For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Looking Beyond Global Providers For SAP Services

Smaller Providers, Regional, And Industry Specialists Offer Strong Options

by Liz Herbert, November 10, 2009

Firms seeking SAP services expertise often ask if smaller, regional providers and industry specialists can fill their needs. Beyond the global multinational consultancies (MNCs) and leading offshore providers featured in The Forrester Wave™: SAP . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

The State Of Enterprise IT Services: 2009

Business Data Services North America And Europe

by Pascal Matzke, John C. McCarthy, November 6, 2009

As the global economic downturn continues to put pressure on IT budgets, companies are taking a variety of measures to get more value for the money spent on IT services. But unlike the last recession in 2001 to 2002, when outsourcing and offshoring benefitted . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Top Strategies To Ensure Continued Value From Offshore Services

by Sudin Apte, November 4, 2009

The vast majority of clients renegotiated rates in the past 12 months as a way to lower costs. However, this option isn't open to advanced offshore users that have already moved away from rate-card-based pricing, leaving these firms to ask what they can . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The State Of ERP 2009: Market Forces Drive Specialization, Consolidation, And Innovation

by Paul D. Hamerman, November 2, 2009

As the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software market struggles against an unprecedented tide of economic woes, strategic opportunities are surfacing for customers. Soft market conditions mean fewer deals for vendors and better deals for buyers of . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Oracle Services Providers, Q4 2009

IBM And Accenture Lead; Infosys, Oracle, and Deloitte Are Strongest In Key Areas

by Liz Herbert, October 30, 2009

In Forrester's 60-criteria evaluation of Oracle services providers, we found that IBM and Accenture led the pack because of the overall breadth and depth of their Oracle services resources across applications and industries, and the breadth of services . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

European Offshoring Shows Moderate Growth

by Sudin Apte, October 28, 2009

Offshoring of IT jobs from Europe shows signs of slow growth as firms try to cut costs. While the percentage of IT services that go offshore — especially from the non-UK market — is very small, Forrester's Enterprise IT Services Survey, North America . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Market Overview: PLM Deployment Support

New Offerings From Vendors And Service Providers Lower Implementation Hurdles

by Roy C. Wildeman, October 21, 2009

As companies pursue a more ambitious agenda for product life-cycle management (PLM), the complexity of their application deployments is on the rise, creating a host of new integration, data migration, and customization challenges for application development . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Assessing Your Onshore/Offshore Staffing Ratios

Shifting More Staff Offshore Drives More Savings Than 5% To 10% Rate Reductions

by John C. McCarthy, October 13, 2009

With the economic collapse and the sudden downturn in IT budgets, we have seen a large spike in the number of inquiries from clients asking about the best mix of onshore versus offshore staff at their global delivery model suppliers. Based on more than . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Enterprise Mobility Year In Review

Analysis Of Mobility Press Announcements Identify Key Vendor Opportunities

by Michele Pelino, October 7, 2009

An analysis of publicly available enterprise mobility announcements between mid-2008 through mid-2009 highlight opportunities for vendors in the mobility ecosystem, including device manufacturers, network operators, application developers, systems integrators, . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Tata Consultancy Services: Using The Downturn To Reposition Its IT M&A Services

M&A Services SWOT Analysis: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Q4 2009

by Daniel Krauss, Pascal Matzke, October 6, 2009

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has primarily focused on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) IT requirements of clients in the financial services industry for many years. Backed by its strong IT system and process knowledge and experience, it has mainly . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Best Practices For Selecting And Managing Your Oracle Implementation Provider

Lessons Learned From Oracle Implementation Providers' Clients

by Liz Herbert, September 18, 2009

Forrester surveyed 139 Oracle implementation client references and found that Oracle implementation services buyers were most satisfied with technical expertise and pricing transparency, but rated their providers lower on the effectiveness of their methodology . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

In Hard Economic Times, Technology Companies Must Make Implementation The Priority

by Tom Grant, Ph.D., September 15, 2009

As the current recession continues, and technology buyers keep a keen eye on total costs, missing or poorly defined implementation capabilities can stop new purchases short. Technology vendors must put implementation program design and execution high . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Update: European Systems Integrators Up Their Investments In Green IT Services

by Christopher Mines, September 14, 2009

European systems integrators (SIs) Getronics, Orange Business Services, and Siemens IT Solutions and Services are stepping up their efforts to build consulting and implementation practices helping clients plan and implement green IT programs. These investments . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Why Do You Need Tier Two Providers? (And You Do Need Them!)

