forrester research

Forrester: What not to cut in this recession

Judi Hasson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:11:23 -0500

George Colony, founder and chief executive of Forrester Research, said in a recent interview with the New York Times that the current tech sector downturn will be different than the 2001-2003 slide. This time, he said, there are plenty of tech tools that are embedded in the system. That includes broadband adoption, cell phones and electronic commerce.

"Your customers are connected to you this way," he said. "You can't stop technology spending, like you could the last time. You risk losing customers."

Forecasts for technology spending are meaningless these days, he said. No one knows yet when the economy will reach bottom, and until the market shows signs of stabilizing, industry forecasts are pretty much off the mark. But the Obama administration, he said, should be good news for the technology industry because it's younger and more tech-savvy than the Bush administration.

For more on forecasting tech:
- check out the New York Times article

Are you ready to be an IT freelancer?

Judi Hasson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:53:43 -0400

If you are facing a possible layoff or are fearful of your job security, becoming an independent contractor or consultant may be something to consider. But it won't necessarily be easy. Research firm Staffing Industry Analysts projects zero growth in IT staffing this year and a contraction of five percent in 2009. Yet, some firms will hire skilled contractors to protect their company against uncertainty or because they can't afford a full time position.

InfoWorld.com notes that becoming an independent contractor requires an entrepreneurial drive and the willingness to work unpaid hours as your own sales and marketing department. It also means accepting the fact that jobs may come and go at a moment's notice, and that you have to file your own quarterly tax returns.

A Forrester Research study released earlier this year found that some IT skills are still in high demand. They include desktop virtualization experts, account managers, mobile operations and devices experts, and those involved in areas such as VoIP, software design, networking and systems administration, data warehousing, and Web 2.0 technologies.

For more on the changing job landscape:
- see this InfoWorld.com article

Tech firms weathering economic turmoil

Judi Hasson — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:05:39 -0400

The U.S. unemployment rate reached 6.1 percent last month, a five-year high as companies slashed 84,000 jobs. The Labor Department reported on a number of hard-hit sectors, including housing, the auto industry and retail, but technology more than held its own. "Overall technology employment is up in America and the wages associated with it are up," said John McCarthy, a vice president with Forrester Research.

The Labor Department said payrolls of computer and electronics manufacturers grew 5.1 percent from July to August. There also was a 6.3 percent increase in the work force of computer-systems designers and related services providers. Software vendors, whose products can help other companies automate processes and save money in downturns, also held up well.

Yet some companies are being cautious in hiring, and others have been feeling the economic squeeze and cutting back this year. They include chip manufacturing equipment maker Applied Materials Inc., phone maker Motorola Inc., and Yahoo.

For more on the economy:
- see this CIO Today article

Data security now accounts for 10 percent of IT operating budgets

Paul Mah — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:22:46 -0400

Companies are increasing their security budgets in response to growing concerns over the number and severity of data breaches, according to analyst Khalid Kark from Forrester Research. As a result, data security now averages 10 percent of overall IT operating budgets for 2008. Indeed, this figure represents an increase of 8 percent from last year. Furthermore, a survey of more than 1,200 security decision makers in the United States shows that 21 percent expect to increase their security-related budget in 2009; another 6 percent believes that their security spending will decrease. Kark notes that these figures are impressive numbers bearing the current economic climate in mind It certainly appears that CEOs and CIOs are starting to understand the importance of giving greater attention to security needs.

For more on this:
- check out this Network World article

Hot IT jobs CIOs should fill

Judi Hasson — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:11:23 -0400

Forrester Research has identified key IT roles that are critical to an organization's success that should be filled by CIOs. Sometimes this can mean IT workers taking on multiple responsibilities or filling hybrid positions.

"Near-term demand for hot roles in IT will be driven by the need for local and cross-discipline knowledge, changes in technology, greater emphasis on managing risk and the enterprise, and a limited supply of key roles," Forrester analysts Marc Cecere and Laurie Orlov wrote in an August research report.

