For CIOs

CIOs: Develop A Technology Watch List

The Top 15 Technology Trends To Watch

by Sharyn Leaver, November 13, 2009

As IT executives set out their strategies and plan for 2010 and beyond, they must determine what the top technology trends are for their business and gauge IT's ability to support the next phase of technology innovation and growth. To help, Forrester . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

In-Database Analytics: The Heart Of The Predictive Enterprise

by James G. Kobielus, November 12, 2009

Visionary organizations are adopting an emerging practice known as "in-database analytics," which supports more pervasive embedding of predictive models in business processes and mission-critical applications. With in-database analytics, enterprises migrate . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Inquiry Insights: Business Intelligence, 2008 To H1 2009

The BI Market Is Changing And So Are The Questions

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., November 5, 2009

Forrester receives more than 20,000 inquiries every year that reflect the key questions for which vendors and users are seeking answers. In 2008 and the first half of 2009, 632 of these questions were related to the business intelligence (BI) market. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Overview: The Business Intelligence Software Market

Advanced Analytics Will Drive Growth To $14 Billion By 2014

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., October 23, 2009

Business intelligence (BI) software is the tip of the application software pyramid. Pure functionality, no matter how sophisticated, is no longer sufficient to successfully support the changing business requirements of today. BI provides business guidance . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Marketing And Customer Analytics Software Landscape

Unraveling A Potpourri Of Technology Options For Customer Analysis

by Suresh Vittal, October 16, 2009

Marketers recognize that Customer Intelligence is rapidly becoming a mission-critical discipline. This should come as no surprise — valuing, targeting, and retaining the best customers are skills in high demand. But few marketing organizations can muster . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

The Top 15 Technology Trends EA Should Watch

by Alex Cullen, October 6, 2009

IT organizations need to inform their annual and longer-term plans with an understanding of how changes in technology will enable business outcomes. EA groups are the logical leaders for this effort. Forrester has identified 15 technologies with the greatest . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Forrester's BI Maturity Assessment Tool  (85 KB XLS)

by Boris Evelson, Connie Moore, Rob Karel, James G. Kobielus, Charles Coit, September 11, 2009

Business intelligence is a set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information used to enable more effective strategic, tactical, and operational insight and decision-making. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Business Case for BI: Now More Critical Than Ever

by Boris Evelson, August 25, 2009

Even as IT reduces or holds budgets steady in many enterprise software sectors, business intelligence (BI) initiatives remain front and center in most enterprise business and IT agendas. As the demand for pervasive and comprehensive BI applications increases, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Untamed Business Processes: When Even The Best Of Intentions Go Awry

by Craig Le Clair, August 21, 2009

A business process — at its highest level — is any activity that helps an enterprise achieve its goals. Packaged and industry-specific applications form the transactional backbone for most critical business processes in enterprises and small and medium-size . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Business Intelligence (BI) Polishes Its Crystal Ball

IBM's SPSS Deal Nudges Analytics Industry Toward Deeper Predictive Focus

by James G. Kobielus, Boris Evelson, Leslie Owens, August 18, 2009

Enterprise strategic, tactical, and operational decision-makers want to understand past and present activity but also anticipate the future to avoid being blindsided by seemingly hidden events. How do companies build a competitive "crystal ball"? They . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Refresh Your Information Management Strategy To Deliver Business Results

by Rob Karel, James G. Kobielus, August 11, 2009

Many enterprises lack a framework to ensure business alignment with their information management (IM) strategies. Yet sound strategy is critical for prioritizing IM investments. Business issues driving the urgency for a revitalized strategy include: 1) . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Latest BI Adoption Trends - Still Ripe In Opportunities Across Regions, Company Sizes, And Industries  (566 KB PPT)

by Boris Evelson, August 6, 2009

This set of data charts examines BI adoption trends from Forrester's recent Enterprise And SMB Software Survey, North America And Europe, Q4 2008.

