• The focus is still on BYOD rather than BYOT.  The proliferation of mobile devices is changing the BYOD landscape in China. More companies are allowing their employees to bring their own mobile devices, not just for cost savings, but also for productivity and anytime, anywhere work. However, only a few companies realized the trend of bring-your-own-technology, including software and mobile apps, with just 8 respondents allowing self-purchased software on PCs and mobile devices. This finding supported our observation that many Chinese organizations are still playing on the BYOD field rather than BYOT.  In fact, in my conversations with SMEs, I’ve found they seldom realize it is necessary to manage applications on these devices used for business, or they simply do not want to manage them. Some SMEs also don’t buy the necessary business applications for their employees and adopt a “don’t-ask, don't-tell” policy on employee's use of pirated software. 

Yesterday afternoon, I moderated a panel on the role the IT department can play in the business's employee engagement efforts. Any follower of this blog knows that this is a topic I've talked about a lot lately (see previous posts here and here) because hiring, developing and retaining talented and productive employees is critical in the Age of the Customer. The panelists were Ed Flahive, Vice President Global Learning & Development at State Street, Mike Peterson, CIO and Vice President at CHG Healthcare Services, and Ray Velez, Chief Technology Officer at Razorfish. As you've probably observed, this was an eclectic group, representing human resources, IT and client delivery groups respectively. Well, that was on purpose. This topic requires perspectives from both business leaders and technologists. Having had 24 hours to think about that discussion, I thought I would share a few a-ha's I had from my conversation with these gentlemen:

Yesterday, BMC Software announced that has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by a private investor group led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital together with GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd (“GIC”) and Insight Venture Partners (collectively, the “Investor Group”).

Under the terms of the agreement, affiliates of the Investor Group will acquire all outstanding BMC common stock for $46.25 per share in cash, or approximately $6.9 billion.

This is one of the largest M&A operations in a long time. Significantly, it has been prepared for quite some time, which culminated in a restructuring a month ago, by which the five product groups operating under BMC Software became one. Instead of having several categories reporting their gains (or losses) we have now one happy family where the gain of one member balances the loss of another. We have also a unique opportunity to have these former product lines working together for a better integration of BMC Software solutions with a corollary prospect of having more R&D investments in previously “weak” categories. Being free of the short term mandatory “good results to satisfy the street” will also participate in building a better BMC Software.

Although fourth quarter results were below the Street expectation by a hair (-$.06 per share and -.04% in Revenue), BMC Software bookings grew 14% from a year ago, with an encouraging result for ESM which was up 9% from a year ago.

Over the past ten years, BMC Software has made its mark on the IT Management Software (ITMS) market, and is today only second to CA Technologies. From what we can see, the privatization of BMC Software provides an opportunity to invest into the future of ITMS and to become a serious contender for first place in the years to come.

It’s been a busy few weeks since we published “The Forrester Wave: Web Content Management for Digital Customer Experience, Q2 2013,” in which we assess the technical capabilities and strategic direction of 10 WCM solutions.

A question I hear frequently from Forrester clients:  “Which WCM is the best for our organization?” My nearly universal response: “Tell me your priorities.”

Rarely is there one “best WCM” that meets all of a firm’s objectives for web content management and digital experience, so let’s dispel that myth right now. Instead, it’s a trade-off where your specific requirements should influence your investigation, direct you to a shortlist, and help you make an informed choice.

The WCM Wave Report (and the accompanying Excel with detailed product capabilities) is a powerful tool to help enterprise buyers compare solutions. It’s helpful only if you have some idea of the problems you’re trying to solve and the strategic opportunities you need to focus on.

Priorities matter. Or, more accurately, your priorities matter. Your priorities are different than those of the company across the street. It’s a big and confusing market, too. Although we cover 10 WCM solutions in the Wave, there are many additional viable solutions.

Rising digital customer expectations advances in technology, and continued digital disruption threats from outside the industry will change the game for banks and credit unions.  2013 will be a pivotal year for eBusiness and channel strategy executives to start planning for the next generation of digital banking to both stay relevant to digital customers and thwart disruptors determined to take over those customer relationships.

In my new report, titled "Trends 2013: Five Trends Shaping The Next Generation Of North American Digital Banking," I explore the trends that will power next generation of services that are simple, ubiquitous, empowering, and reassuring.  Here are the key takeaways:

• Customers' digital financial expectations are high.  With the proliferation of digital devices, consumers are highly connected to their financial providers. And with adoption of each new device comes higher expectations of those providers, especially among the younger generations. Get it wrong and you risk losing their loyalty.
• Our app-driven world will require flexible and extensible digital platforms. Creating a durable competitive advantage, one that can't easily be copied, includes a move to open platforms. An open platform strategy will allow financial firms to use third-party providers to create app solutions that will create differentiation through a personalized user experience and segment-specific capabilities.