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ERP Investment Remains On Track
While many areas of IT investment are restrained, investment in enterprise resource planning systems appears to be holding up well in relative terms. This Research Byte shows businesses are continuing to spend money on upgrading and enhancing their ERP systems.
May, 2014
Driving Healthcare Efficiency through Transformational Sourcing
The signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law in 2010 along with subsequent provisions and amendments taking into effect from 2011 to 2013 marked a complete transformation of the U.S healthcare eco-system. The ACA represents a landmark moment that has affected the entire healthcare community, including citizens, businesses, healthcare payers & insurance companies and healthcare providers (hospitals, clinics, and physicians).
April, 2014
Revolutionizing Customer Experiences Through SMAC
The relationship between consumers and enterprises has never been as intrigued as in the 21st century. As digital technologies augmented by SMAC are creating new touch points for enterprises to awe their consumers, we are witnessing the evolution in consumer experiences. Social, mobility, analytics, and cloud are the nexus of forces, which will reshape how consumers experience a brand.
April, 2014
The Future of BPO: How Human Cloud and Infrastructure Cloud are changing the Game
The Human Cloud and the Cloud infrastructure are defining a new alternative to the traditional BPO services in various key segments of work. It is fast changing the dynamics of how the BPO industry has been operating. Service providers, in order to differentiate and avoid the commoditization penalty, will need to invest in this transformative model to stay competitive.
April, 2014
Application Maintenance Outsourcing Reaches New Normal
A little more than half of all IT organizations outsource application maintenance work today in what appears to be a new normal in the outsourcing frequency rate for these services following the post-recession recovery cycle. In this Research Byte, we present the five-year trend in the frequency of application maintenance outsourcing.
April, 2014
IT Management Headcount Dependent on Staff Size
Over the past five years, the ratio of IT managers to IT staff has remained relatively steady, fluctuating within a 1.4 percentage point range. While larger organizations will have slightly more managers per IT staff member than smaller organizations, this Research Byte shows that the number of managers an organization needs to run an efficient IT operation overall appears directly related to the size of the IT staff.
April, 2014
IT Management Staffing Ratios 2014
This study examines the question of how many managers a well-run IT organization requires and presents staffing metrics for IT managers as well as two administrative support functions: IT finance/vendor management and clerical support. To benchmark IT management, we use two metrics: IT managers as a percentage of the IT staff and users per IT manager. We provide metrics for small, midsize, and large organizations. To provide further perspective, we consider the five-year trend in IT managers as an average percentage of the IT staff. We also report metrics for IT finance and clerical staff. (16 pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
April, 2014
What Fiori Means to SAP and Its Customers
Over the past several months, a debate has been raging about whether SAP should offer its new user apps, collectively called Fiori, at no charge to customers under its maintenance program. This Research Byte summarizes the arguments, including factors not often recognized, along with recommendations on what SAP should do in its own best interest and what it all means for SAP customers.
April, 2014
Many IT Service Catalogs Fall Short
Over the past several years, nearly everything written about IT service management mentions the need for a service catalog. The service catalog is, in fact, a foundational element of IT service mangement. Organizations looking to implement best practices in their delivery of IT services need to ensure that all stakeholders have a basic understanding of this important concept. This Research Byte describes the contents of our report on the subject.
April, 2014
The Whats and Whys of the IT Service Catalog
The IT service catalog is a foundational element of IT service management. Organizations looking to implement best practices in their delivery of IT services need to ensure that all stakeholders have a basic understanding of this important concept. This report explains the concepts of the IT service catalog and why it is an essential part of IT service management. It also provides practical recommendations for implementation of a service catalog. (13 pp., 2 fig.) [Research Byte]
April, 2014
Positive Experience Drives Steady Growth in IT Security Outsourcing
Although IT security outsourcing is not practiced by the majority of organizations, those organizations that do outsource IT security work find that it greatly improves service levels. This Research Byte reviews the IT security outsourcing profile.
April, 2014
Enterprise Architecture Remains Immature Practice
More and more organizations are adopting IT Enterprise Architecture, but this Research Byte shows that this IT management best practice remains at an immature level. The practice rate and level are low, despite the tangible benefits.
April, 2014
IT Security Outsourcing Trends and Customer Experience 2014
The use of IT security outsourcing services has been rising steadily, if modestly. In this study, we present data on the five-year trend in IT security outsourcing. We determine how many organizations outsource IT security (frequency), how much of the workload is typically outsourced (level), and the change in the amount of work being outsourced (trend). We also measure the cost experience and service experience of companies that outsource this function, and determine how outsourcing activity and experience vary by organization size and sector. (16 pp., 8 fig.) [Research Byte]
April, 2014
Enterprise Architecture Adoption and Best Practices 2014
The term “enterprise architecture” has been around since at least 1982, but the practice today is not widely adopted. Only about half of all IT organizations are developing and maintaining an enterprise architecture. Interest, however, is high and the practice is growing. In this study, we will examine how many organizations have adopted enterprise architecture, how many adopters have fully embraced the practice, and how many organizations are likely to adopt the practice in the future. We conclude with an assessment of the various approaches to enterprise architecture and recommendations on best practices. (12 pp., 4 fig.) [Research Byte]
April, 2014
CRM Adoption Trends and Customer Experience 2014
This study analyzes the market forces that are driving the increased popularity of CRM systems today. We show the three-year trend in CRM adoption and investment rates, with a breakdown by sector, organization size, and geography. We also measure customer experience in terms of the success rates for return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO). Finally, we assess CRM investment levels for new implementations and improvements to existing systems. We wrap up with our recommendations for improving the ROI of CRM. (17 pp., 12 fig.) [Research Byte]
April, 2014