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Big Blue Gets Smarter: IBM Announces The Acquisition Of SPSS

IBM Strikes Out To Become The Leading BI Vendor

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., July 29, 2009

On July 28, 2009, IBM announced the plan to acquire SPSS, a leading provider of predictive analytics solutions. The acquisition, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close later this year and will accelerate IBM in the . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Mighty Mashups: Do-It-Yourself Business Intelligence For The New Economy

by James G. Kobielus, July 23, 2009

Enterprise business intelligence (BI) professionals face severe resource constraints, and the soft economy keeps budgets tight. One consequence is a lengthening queue of user requests to develop and revise reports, dashboards, cubes, and other analytic . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

How SaaS-Able Are Content, Collaboration, And Data Software Categories?

Only Some Categories Possess The Innate Characteristics Suited To SaaS Delivery

by Craig Le Clair, Ted Schadler, July 8, 2009

Many enterprises are considering information and knowledge management (I&KM) software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions as alternatives to on-premise software installations and perpetual-license models. In response, I&KM vendors — old and new — have . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Business Application Software, H2 2008

Software Supermajors Set The Trend For Integrated Solutions

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., July 7, 2009

Various prominent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in early 2008 significantly changed the face of the business application software market, leading to the rise of the software supermajors. In the second half of 2008, vendor activities focused on product . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Oracle WebCenter Jumps Into The Information Workplace Fray

Oracle Will Leverage Its Applications Position To Become A Player

by Rob Koplowitz, Matthew Brown, July 7, 2009

For organizations with strong strategic ties to Oracle for business applications, content, and business intelligence, the Oracle WebCenter product suite has emerged as a contender in an Information Workplace market previously dominated by IBM and Microsoft. . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Hot Insurance Tech Companies To Watch In 2009: Q2 Update

by Ellen Carney, June 29, 2009

The past year has tested the mettle of the insurance industry. Insurers like The Hartford Financial Services Group and Lincoln National Group converted to bank holding companies to take advantage of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. The downturn . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Demand Insights: Predictive Analytics In The Financial Services Sector

How IBM Helps Banks And Insurers Get The Business They Really Want

by Ellen Carney, June 2, 2009

Banks and insurers do a great job acquiring customers, but they fall down when it comes to cross- and upselling other services. Few financial services institutions even know if the customers they have are actually the kind of business that they want. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Business Intelligence, Q1 To Q3 2008

Vendor Communications Reflect Business Intelligence Trends

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., May 29, 2009

As the business intelligence (BI) market absorbs a recent round of market-changing mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Forrester analyzed the evolution of this fast-growing market and tracked 434 unique activities in the first three quarters of 2008 from . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

SMB Marketing Technology Adoption

Findings From Our Q3 2008 Direct And Database Marketing Panel Data

by Suresh Vittal, May 22, 2009

Forrester surveyed 224 direct marketers in Q3 2008 about their technology adoption plans. This report drills into the technology adoption trends of our small and medium-size business (SMB) respondents. SMB marketers continue to pursue improvements to . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SharePoint And BI Survey Q&A: The Last Mile To Business Intelligence Users

The Forrester Perspective On SharePoint And Microsoft BI Survey Responses

by Boris Evelson, May 19, 2009

By nature, business intelligence (BI) transforms raw, meaningless data into meaningful, tangible, and actionable information. But successful BI requires multiple components and steps that must be executed in perfect choreography. While the data sourcing, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Future Of The eCommerce Platform

Dropping The "E" In eCommerce

by Brian K. Walker, May 18, 2009

eCommerce has come into its own as a key channel for both direct-to-consumer and business-to-business (B2B), and platform solutions to enable them have followed suit. But eCommerce continues to evolve quickly. With the channel increasingly being at the . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Trends 2009: European Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy

The Financial Crisis And The Recession Have Changed Priorities For Executives

by Benjamin Ensor, May 12, 2009

Under the impact of the financial crisis and the recession, eBusiness and channel strategy executives at European retail banks will focus on retaining customers and increasing efficiency in 2009. In this environment, we expect to see eBusiness and channel . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

Collaboration And Web 2.0 Technology Adoption, Q4 2008  (446 KB PPT)

by TJ Keitt, G. Oliver Young, April 2, 2009

Firms report on their adoption and implementation of collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies.