ERP, SCM and CRM: Suites Define the Packaged Application Market

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "ERP, SCM and CRM: Suites Define the Packaged Application Market"

Transcription

1 Research Publication Date: 25 July 2008 ID Number: G ERP, SCM and CRM: Suites Define the Packaged Application Market Yvonne Genovese, Jeff Woods, James Holincheck, Nigel Rayner, Michael Maoz Users interested in ERP are often seeking integrated functionality, evaluating traditional ERP-specific processes (such as finance) or using ERP as a short-cut name for business applications. Gartner often finds the latter to be an issue for users because packages available on the market today may not meet business requirements in industry or horizontal functionality. This research explores how the business applications market has expanded beyond ERP into focusing on business application suites. Users selecting or deploying packaged applications should understand the expanded definition of suites, of which ERP is only one instance, and how vendor suite strategies differ, and then incorporate it into their application strategies. Key Findings Packaged application suites are collections of integrated application functionality that solve a specific business need. Suites provide process, function, and data integration for one or more systems of record within an enterprise. Suites may be provided on a single application architecture and provide a consistent interaction model for users, but this is not consistent across all suites and all vendors. Some vendors acquire functionality that becomes part of the suite offering, but may not be tightly integrated (and may even exist on a separate technology platform). There are a range of viable suite-based options, and a view of the full-spectrum of suitebased offerings from CRM to supply chain management (SCM) to product life cycle management (PLM). Recommendations ERP suites may only meet a small part of your enterprise's need, and many other types of suites have emerged to encompass user needs from other organization areas. Users seem to look for ERP that: has integration ability; has traditional ERP-specific processes; and is a short-cut name for integrated business applications or suites. Users should understand their needs for process integrity across a range of functionality. Matching this to vendors' current suite offerings and the strategies for vendors' suites is important to creating a successful application strategy. Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Although Gartner's research may discuss legal issues related to the information technology business, Gartner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 ANALYSIS The concept of tightly integrated, packaged application functionality is often associated with ERP because of the original definition of ERP. But 18 years ago, when the term ERP was first coined by Gartner, there was much less functionality available via packaged applications, and integration of the functionality was not as complex as it is today. As functionality available in packaged applications has grown, the need for more-extensive integration between processes has also grown well beyond what many ERP solutions provide in functional breadth and depth. Business and IT users often have an increasing thirst for integrated processes provided by vendors and, therefore, the notion of a complete suite that meets all the functional and process needs of an enterprise offered in a preintegrated suite continues to be the holy grail of packaged applications. Multiple application suites, such as SCM, PLM, CRM, supplier relationship management (SRM), human capital management (HCM) and corporate performance management (CPM), have emerged that often have similar integration capabilities as ERP suites integration of functionality, processes and data, targeted to solve a specific business requirement but with different target audiences. The nature of suites and the need for suites will continue to grow, but with so many types of suites available, and often with similar or overlapping functional elements, the risk for users in making the right "suite" decisions for their business needs has also increased. As the notion of suites has developed across these additional functional areas, several issues have emerged: The level of integration and process integrity within a suite and across suites differs by vendor, and even within a vendor across multiple suite offerings. Suites can often overlap in functionality even when sourcing from the same vendor. Vendor commitments of additional functionality within the suite, target markets of the suite, integration in the suite or across suites, and maintaining technology that supports the suite varies by suite and by vendor. Misunderstanding the need for process integration, a vendor's suite strategy (functional breadth and depth, integration, process integrity and technology) or not understanding that the vendor strategy is subject to change at any time can lead to unfortunate complexities, costs and lack of process integrity. Many enterprises made suite decisions (such as with ERP) so long ago that the processes defined in the applications have become synonymous with enterprise business processes. Because users believed that the suite would continue to grow to meet their demands, every upgrade has resulted in a greater dependency on the vendor and its definition of suite functionality and integration. Therefore, changing from one vendor's suite to another has significant costs when it comes to changing the processes, training the people and the technology. The end result is that inertia has taken precedence over ensuring that an enterprise has the packaged application solution that meets its needs. Understanding Packaged Application Suites Packaged application suites are collections of integrated application functionality that automate related business processes that share common master data. Suites provide process, function and data integration for several systems of record within an enterprise. A system of record maintains information about business activities and is validated as well as auditable (for example, posting a general ledger transaction, recording a new sales opportunity or following a customer order from entry to fulfillment). Publication Date: 25 July 2008/ID Number: G Page 2 of 7

