For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Status, Challenges, And Near-Term Tactics For Cloud Services In Enterprise Outsourcing Deals

by Paul Roehrig, Ph.D., November 18, 2009

The blab-o-sphere is full of warnings, proclamations, and sales pitches about cloud services and this is only making it tougher for IT decision-makers to sort the reality from the hype in the face of pressing technology challenges. Decision-makers are . . .

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 Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: IT Management Software Market, H1 2009

Vendors Are Missing The Cloud And Virtualization Waves

by Peter O'Neill, November 5, 2009

Forrester's market momentum overview assists vendor strategy professionals in tracking the evolution of the IT management software (ITMS) market and in gathering intelligence about the major activities. In the first half of 2009, we tracked 165 different . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

IT Buyers Prioritize Virtualization Over Cloud

Strategists Should Plan Practical Offerings And Messaging For Buyers

by Frank E. Gillett, October 30, 2009

In the Forrester Enterprise And SMB Hardware Survey, North America And Europe, Q3 2009, we used carefully worded questions to test buyer priorities on initiatives for virtualization, consolidation, automation, internal cloud, and infrastructure-as-a-service . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Cloud Computing Checklist: How Secure Is Your Cloud?  (43 KB XLS)

by Chenxi Wang, Ph.D., October 30, 2009

If your organization is interested in cloud computing, there are some key security and privacy, compliance, and legal issues that you need to broach with the service provider. To help with this process, we've put together a checklist of key issues and . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Middleware Software Market, H2 2008 And H1 2009

Middleware Vendors Must Fight For Awareness In A Consolidating Market While Offering Cloud Innovations

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., October 27, 2009

Forrester's market momentum data includes mergers and acquisitions (M&A), product, partnership, and strategy/go-to-market announcements. A trend analysis provides vendors with important background for the ongoing market consolidation and various strategic . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Shift In Architecture: Building A Flexible, Compliant Foundation  (1.9 MB PPT)

by Robert Whiteley, October 27, 2009

In September 2009, Forrester hosted a two-day event designed to help security and risk professionals understand the top three shifts impacting their job heading. This document summarizes the key recommendations we made to help master the shift in architecture . . .

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 Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

TechRadar™ For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals: Cloud Computing, Q3 2009

As Much Diversity Of Maturity Across Categories As Confusion Among Them

by James Staten, October 2, 2009

The No. 1 challenge in cloud computing today is determining what it really is. What categories of services exist within the definition and business model, and how ready are these options for enterprise consumption? Forrester defines cloud computing as . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Case Study: USA.gov Achieves Cloud Bursting Efficiency Using Terremark's Enterprise Cloud

by James Staten, September 25, 2009

USA.gov, one of the busiest US government Web sites, has achieved significant cost savings by embracing cloud computing. The US General Services Administration (GSA) has migrated all of the core resources of the USA.gov Web portal to Terremark's IaaS . . .

For Enterprise Architecture Professionals

Taking The Fog Out Of Cloud Computing: Planning For Security And Risk Management

by Randy Heffner, September 22, 2009

Architectural planning for an organization's use of cloud computing products and services should focus first on the biggest differences between cloud computing and traditional computing options, and security and risk management (SRM) concerns are among . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Case Study: CryoPort Turns To Cloud Computing To Develop Tomorrow's New Vaccines

by James Staten, September 9, 2009

New-vaccine and pharmaceutical delivery is a very time-sensitive application to say the least, especially when uncertainty can skew test results. CryoPort and KLATU Networks teamed up to build a biological package tracking system that leveraged Amazon . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Best Practices: Infrastructure-As-A-Service (IaaS)

by James Staten, September 9, 2009

It seems as if every CIO comes back from a conference cocktail party demanding IT "move to the cloud." While this can mean many things, including using software-as-a-service, managed hosting, or application service providers, the demand often centers . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Market Overview Of Cloud IT Services From Major Telcos

by Paul Roehrig, Ph.D., September 1, 2009

Interest and hype around cloud IT services is at an all-time high, but most enterprise decision-makers are still exploring the potential risks and rewards. Although most clients are not rushing to implement an unproven set of services, the promise for . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

