About Forrester
Forrester Research, Inc. is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology.

Sharyn serves CIOs. She leads Forrester's research into IT leadership, with a focus on the emerging world of business technology (BT). Sharyn delivers strategic guidance, helping enterprises identify best practices and identify vendors and technologies that help drive business success. Her current research agenda includes enterprise application strategies as well as IT planning processes and technologies. She also maintains a research interest in business process management (BPM); RFID; and other emerging technologies in consumer-driven and manufacturing industries such as life sciences, healthcare, and consumer products. In addition, Sharyn was a key contributor to the development of the Forrester Wave™ methodology to help clients accurately assess key vendors in a given technology-focused market.
Before joining Forrester, Sharyn spent several years as a consultant and project manager for Clarkston Consulting, a full-service professional services firm. She was responsible for the delivery of vendor selection and implementation projects involving SAP and other ERP applications, integration technology, and enterprise portals.
Sharyn holds a B.S. in computer information systems technology from Purdue University.
Q
It was Sunday morning and I got up around 6:00 as I do most mornings, and picked up the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition over a cup of coffee. I was moved by a story about middle-aged...

When considering hosted virtual desktops (also known as virtual desktop infrastructure, or VDI) as an alternative or in addition to physical PCs, it's difficult to find reliable information about the...
A Pragmatic Approach To Achieve Both Freedom And Security
In 2012, as an I&O workforce computing professional, you will be faced with more people using their own computer for work than ever before. Many highly influential employees are already doing so, and...

Regardless of what our minds conjure up when we think of airline travel, one thing we can readily observe is that while the weather, the experience of the flight crew, the mechanical condition of the...
But Workers Should Have The Freedom To Use Windows 8 Devices
Windows 8 is the boldest release of the OS since Windows 95. Microsoft chose to discard the Start button in favor of a new look designed to tie together the PC, tablet, and, smartphone experience....
Jason Hurd is the son of an Idaho backcountry bush pilot, stands about 6' 5" tall and runs an aircraft maintenance shop at the Erie Municipal Airport in Colorado - about a mile as the crow flies...
What The HP Personal Systems Group Announcement Means For I&O Leaders
When HP announced on August 18 that it was planning to carve off a $40 billion hardware manufacturing division, I&O leaders the world over paused to reflect and take it in. Their next thought was...
An Evolutionary But Not Revolutionary Release
In the first half of 2012, PC shipments have dropped year-over-year as many consumers and employees find the object of their desire to be a tablet or a Mac. In addition, with virtual desktops on the...

7:30 AM, on Monday, December 5th, 2011, flight 1052. As I took my seat in Southwest Airlines' "Business Class," otherwise known as the exit row, I gave a nod to my new seat mate and noticed his...
At Forrester, each of us as analysts keep in regular contact with our clients and the industry through a process known as Inquiry. For workforce computing, this includes Benjamin Gray, Christian...
We are currently using a custom process for Windows images/deployment, and we would like to see if there are details or best practices on how an image should be set up.
When it comes to management, less is more I was at an industry conference recently, standing in the booth of a large PC maker while being indoctrinated with the latest word: "You can manage it with...
There is plenty of speculation in the industry this quarter about the future of Microsoft given the challenges facing Windows 8. Microsoft reported flat revenues in the Windows Division today, citing...
Those of you paying attention in Sunday School may remember this thing called the apocalypse. Earl Robert Maze II was my Sunday School teacher, and he may be the most fearsome schoolmaster ever to...
With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft is in the midst of its largest marketing effort ever, hoping to reach 2.1 billion people over the next several months. Because of its lukewarm initial sales,...
From an order of magnitude perspective, what is the cost of supporting multiple OSes? What support tools for Windows and Mac would you recommend for people and process?
End User Computing is at the Root of the VMware Family Tree Examine the roots of the VMware family tree, and End User Computing is the longest root of 'em all. It's where it all began, back...
Landscape: The Workforce Enablement Playbook
2012 brought a tectonic shift in worker technology requirements. Many more employees now purchase their own devices, bring them to work, and use them to conduct personal and professional activities...
Michael Masterson's book "Ready, Fire, Aim" is one of my favorites. Masterson, a serial entrepreneur who has built dozens of businesses, some to $100 million in revenue and beyond, explains that...
We're building a MAC open source software model and would like some information on best practices and any insight to support models and community forums/support for the user community.
A couple of weeks ago, I proposed that I&O Professionals should repeal Mac prohibition and find ways to empower employees who are choosing Macs in increasing numbers and bringing them to the office....
The Politburo is making a comeback Winston Churchill described Soviet-era politics as a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. It came to mind recently as I was engaged in a conversation...
Technology Vendors for IT Focus on IT Spend Forrester's technology vendor clients prefer data over analysis, whereas our IT clients prefer analysis. The vendors are gracious and will sit through...