3 Suites may be provided on a single application architecture and provide a consistent interaction model for users, but this is not consistent across all suites and among all vendors. When vendors acquire functionality, they will often claim that it is part of the suite, but it may have tight integration to the rest of the vendor's suite(s). It may even exist on a separate technology platform. In many cases, different types of suites can have overlapping functionality or responsibilities as the authoritative system of record. What distinguishes one type of suite from another is not a strict functional boundary, but rather it is the bundle of functionality and centricity of design around common elements. Examples of different types of suites are: ERP suites HCM suites Financial management suites CRM suites SCM suites Industry-focused suites It is important to note that these are not the only suites; other suites, such as marketing relationship management, PLM and supply chain execution, exist in the market and should be considered as part of the analysis of suites. ERP Suites The goal of an ERP suite is to enable adequate planning for the use of traditionally back-office enterprise resources to meet customer demand and report financial results to constituents. Gartner sees two categories of ERP suites: operational ERP suites and administrative ERP suites. The primary systems of record managed by ERP suites are the financial record and the inventory record, but customer, purchase order and sales order masters are also typically maintained in an ERP suite. ERP suites are often the "suite of suites," combining financial suites, HCM suites, manufacturing suites and/or inventory management suites. Although many enterprise application suites may concern themselves with inventory and financial records, the essential and defining element of an ERP suite is that the financial record update is tied to value-added operational transactions. Because people are also enterprise resources, the employee may be included as an ERP suite's system of record. Where these value-added operational transactions are tied to financial entries, Gartner refers to this as an operational ERP. We also refer to ERP deployments in which only administrative functions, HR, finance and procurement are deployed without direct links from operational transactions to these administrative functions as administrative ERP deployments. The user target for ERP suites operational and administrative is often the CFO (or anyone in the financial department) or the head of HR. Operations departments that manage inventory or fulfill demand can also be targets of operational ERP suites. The breadth of ERP suites also associates them with tightly integrated functionality, meaning that the vendor has eliminated the need for IT to integrate multiple pieces of functionality within the suite. This can result in lower IT costs and, therefore, an additional target for ERP suites is the CIO. Publication Date: 25 July 2008/ID Number: G Page 3 of 7

4 HCM Suites There are multiple levels of HCM suites. At the highest level is the HCM suite itself. It would manage the employee (or, more appropriately, person, since a contingent worker could be managed in an HCM suite) system of record. There are three subsuites that underlie the HCM suite: a core HR management system (HRMS) suite, a talent management application suite and a workforce management suite. The core HRMS suite encompasses personnel, benefits and payroll administration functionality, and manages the employee demographic data (the heart of the employee system of record). It is the source of employee (person) data for all other applications, including the other HCM-related suites. HR administrative users are the primary user target (with employee self-service targeting employees and manager self-service targeting managers, but administered by HR). The talent management application suite includes functionality to manage performance and compensation. It is not typically the system of record for employee demographic data (although sometimes it is used to consolidate data from multiple core HRMS solutions), but it is often the system of record for talent data because the data structure in the core HRMS suite may not be rich enough (see "Unlocking the Strategic Value From Talent Management Application Investments"). The workforce management suite includes labor scheduling, time and attendance, leave management and task/activity management (in certain industries) functionality. The primary user targets for this suite are the payroll department (this suite provides the necessary inputs into payroll) and operations (this suite provides the raw data for labor cost management). Financial Management Suites The system of record for financial management suites is the general ledger, and the target audience is the finance department and CFO. These applications provide visibility into an enterprise's financial position through automation and process support for any activity that has a financial impact. These applications also provide financial reporting data as needed by local and international regulations. The core of any financial application suite is the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable and fixed assets. In addition, financial application suites may include "extended" financial functionality, including project accounting, treasury and cash management, commitment and budgetary control, and purchasing (which includes accounts payable and commitment management functionality processes in a simple procure-to-pay solution, but it does not include advanced procurement functionality, such as strategic sourcing). CRM Suites The system of record for CRM suites is the customer. Customer data integration systems are usually required to create the single view of the customer across three primary types of CRM suites the marketing relationship management suite, sales suite and customer service suite. The reality (although not the idea) of a CRM suite failed to succeed as larger vendors (such as SAP, Oracle and Infor) bought the core functional components for sales automation, customer service and marketing. Because customer strategies are highly customized by industry and geography, users are more likely to acquire a sales suite to manage the activity around a prospect/customer; a marketing suite to build campaigns to attract customers or understand customer needs; or a customer service suite to help clients with issues around enterprise products or services. Within each of these areas, the suite is integrated to serve a specific type of user who is focused on sales, marketing or customer service functions. In the sales suite, the user is the salesperson or sales executive. In the marketing suite, it's anyone in the marketing department. And in the customer service suite, it's anyone who provides service to enterprise customers as well as Publication Date: 25 July 2008/ID Number: G Page 4 of 7

