Introduction: Chuck Gahun, Principal Analyst For Content Management And Digital Experience Technology
My Research Focus
Competitive business strategy will primarily be driven by an organization’s ability to compete through digital experiences on the digital shelf. It is estimated that more than $500 billion is spent annually to get increased digital shelf visibility every year. The enterprise applications and services that bring these digital experiences to life will become the lifeblood of organizations. As a part of this accelerating evolution, the delivery of enterprise content is becoming critical to help businesses attain their goals and meet their customers where they are. I am very excited to focus my research on examining the intersection of content technologies and digital business strategy. My research will examine both sides of this coin:
- Competitive digital business strategy. As digital business takes hold of all industrial verticals and the competition becomes fiercer, we will need to ensure that our enterprise digital technologies, integrations, and user experiences are designed, built, and maintained for optimal performance. Content technologies will continue to play a pivotal role, with their business impact expanding to acquiring new customers and growing share of wallet — more than operational efficiencies solely. The power of good content, delivered in an optimal manner, will soon become unquantifiable to digital business.
- Digital experience ecosystems that drive customer experiences. If we are to agree that content is the fuel that feeds these systems through copy, assets (image and video), and data, then the features and ease of use of the content technologies within those ecosystems become the fuel lines to supply what the enterprise needs at all times. CMS, DAM, PIM, and video platforms are critical to the enterprise. I plan to further the research Forrester pioneered earlier this year on experience architecture to develop content technology architectures for digital business, with a laser focus on the customer experience.
Oh, And A Bit About Me
With over 10 years in agency and 20 years in digital, I have led a few dozen global implementations focused on competitive strategy and digital business transformation. Working as a partner at agencies gave me the opportunity to work with and influence many C-level executives, thinking about how content and commerce can change the game for their competitive landscapes. Throughout my career, I have spent endless hours researching competitive business strategy and digital technologies. I find the intersection of digital business and competitive strategy extremely interesting, so much so that I designed a business school course on digital transformation at my alma mater, George Mason University. I will continue to teach it until they let me or until we are done transforming, whichever comes first!
I am four weeks into this journey at Forrester, and I am focused on leveraging technology to realize the dream of a digitally transformed enterprise. Keep an eye out for my upcoming research! We have a lot of exciting work ahead of us, and the pandemic’s disruption to business is now our new unit of measure.