A Surprising New Java Platform Option: VMware

Acquiring SpringSource, VMware Targets Java And Clouds

by John R. Rymer, Mike Gualtieri, James Staten, Jeffrey S. Hammond, August 26, 2009

VMware's ambition is to expand up the stack from its franchise in systems virtualization software into application platforms. The company's decision to buy Java frameworks specialist SpringSource is a first step toward realizing this larger ambition as . . .

For CIOs

Q&A: By 2011, CIOs Must Answer The Question, "Why Not Run In The Cloud?"

But Finding A Good Place To Start Is A Challenge For Most Shops

by James Staten, Ted Schadler, John R. Rymer, Chenxi Wang, Ph.D., August 14, 2009

At Forrester's IT Forum in Las Vegas in May 2009, we hosted an analyst panel about saving, making, and risking cash with cloud computing. The session sparked a lot of interest — and a lot of questions. With the buzz still strong, and a few more months . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: Ingres Takes Advantage Of Identity Management In The Cloud

by Andras Cser, August 14, 2009

Ingres, an open source database software and support services provider, knew that it needed to reform its online community by improving its ease of use, particularly in the area of identity management. After deciding to explore the use of a cloud-based . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Best Practices: Identity Management In The Cloud

by Andras Cser, August 14, 2009

Many companies are struggling to adopt cloud-based identity and access management (hosted IAM) because they typically end up overscoping this initiative or have a difficult time getting funding for it in the current economic climate. Organizations that . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Tier Your Workforce To Save Money With Cloud-Based Corporate Email

Occasional Users Can Run Email In The Cloud For As Little As $2.43 Per Month

by Ted Schadler, August 13, 2009

Information and knowledge management (I&KM) pros are used to giving all employees the same software tools. While this has the benefit of simplicity, it often means buying licenses for software that is seldom or never used. With cloud-based email, . . .

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 Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Inquiry Spotlight: Cloud-Based Email, Q3 2009

by Christopher Voce, July 31, 2009

Interest in cloud-based email is rapidly rising. The promise of reducing operational costs and refocusing on their core competencies has many Forrester customers asking about the cloud. Cloud-based services like those of Google and Microsoft are more . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Yet Another Cloud

Forrester's First Proposal Of A Cloud Taxonomy

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., July 30, 2009

Despite the current crisis, the demand for cloud computing is growing at enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Some customers consider virtual infrastructure in the Internet as cloud, while others deem their business applications delivered . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Case Study: How PerkettPR — An All-Virtual Organization — Is Powered By Remote Workers

How A Virtual Firm's IT Can Be Greener, More Accessible, And More Redundant Than Traditional Office Environments

by Chris Silva, Doug Washburn, July 28, 2009

PerkettPR made its strategic, and definitive, decision to focus investment on quality staff — not office space. Since its inception in 1998, the company has been a virtual organization with no intent of transitioning to a traditional office environment. . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

How To Message "Cloud" Offerings And Not Get Lost In The Fog

Speak Clearly To The Right Prospects Without Boosting Competitors

by Frank E. Gillett, July 24, 2009

The cloud computing phenomenon is extraordinarily hot, leading tech marketers to make messy messaging mistakes in their rush to respond. Positioning IT products and services vis-à-vis cloud concepts is challenging because marketers are using the term . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

How The Cloud Will Transform Disaster Recovery Services

Tape-Based Recovery Services Are Going The Way Of The Dinosaur

by Stephanie Balaouras, July 24, 2009

Regardless of company size or industry, your business can't afford downtime, but it's hard to justify improving your disaster recovery (DR) capabilities when you're under pressure to cut IT costs and when DR is seen as an expensive insurance policy. There . . .