5 Web self-service. In all cases, the customer remains the organizing principle around which a customer record is designed. SCM Suites In an SCM suite, the primary system of record is inventory, shipment orders and the supply chain plans. These systems of record are brought together to construct a view of the flow of goods throughout the multienterprise supply chain, and the ability of the supply chain to meet anticipated customer demand, rather than focusing on the costing of materials at any particular stationary point. These systems may reference customer or financial information, but they are not typically systems of record for this information. This suite typically spans the functions of sales and operations planning (S&OP), product performance management, operational supply chain planning, warehouse management, some order management (after the order is taken), transportation management and international trade management. The link to financials and costing within the enterprise is secondary to flexibility and the ability to traverse enterprise boundaries to accomplish supply chain objectives. That is, the trade-off between transactional financial integrity and functionality flexibility is most acutely seen in ERP, limiting the scope of functionality to within the enterprise; however, an SCM suite more easily facilitates interactions with other enterprises. The target is the supply chain manager, COO or other individuals associated with logistics. Industry-Focused Suites In several industries, business application suite strategies are emerging, and further research will detail how enterprise application suites in these industries will emerge. Examples of industryfocused suites are retail store systems, insurance billing, manufacturing execution suites and patient care suites in healthcare. Not all suites and vendors' suite strategies share the same strategy for process integrity and integration. Process integrity is comprised of process, data, interaction and integration integrity (see "Introducing Process Integrity: Critical to Business Applications, SOA Compositions and Processes"). Integration among these elements in a suite can vary dramatically by vendor. Understanding your integration needs within these elements will help in evaluating vendor offerings. Suites with tight integration have often been characterized as having inflexible processes, but low IT cost (because the vendor is packaging the integration); while suites with loose integration are often characterized as having flexible processes but higher costs, because users have to build and maintain their own integration. This blanket statement is often too generic and doesn't consider all the elements in evaluating suites. A few general types of suites have emerged each with its own way of managing process integrity through differing architectural foundational models. Users can use these as a general guide to the types and characteristics of available suites. Publication Date: 25 July 2008/ID Number: G Page 5 of 7