Understanding The Specialization Value Tier Two Providers Can Offer

by Sudin Apte, September 8, 2009

Many clients today are looking to add one or two midsize IT service providers to their current portfolios of top offshore companies. But the offshore midmarket is full of confusion — it includes a crowd of 300-plus players, and almost 90% of them look . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

The Tier One Middleware Vendors

A SWOT Analysis Of The Leading Business Process Platform Vendors: IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, And SAP

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., September 4, 2009

The four largest traditional software vendors — IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP — compete around business process platform software. This broader software segment covers all the components that independent software vendors (ISVs) need to create a packaged . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Ten-Point Checklist For Assessing Eurocentric IT Partnerships For Global Delivery  (36 KB XLS)

by Euan Davis, September 1, 2009

Euro-centric IT services partnerships will grow as India’s pure-plays seek deeper penetration for their application expertise and local providers respond to client demands for cheaper IT service delivery. In this checklist, Forrester assumes that local . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Q&A: The Value Of TEM Solutions In A Recession

Telecom Expense Management Cuts Costs In Challenging Economic Times

by Phil Sayer, August 28, 2009

Telecom expense management (TEM) solutions aren't new, but with IT budgets and headcount under the microscope they are getting more attention as organizations look for quick wins and to gain greater visibility and control over costs. With telecom expenses . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Outsourcing SAP Operations Expands With Economic Uncertainty

by Bill Martorelli, Liz Herbert, August 17, 2009

Continuing economic pressures are contributing to the new popularity of outsourcing services for SAP operational services, complementing the large, well-established market for implementation services. Diverse offerings now coexist within the marketplace, . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

Assessing Your European Service Provider's Partnering Strategy For Global Delivery

European Sourcing Teams Need To Understand How GDM Partnerships Get Implemented

by Euan Davis, August 11, 2009

Offshore service propositions are filtering down to the European market as local IT service providers partner with India's pure-plays. Each needs the other in a symbiotic relationship fueled by Indian scale and European revenue growth. Sourcing groups . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Understanding Today's Demand For IT Services

Project Work Is Down But Has Growth Potential; IT Outsourcing Is Just Weak

by Tim Sheedy, Andrew Bartels, August 11, 2009

The IT services market is behaving peculiarly in this tech downturn. While project-based IT consulting and systems integration work is now falling, it: 1) held up remarkably well until Q4 2008; 2) is down less than other categories of IT spending; and . . .

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: SAP Implementation Providers, Q3 2009

Accenture and IBM Lead As The Landscape Continues To Evolve

by Liz Herbert, August 10, 2009

In Forrester's 60-criteria evaluation of SAP implementation providers, we found that Accenture and IBM led the pack because of the breadth and depth of their SAP implementation capabilities. Both of these firms are strong across a wide range of industries, . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

IT Services: Banking And Insurance Services Budget Data  (542 KB PPT)

by Ellen Carney, August 6, 2009

A data chart on IT services banking and insurance budget data.

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

How Do Service Providers Blend Global Delivery For European Clients?

by Euan Davis, August 6, 2009

IT process maturity and robust service management structures allow firms to aggressively leverage offshore resources through their provider's global delivery model. But many European firms need a staggered, blended approach to global delivery. Large international . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

IT Services: Banking And Insurance Service Provider Selection And Satisfaction Data  (546 KB PPT)

by Ellen Carney, August 6, 2009

Data chart on IT services banking and insurance service provider selection and satisfaction data.

For Sourcing & Vendor Management Professionals

How Europeans Tune Global IT Service Delivery Models

Deal-Makers Hedge Offshore Risk With Blended Models

by Euan Davis, August 5, 2009

The IT services industry in Europe continues to mature, with global delivery strategies superseding traditional offshore approaches. First, movers with standard IT process models configured for sourcing maturity fully exploited global delivery; now, a . . .