For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Consumer Cloud Services Are The Foundation For Multidevice Strategies

A Consumer Product Strategy Introduction To The Personal Cloud

by Ian Fogg, February 9, 2010

Consumers are embracing cloud services now without realizing it. Amazon.com's Kindle, the Palm Pre, Spotify, virtually every Google product, and a raft of products from other brands are now using cloud thinking to build tangible consumer benefits. The . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

The All-Wireless Campus: A Westmont College Case Study

Using WLAN, Mobile Devices, And Innovative IT To Serve A Community

by Chris Silva, February 9, 2010

Westmont College is a small college of 1,000 students nestled in the foothills of Santa Barbara seeking to differentiate itself by providing a completely unwired environment for students and staff. Currently 90% of the way to completing this task with . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

RFP Template For Applications Maintenance Outsourcing Services

by Bill Martorelli, February 9, 2010

This template is intended to give firms a starting point for thinking about sections to include in an RFP for a application maintenance outsourcing provider selection. Firms should view this as only as starting point and should make sure to adapt it to . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Accenture, Cognizant, And Infosys Boost R&D Services Competition

Three Major Services Firms See Opportunity In Offshore Product Development

by Sudin Apte, February 8, 2010

The previously uneventful offshore product development market is poised for significant change. Anticipating a huge growth in this untapped market, top IT services firms Accenture, Cognizant, and Infosys are investing in it. These firms are tapping their . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

TV Advertising Budgets Are Under Siege

by David M. Cooperstein, February 8, 2010

Forrester and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) surveyed 104 US advertisers representing nearly $14 billion in measured media budgets. More than half of them — 62% — told us that TV advertising is less effective than it used to . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Market Overview: Applications Outsourcing Suppliers Adjust To The "New Normal"

by Bill Martorelli, February 8, 2010

Suppliers of application development and maintenance (ADM) were whipsawed during 2009 by the impact of severe economic uncertainty and the subsequent partial recovery throughout the middle and latter parts of the year. Revenues are still down for many . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Increasing Online Insurance Self-Service Adoption

Nine Tactics To Increase Adoption, Serve Customers, And Lower Costs

by Chad Mitchell, February 8, 2010

Insurance online self-service continues to gain momentum, but customer adoption remains low. We found that 55% of US online adults who own insurance have not visited their insurance provider's Web site in the past year. eBusiness managers for direct and . . .

For CIOs

The State Of The PMO

Increased Strategic Focus Extends PMO Roles Across The Enterprise

by Craig Symons, February 8, 2010

In the fall of 2009, Forrester Research in partnership with the Program Management Office Specific Interest Group (PMOSIG) of the Project Management Institute conducted a survey of the PMOSIG membership about the state of the PMO. The survey results provide . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

London 2012: Athletes And New Services Will Push Boundaries, Not The Underlying Technologies

by Mike Cansfield, February 8, 2010

In the first of our series of reports on the information and communications technology (ICT) behind the London 2012 Olympic Games, we looked at the six lessons that vendor strategists can draw from planning the biggest show on earth. When it comes to . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Using Digital Channels To Create Breakthrough Multichannel Experiences

How eBusiness Executives Can Adapt To Changing Consumer Behavior

by Henry H. Harteveldt, February 5, 2010

Operating in a multichannel environment isn't new, but it's becoming increasingly complex. Customers spend more time online and increasingly use digital channels to do more than just buy goods — they now routinely use digital channels to gather . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Mapping The Customer Journey

Best Practices For Using An Important Customer Experience Tool

by Bruce D. Temkin, February 5, 2010

Left to their own devices, companies often neglect customers. But they don't need to. We recommend that organizations use customer journey maps to examine interactions from their customers' points of view. Mapping the customer journey requires five steps: . . .