6 Table 1. Types of Suites Process Integrity Architectural Foundation Benefits Risks Engineered Suites Single or common system of record across an entire suite of tightly integrated functionality. Process models are generally implicit (meaning defined by the vendor), requiring the user to change his or her process flows to the vendor-defined flows; in some cases, processes can be flexible in the boundaries provided by the vendor. Single architectural foundation across a broad set of functionality. Common user interface and data management across suite functionality; when integration is required to the suite, it is usually easier and less costly because of the single master or system-ofrecord data. Process and data integrity is provided across a range of suite elements. Vendorprovided integration lowers IT costs; vendor maintains the process through upgrade cycles and in future enhancements. Lack of modularity forces large implementation/ upgrade cycles; high vendor lockin. Functionality provided in this type of suite is more limited because the increase in functional scope increases complexity for the vendor and user. Synchronized Suites Multiple systems of record with synchronization provided and maintained by the vendor; process models are likely implicit, but with boundaries at the edge of a module. The architecture may vary by module, but the vendor provides an overlay of a common architecture to maintain consistent process and data flows. Modular functionality enables users implementation and upgrade flexibility, while maintaining process and data flow consistency; vendor-provided integration lowers IT costs. Edge of integration among modules may not match user requirements; easy to "break" vendor integration; decreased vendor lock-in, but only if you break process integrity. Vendor-Branded or Best-of-Breed Suites Source: Gartner (July 2008) Multiple and overlapping systems of record; little or no integration or process integrity; some process flow and data integrity may be provided by the vendor, but the balance requires a do-ityourself integration model. Multiple architectural foundations among modules/suites in the branded suite likely will not have common processes or data flow. Modularity provides flexibility in implementing and upgrading; individual suites within a branded suite may have broad and/or deep functionality (usually associated with industry functionality). Do-it-yourself integration usually associated with a higher or unanticipated IT cost; overlapping systems of record and lack of process integrity unless usermaintained. The need to understand the business requirements for integration, process integrity, process flexibility and IT productivity will become more, not less, complex as new technologies and deployment models emerge in the packaged application market. Vendors are beginning to make Publication Date: 25 July 2008/ID Number: G Page 6 of 7

7 suites even more complex by bundling middleware and user productivity suites into their offerings (Oracle Fusion Middleware is bundled with its solutions, NetWeaver is bundled with SAP solutions, and Office and.net technologies are bundled with Microsoft solutions). High costs of moving to next-generation technologies and the saturation of users who are deploying packaged applications have pushed the overall market of packaged applications toward consolidation. Consolidation will continue; and as it does, vendor suite strategies will continue to be adjusted. Understand your need for suites, and build your own suite strategy and match it to vendors' suites strategies. REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS Corporate Headquarters 56 Top Gallant Road Stamford, CT U.S.A European Headquarters Tamesis The Glanty Egham Surrey, TW20 9AW UNITED KINGDOM Asia/Pacific Headquarters Gartner Australasia Pty. Ltd. Level 9, 141 Walker Street North Sydney New South Wales 2060 AUSTRALIA Japan Headquarters Gartner Japan Ltd. Aobadai Hills, 6F 7-7, Aobadai, 4-chome Meguro-ku, Tokyo JAPAN Latin America Headquarters Gartner do Brazil Av. das Nações Unidas, andar World Trade Center São Paulo SP BRAZIL Publication Date: 25 July 2008/ID Number: G Page 7 of 7

The Hype Around an Integrated Talent Management Suite Outpaces Customer Adoption

The Hype Around an Integrated Talent Management Suite Outpaces Customer Adoption Research Publication Date: 3 February 2009 ID Number: G00164356 The Hype Around an Integrated Talent Management Suite Outpaces Customer Adoption James Holincheck Gartner surveyed 123 customer references

More information

The Lack of a CRM Strategy Will Hinder Health Insurer Growth

The Lack of a CRM Strategy Will Hinder Health Insurer Growth Industry Research Publication Date: 15 October 2008 ID Number: G00162107 The Lack of a CRM Strategy Will Hinder Health Insurer Growth Joanne Galimi The Gartner 2008 healthcare payer application survey

More information

Deliver Process-Driven Business Intelligence With a Balanced BI Platform

Deliver Process-Driven Business Intelligence With a Balanced BI Platform Research Publication Date: 12 April 2006 ID Number: G00139377 Deliver Process-Driven Business Intelligence With a Balanced BI Platform Kurt Schlegel To enable process-driven business intelligence, IT organizations

More information

Research. Key Issues for Software as a Service, 2009

Research. Key Issues for Software as a Service, 2009 Research Publication Date: 6 February 2009 ID Number: G00164873 Key Issues for Software as a Service, 2009 Robert P. Desisto, Ben Pring As organizations' capital budgets dry up, clients evaluating SaaS

More information

Cost Optimization: Three Steps to Saving Money on Maintenance and Support for Network Security Products

Cost Optimization: Three Steps to Saving Money on Maintenance and Support for Network Security Products Research Publication Date: 10 December 2008 ID Number: G00163195 Cost Optimization: Three Steps to Saving Money on Maintenance and Support for Network Security Products Lawrence Orans, Greg Young Most

More information

Transactional HR self-service applications typically get implemented first because they typically automate manual, error-prone processes.

