November 2009

This podcast covers how to deliver the impact and bang of process improvement without the traditional bloat usually associated with process improvement. Clay covers his framework for aligning an organization's BPM approach and strategic intent in order to improve business  processes and maximize profits.

http://a964.g.akamaitech.net/7/964/714/403ce13db7983f/www.forrester.com/imagesV2/uplmisc/Clay_Richardson__Forge_Your_Lean_Process_Improvement_Game_Plan.mp3

Why Mobile Is Hot

We’ve been talking about mobile for 13 years, but it’s finally found its true promise in 2009. Here’s why. (Links refer to Forrester reports, which may be read by clients; non-clients can still access the Executive Summaries).

1. Devices and Networks are up to speed in an unprecedented way.

  Most US/EU consumers have the ability today to engage in mobile data activities because of:

·     Smarter phones - “The Smartphone is dead,” because most handsets in EU/US have smart characteristics like cameras, music, and video. (See The Smartphone Is Dead).

·       Faster Networks – High-speed 3G wireless capability is growing rapidly: In the US, from 32% in 2008 to 46% in 2009 and 57% in 2010. Including 2.5G, 98% of phones in 2009 and 99% in 2010 have data capabilities. (See US Mobile Forecast 2009-2014).

Over the last few weeks, several Forrester IT sourcing clients have asked us to review and comment on special proposals from SAP that offer an attractive discount and contractual flexibility in return for a large, irrevocable, multi-year commitment. It appears that several SAP sales teams are trying to achieve their annual targets by enticing customers to place firm purchase orders (PO's) now for products and users that they won't need until 2011 or later. This could be a great opportunity for buyers to take advantage of SAP's tough year and get an exceptional deal on software they were going to buy anyway. However, there are risks from over-committing ahead of your roll-out plans, as I explained a couple of years ago in my report, Avoid The Hidden Costs Of Shelfware, which is still as valid today as it was when I wrote it.

The most obvious risk is that delays in the implementation process will mean the licenses you're forced to buy in years 2 and 3 will sit on the shelf for a while until you are ready to deploy them. Worse, you'll be paying maintenance on that shelfware, which could soon cost you more than the extra discount you got on the initial deal.

Sure, people trust Google to come out with cool technology. But do they trust Google with their data and their privacy? Many don’t. Worse, many fear what Google does or could do with the data it aggregates.

I’ll let Google itself tell the story. If you do a Google search on “Google” and “big brother” you’ll get a whopping 58.9 million hits. Doing the same for “Microsoft” and “big brother” yields only 7.1 million. Even more surprising, a search on “government” and “big brother” results in just 13.4 million hits. Using search results as a rough proxy: people are more than 4 times more concerned that Google, rather than the government, is amassing too much information about us.

I see a lot of parallels between Google today and Microsoft circa 1999. What security was to Microsoft (but to Microsoft’s credit, isn’t any longer), privacy is to Google: a looming threat of customer dissatisfaction that could result in a mass migration of users and their eyeballs away from Google’s applications and search engine. And the friction for such a diaspora from Google’s web-based services and add-on applications is far lower than from Microsoft’s Windows or Office.