOs

CIOs: Insist On TEI Calculations To Justify Business-Critical IT Investments

by Sharyn Leaver, April 22, 2009

Now more than ever, IT executives face difficult decisions around which IT investments in their portfolios to execute on, cancel, or defer. IT executives must identify the projects that are business-critical or strategic to maximize the business value . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Craft Your Negotiations Strategy To Reflect New Packaged Apps Licensing And Pricing Trends

by R "Ray" Wang, April 3, 2009

Results from Forrester's Enterprise And SMB Software Survey, North America And Europe, Q4 2008 reveal three major trends shaping contract negotiations strategy: 1) declines in software spending; 2) improved negotiating leverage for buyers; and 3) vendor . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Predictions 2009: ePurchasing Market

Growth Slows Both Overall And For eProcurement But Is Strong In Other Areas

by Andrew Bartels, March 26, 2009

The ePurchasing market — software solutions for eProcurement, eSourcing, contract life-cycle management (CLM), automated spend analysis, accounts payable electronic invoice presentment and payment (AP-EIPP), services procurement, supplier performance . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Is Open Source Software Confusing To CIOs?

Identifying The Most Urgent Communication Challenges For Vendors

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., March 16, 2009

The budget situation in many IT organizations today means that CIOs are paying more attention to the open source discussion than ever before. We created a fictitious discussion between two CIOs to identify the major concerns and even confusion about the . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Base Your Oracle "Red Stack" Negotiations Strategy On Your Oracle Adoption Strategy

Preparation And Product Expertise Are Key To Winning

by R "Ray" Wang, John R. Rymer, Noel Yuhanna, March 13, 2009

Amidst worsening economic conditions and a rapidly consolidating vendor landscape, applications professionals will have the opportunity to consolidate their own landscapes by committing to single-vendor "platform stacks." IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

What App Dev Pros Need To Know In Building A Recession-Proof Packaged Apps Strategy

by R "Ray" Wang, February 9, 2009

The economic recession brings increased pressure on application development professionals to rationalize budgets in the context of both packaged apps and applications development. As app dev leaders and their business stakeholders scrutinize existing . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Shape Your Apps Strategy To Reflect New SaaS Licensing And Pricing Trends

by R "Ray" Wang, January 14, 2009

Recessionary forces drive applications professionals to seek new delivery models such as software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and other XaaS (X-as-a-Service) models. But with these options' upfront benefits in choice, value, and . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

What Apps Professionals Need To Know About Packaged Apps Software Licensing And Pricing

Apps Professionals Can Apply Client Insights To Shape Their Apps Strategy

by R "Ray" Wang, January 8, 2009

Applications professionals continue to inquire about software licensing and pricing topics for packaged apps. Clients grapple with escalating maintenance fees, complex licensing agreements, and the definition of a fair deal. Topics run the gamut but typically . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Should Your Email Live In The Cloud? A Comparative Cost Analysis

Cloud-Based Email Is Often Cheaper Than On-Premise Email

by Ted Schadler, January 5, 2009

When Google launched Google Apps Premier Edition for $50 per user per year, it raised the question, "How much should we be paying for email?" But it's not just this eye-popping price that should trigger the question about where you should run your email. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends 2009: Customer Relationship Management

Strategy And Business Value Are The Watchwords For The Next 12 Months

by William Band, December 11, 2008

In light of the sudden and dramatic economic downturn, what are the key trends that will drive customer relationship management (CRM) strategies and technology adoption in 2009? Our recent surveys and interviews with customer-oriented business and IT . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Enterprise Apps Software Licensing And Pricing

Clients Want Equal Footing At The Negotiation Table

by R "Ray" Wang, Elisse Gaynor, December 8, 2008

In both good and bad economic times, software licensing and pricing is a frequent motif among client inquiries. Clients grapple with escalating maintenance fees, complex licensing agreements, and the definition of a fair deal. Topics run the gamut but . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Cost Estimator: SaaS Versus On-Premise Software  (44 KB XLS)

by Liz Herbert, December 3, 2008

This tool is intended to help companies evaluate total cost of ownership of a SaaS solution compared with an on-premise solution. To use the tool, firms should adjust the variables on the "Assumptions" tab to match their specific situation. Please note . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Understand Multiplexing Or Face Unexpected Software License Charges

Vendors' Policies On Indirect Use Surprise Unwary Customers

by Duncan Jones, November 14, 2008

IT sourcing and vendor management professionals increasingly run into disputes with their application and database vendors over how to count users in their complex and diversely integrated architectures. The vendors' basic rationale is reasonable — they . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Topic Overview: Enterprise Apps Vendor Selection

Forrester's Reference Tool For Applications Decisions

by R "Ray" Wang, Paul D. Hamerman, November 11, 2008

Choosing the right vendor remains a critical success factor for every enterprise's business success. Consolidation in the vendor market, a plethora of deployment options, and the progression to a next generation of applications built with service-oriented . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Business Process & Applications Professionals: Must-Read Research In An Economic Downturn

by Sharyn Leaver, October 23, 2008

Although the first half of 2008 showed a steady pace of technology spending, according to our latest research it's very likely that a slowdown is coming. And in a down economy, businesses face tough decisions and inevitably look to cut spending. The good . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Coping With SAP's Pricey Maintenance Hike

The Single-Tiered Enterprise Support Offering Is Not Without Merit, But Customers Need A Strategy To Contain SAP Costs

by R "Ray" Wang, October 10, 2008

SAP's July 16, 2008 decision to move to a single-tiered 22% maintenance model raises concern for business process and applications professionals. While the new model does offer some new benefits like upgrade support and end-to-end operations support, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Forrester's SAP Enterprise Support Value Calculator  (98 KB XLS)

by R "Ray" Wang, October 10, 2008

This calculator will help you determine how SAP's maintenance increases will affect your existing software strategy and help inform future SAP oftware ownership decisions.