What are the hot roles in IT? Some include information/data architects and information security experts; data or content-oriented business analysts, business architects, enterprise architects, and vendor-management experts. Other crucial jobs on the list include enterprise-application strategists and enterprise project managers.

For more hot IT needs:
- check out this NetworkWorld.com article

Good biz analyst worth his weight in gold

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

IT departments involved in projects including software development should never underestimate the importance of good business analysts. Carey Schwaber, a senior analyst of application development at Forrester Research, believes the best business analysts are corporate diplomats, savvy negotiators and skilled peacemakers who understand where the technical and business elements all fit.

"They are good at finding common ground; they are good at being objective," she said. "They are really looking at, oftentimes, conflicting needs from the business and from IT.''

She added that they are the key to making a project hum. But other times, she believes, a bad business analyst can be the "critical failure factor."

To read more about the successful formula:
- see this CIO.com article

How a strategic plan can sink

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Alex Cullen, of Forrester Research, has some tips--a kind of top 10 list--for CIOs who want develop an affective strategic plan. One key point, he says, is to create a blueprint for action, not just a stale document. If the strategic plan is about making new technology investments, it must detail the right staffing for that technology decision, the right processes for the technology and other factors crucial to carrying out the plan.

When the plan is presented to the company executives, it must show the business as well as the technology value of the IT changes, and not be overly long or unreadable. In addition, it must be focused, not just a mindless list of initiatives.

To learn more about strategic planning:
- see this searchcio.com article

Forrester predicts tech 'populism'

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

A new Forrester study says there will soon be a proliferation of "technology populism." That means that IT professionals will be rethinking how they currently evaluate, provide and support collective and collaborative software and services. Forrester says this change will increase the pressure to throw out the traditional methods by which technology is deployed. "Technology Populism is driven by people's needs to interact," said Forrester Research Principal Analyst Matthew Brown. "For many employees, the telephone and email are being replaced by text messaging, instant messaging, and mobile devices, such as iPhones and BlackBerrys, and Social Computing tools like Facebook and Wikipedia," Brown said. Is this true at your workplace? Let us know what is happening and what you think of this new trend in the comments.

For more on this trend:
- See this Fox Business article

Web 2.0 is here to stay

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

It's time for Web 2.0, whether you like it or not, according to Forrester Research. A new Forrester report predicted that half of the 42 percent of enterprises in a third-quarter survey that resisted the technology are now planning to invest in Web 2.0. That includes tools like wikis, RSS, blogs and social networks. "The IT shops that began experimenting with enterprise Web 2.0 tools for their own use in 2007--for tasks like help desk ticket resolution, standards and documentation tracking, and IT project management--will begin rolling out these tools more broadly to lines of business as they pass IT muster," the report said.

The report also predicted that CIOs will lower their resistance after seeing that employees want to use these tools very badly. So where does that leave the CIO? Better get your head out of the sand and roll with the punches because these tools are already making their mark on corporate culture. "Expect the adoption of social networking solutions for businesses to accelerate dramatically in 2008, with many firms looking for internal social networking solutions," Forrester said. "Nearly any vendor that uses the term 'social networking' will at least get some consideration."

For more on the Forrester report:
- See this ComputerWorld article

Analysts: IT needs to embrace Web 2.0

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

You've been hearing about Web 2.0 technology in the enterprise for what seems like ages but are your peers really rushing to deploy Web 2.0 tools? The answer might surprise you: according to a Q3 2007 survey by Forrester Research, some 42 percent of businesses are not planning to invest in Web 2.0. Despite this fact, Forrester predicts that half of those businesses will change their mind and decide to invest in Web 2.0 tools--like blogs, wikis and social networking applications--by the end of the year. "The IT shops that began experimenting with enterprise Web 2.0 tools for their own use in 2007 -- for tasks like help desk ticket resolution, standards and documentation tracking, and IT project management -- will begin rolling out these tools more broadly to lines of business as they pass IT muster," the report says. Will Web 2.0 tools really become business-critical or is this all just a bunch of warrant-less hype? Let us know what you think in the comments.

For more on Web 2.0 trends:
- see this Computerworld article