Forrester Blogs › Category: DX

Steak over Sizzle: Getting the Most Out of the Web Content Management Wave

Posted by David Aponovich on the Application Development & Delivery Professionals Blog on April 11, 2013

David Aponovich

Since we published “The Forrester Wave: Web Content Management for Digital Customer Experience, Q2 2013,” we’ve been talking about our findings with our clients, who frequently ask, “How does WCM Wave research apply to me, and how can I properly evaluate the products in the market based on our needs?” 

The answer (without irony): “It depends.” Requirements vary and will affect your path to a solution. Reaching a solid decision can be challenging. 

So to help our clients get the most benefit from Forrester’s 2013 WCM Wave, here’s some additional guidance based on what works and how you can get the most out of our WCM Wave report.

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Forrester Wave: Digital Experience, The New King Of Web Content Management

Posted by David Aponovich on the Application Development & Delivery Professionals Blog on April 8, 2013

David Aponovich

Not long ago, digital marketers lived by the rule “Content is king!”

Today, what matters is what you do with that content and your digital channels. In 2013, digital experience (DX) is king, so it’s imperative that you deliver interactions that are personal, contextual, and multichannel. We’re talking websites, mobile, social, email, and kiosks — with Google Glass and more coming soon.

Firms need the right technology in place so IT and marketing pros can deliver on this big vision if they intend to differentiate via digital.  But let’s be frank: This is a complex challenge, and many companies are a long way from solving it.

There’s good news if you’re trying to crack this nut, however. Our newly published report, “The Forrester Wave™: Web Content Management For Digital Customer Experience, Q2 2013,” shows that the current crop of web content management solutions is laser-focused on supporting the DX mandate.

Our report provides IT, business, and marketing pros a deep look at 10 providers of web content management (WCM) solutions — Adobe Systems, Acquia, Ektron, HP Autonomy, IBM, Microsoft, OpenText, Oracle, SDL, and Sitecore. We analyzed solutions across 100 criteria, reviewed extensive product demos, and spoke with dozens of WCM vendor customers. We heard the good, the bad, and the ugly of WCM use in the field. And, for the first time, Forrester’s WCM Wave looks at an open source platform (Drupal), through the lens of Acquia, a for-profit company that supports Drupal.

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Demands of a cross-channel world

Posted by David Aponovich on the Application Development & Delivery Professionals Blog on February 8, 2013

David Aponovich

This blog post originally appeared on destinationCRM. 

Enterprise technology buyers are moving rapidly to adopt strategies and software to support digital experience (DX) initiatives. And with good reason: Forrester research shows that one of the last remaining areas for differentiation is the ability to provide compelling, engaging user experiences through digital channels. Your customers demand it, and your competition is probably already there (or well on their way).

The road to get there is replete with challenges covering the gamut of people, processes,  and technology. For technology buyers seeking to adopt DX tools and technologies, it’s a vast but immature market.

Application development and delivery pros, often on the front lines, face a proliferation of legacy and new technology to manage, engage, and measure customer experiences through digital channels—we’re talking Web sites, mobile channels, and many other digital touchpoints.

Here’s a truism: These professionals frequently encounter systems that don’t live up to their promises. They may be too old or inflexible to support rapidly changing requirements. Tech vendors add to the confusion. Some deliver all-encompassing DX suites, which have varying degrees of successful integration. Others provide pointed solutions that may deliver one part of the DX equation well, but rely on integration with third-party systems to provide a full solution.

The challenge for DX professionals is to determine how best to assess, choose, integrate, and apply the right software solutions to meet strategic DX imperatives. Easier said than done, right?

Look at Seven Main Technology Categories

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WCM And Digital Experience Projects: Like Snowflakes, Each A Little Different

Posted by David Aponovich on the Application Development & Delivery Professionals Blog on November 5, 2012

David Aponovich

In a recent post, I shot down the myth that you can predict the ratio between web content management license cost and implementation services. (You can read the post here, but the summary is: There is no standard ratio. Like snowflakes, every WCM implementation and digital experience project has its own unique … personality, and cost. It’s not only about the technology.)

But for any application development professional who sources and implements these systems and strategies, you (or your friends in marketing) will inevitably get put on the spot by the person holding the wallet. Their question, “What’s this going to cost us, all-in?” is hard to answer. And no exec wants to hear, “I don’t know.”

We can provide a recipe for turning this question in a productive discussion that lets budget holders understand the Great Unknowns that accompany digital projects.   

Costs can balloon for many reasons on a WCM or DX project. Below are just a few reasons in the form of questions. Use them early on in the project/process to educate key stakeholders on the true costs of WCM- or digital-related work – the levers that get pushed and pulled, affecting cost, timeline, and outcomes. It may be your best defense when the money people start asking questions.

  • Who’s leading your WCM- or digital experience-related services? Will you spend internal IT staff time or money on external agency partners getting something built?
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