For CIOs

Banking CIOs: Keep Your Eye On The Ball

Hot Banking Tech Companies To Watch In 2010

by Bobby Cameron, February 5, 2010

As the banking industry begins its climb out of the recession, banks are looking for ways to provide new services, foster better relationships with customers, integrate business processes and technology in new and better ways, and preserve or increase . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Trends 2010: North American Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy

Ten Areas Of Focus For The Next 12 Months

by Brad Strothkamp, February 5, 2010

2010 is shaping up to be a much better year for retail banking. While there will undoubtedly be lingering effects of the recession, the industry feels that that the worst is behind it. So what should eBusiness and channel strategy executives expect for . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Is The Honeymoon Over For Music And Video Games?

by Sonal Gandhi, February 4, 2010

The steep decline in the sales of music-based game titles in 2009 has both the music and games industries wondering if there is life left in the music/gaming liaison. While the current form of music-based gaming may have hit its market peak, music and . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Benchmarks And Best Practices For Online Video Advertising

The 2009 US Online Video Advertising WebTrack

by Nate Elliott, February 4, 2010

With users consuming more online video than ever, marketers are set to spend more than $1 billion on online video advertising in 2010. We watched nearly 50 hours of video on 87 Web sites to learn more about how publishers and marketers are deploying in-video . . .

For CIOs

Lessons Learned In PPM Software Implementations

Recommendations From Customer Reference Interviews For The Forrester Wave™ Evaluation Of PPM Software

by Tim DeGennaro, February 4, 2010

In accordance with the Forrester Wave product evaluation methodology, Forrester conducted more than 50 customer reference interviews with users from 14 project portfolio management (PPM) software vendors. These users ranged from mature early adopters . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Canadians See Little Need For Mobile Banking

Smartphones Emerge As Key To Current Adoption And Future Interest

by Emmett Higdon, February 4, 2010

Canadian mobile phone owners — satisfied with their current online banking experience — fail to see a compelling reason to use mobile banking. Canadian banks readying a mobile banking offering need to ensure that the functionality they deliver . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Succession Planning Helps An Organization Execute On Its Strategy

by Claire Schooley, February 4, 2010

Succession planning ensures that key positions in an organization have qualified internal candidates who are ready to step into key roles, reducing the risk of business disruption from talent loss. Succession planning technology automates the process, . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

What People Really Need

Building A Needs-Based Product Strategy

by James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., February 4, 2010

Business and technology innovation has brought us to a point where companies must stop employing internal or industry excuses and finally give consumers what they really need. However, this lofty goal requires answering a deceptively simple question: . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

How To Boost The Sourcing Group's Influence In The Software Buying Process

Setting Expectations With All Parties Involved Is The Most Important Role

by Caroline Roeleveld-Hoekendijk, Duncan Jones, February 3, 2010

How do you secure a good deal with a large software vendor when you only have four weeks to raise the purchase order (PO)? The answer: By not letting your colleagues put you in that position. Sourcing executives today often struggle to negotiate effective . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

European Satisfaction With IT Services Firms Indicates The Obstacles Facing Offshore Providers

Client Satisfaction Findings From Forrester's European IT Services Survey

by Sudin Apte, February 3, 2010

Large multinational services firms (MNCs) like Accenture, HP, and IBM have the most client relationships in Forrester's survey of 300 European companies, and their clients were more satisfied than clients of regional European players and Indian firms. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Case Study: Dell Profits By Integrating Twitter Into Its Business Strategy

by Nate Elliott, February 3, 2010

When Dell needed to sell an unpredictable stream of returned products, it found that the immediacy of Twitter could help it get the word out and move inventory quickly. The computer maker has driven more than $6 million in US sales since 2007 through . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Understanding First-Time Financial Product Online Applicants

Most First-Timers Will Apply Online Again For Their Next Financial Product

by Brad Strothkamp, February 3, 2010

Forty percent of online US adults who applied online for a financial product in the past 12 months did so for the first time. These first-timers decided to take the plunge, driven mainly by the convenience of the online channel, and their experience was . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

EMEA Buyers Need A New Sourcing Recipe For Managed Desktop Services

Global Desktop Technology Trends Require A Localized Response

by Andrew Parker, February 3, 2010

Taking into account the EMEA-specific sourcing environment and the highly fragmented EMEA service provider landscape, sourcing and vendor management teams need to adapt their approach to align with the changing expectations of their stakeholders around . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Seven Trends Customer Experience Professionals In Healthcare Can't Afford To Ignore

How New Technologies Will Transform Digital Healthcare Experiences

by Elizabeth Boehm, February 3, 2010

On the eve of a new decade, many elements of the US healthcare system are still twisting in the winds of healthcare reform. But the writing on the customer experience wall is clear: Consumers' expectations get set by their experiences with other, more . . .