As the economy gradually improves, companies are once again focusing on driving top-line growth and building customer intimacy. Forrester Research, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORR) will outline IT strategies to support these business goals at its GigaWorld IT Forum 2005, which will be held May 2-5, 2005 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, near Dallas, Texas.

In more than 100 sessions organized into seven themes, GigaWorld attendees will learn how IT can implement new visible process improvement, including:

  • Helping companies gain and maintain competitive advantage in today’s context.
  • Removing barriers that hinder effectiveness between IT and business.
  • Using common management tools and metrics to drive decisions, allocate resource investments, foster partner and customer dialogue, and measure success.
  • Pursuing a process-centric approach in both business and IT, and the fundamental transformation that this brings in enterprise architecture, and IT effectiveness.
  • Understanding the crucial role played by newer standards-based applications and platforms in enabling this transformation.

In addition to presentations from more than 80 Forrester analysts, attendees will hear insights from:

  • Barbara J. Desoer, Chief Technology, Service and Fulfillment Executive, Bank of America
  • Robert B. Carter, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer, FedEx
  • Shai Agassi, Executive Board Member, SAP
  • Doug Brown, Vice President, Infrastructure Solutions Marketing, IBM
  • Robert Youngjohns, Executive Vice President, Strategic Development and Sun Financing, Sun Microsystems
  • A panel of telecommunications executives discussing recent merger activity

Key themes, next-generation architecture, integrated IT management, and the recent IT trend toward simplicity bring IT into the spotlight and provide companies with insight into how IT supports business function.

Next-Generation Architecture

Unlike other transitions in architecture, such as the shift from mainframe to customer/server, today’s businesses face changes from multiple directions in the architectures of software, systems, and networks. As IT moves from a back-office support system into the business itself, next-generation architecture enables your business to be embodied in digital form. Forrester analysts will discuss how to integrate existing IT investments into a quick, flexible architecture that supports all parts of the business. Sessions include:

  • The Next Generation Of IT Architecture — Randy Heffner
  • Next-Generation Collaboration Architectures — Erica Rugullies

Integrated IT Management Improves Visibility

CIOs now have the ability to show executive management what’s really happening in IT because of the increased visibility provided by integrated IT management. With this visibility, IT managers can slash costs, increase productivity, and better align IT resource allocation with business priorities, creating greater value. Forrester analysts will discuss how organizations can effectively increase IT visibility through the following sessions:

  • Visibility Is Key To Successful IT Management And Integrated IT Management Is Making It Possible — Margo Visitacion, Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., and Phil Murphy
  • IT Can Use Process Methodologies To Create Consistency, Predictability, And Auditability — Bobby Cameron

Keep It Simple And Social

Organizations are rebelling against overly complex technologies by adopting new, streamlined technologies and processes that deliver rapid solutions in a variety of areas: application development, eLearning, IT architecture, and collaboration. GigaWorld sessions will turn this academic discussion into guidelines for business decisions.

  • Agile Processes For The Enterprise — Liz Barnett
  • Mastering Complexity In Application Development: The Trend Toward Simplicity — Carl Zetie

For more Event information, including a video of Vice President and Research Director Mike Gilpin presenting an overview of the GigaWorld experience, please visit: http://www.forrester.com/Events/Overview/0,5158,833,00.html.

Members of the media can request interviews and register for the Event by providing full contact information to press@forrester.com.