Transactional HR self-service applications typically get implemented first because they typically automate manual, error-prone processes. Research Publication Date: 28 August 2008 ID Number: G00159897 HR Self-Service Applications Defined James Holincheck In this research, we discuss the different types of HR self-service and strategies for

More information

How Eneco's Enterprisewide BI and Performance Management Initiative Delivered Significant Business Benefits

How Eneco's Enterprisewide BI and Performance Management Initiative Delivered Significant Business Benefits Research Publication Date: 13 June 2008 ID Number: G00158605 How Eneco's Enterprisewide BI and Performance Management Initiative Delivered Significant Business Benefits Nigel Rayner Eneco was faced with

More information

Key Issues for Identity and Access Management, 2008

Key Issues for Identity and Access Management, 2008 Research Publication Date: 7 April 2008 ID Number: G00157012 for Identity and Access Management, 2008 Ant Allan, Earl Perkins, Perry Carpenter, Ray Wagner Gartner identity and access management research

More information

2009 FEI Technology Study: CPM and BI Pose Challenges and Opportunities

2009 FEI Technology Study: CPM and BI Pose Challenges and Opportunities Research Publication Date: 23 July 2009 ID Number: G00168896 2009 FEI Technology Study: CPM and BI Pose Challenges and Opportunities John E. Van Decker Many organizations recognize that existing financial

More information

2010 FEI Technology Study: CPM and BI Show Improvement From 2009

2010 FEI Technology Study: CPM and BI Show Improvement From 2009 Research Publication Date: 22 March 2010 ID Number: G00175233 2010 FEI Technology Study: CPM and BI Show Improvement From 2009 John E. Van Decker Many organizations recognize that current financial management

More information

Research Agenda and Key Issues for Converged Infrastructure, 2006

Research Agenda and Key Issues for Converged Infrastructure, 2006 Research Publication Date: 20 July 2006 ID Number: G00141507 Research Agenda and Key Issues for Converged Infrastructure, 2006 Sylvain Fabre Gartner's research will cover fixed-mobile convergence, the

More information

Best Practices for Confirming Software Inventories in Software Asset Management

Best Practices for Confirming Software Inventories in Software Asset Management Research Publication Date: 24 August 2009 ID Number: G00167067 Best Practices for Confirming Software Inventories in Software Asset Management Peter Wesche, Jane B. Disbrow This research discusses the

More information

2010 Gartner FEI Technology Study: Planned Shared Services and Outsourcing to Increase

2010 Gartner FEI Technology Study: Planned Shared Services and Outsourcing to Increase Research Publication Date: 20 April 2010 ID Number: G00176029 2010 Gartner FEI Technology Study: Planned Shared Services and Outsourcing to Increase John E. Van Decker, Cathy Tornbohm This Gartner Financial

More information

IT asset management (ITAM) will proliferate in midsize and large companies.

IT asset management (ITAM) will proliferate in midsize and large companies. Research Publication Date: 2 October 2008 ID Number: G00161024 Trends on Better IT Asset Management Peter Wesche New exiting trends will lead to a higher adoption of asset management methodologies. Tighter

More information

BEA Customers Should Seek Contractual Protections Before Acquisition by Oracle

BEA Customers Should Seek Contractual Protections Before Acquisition by Oracle Research Publication Date: 15 February 2008 ID Number: G00155026 BEA Customers Should Seek Contractual Protections Before Acquisition by Oracle Peter Wesche, Jane B. Disbrow Oracle has announced an agreement

More information

Business Intelligence Focus Shifts From Tactical to Strategic

Business Intelligence Focus Shifts From Tactical to Strategic Research Publication Date: 22 May 2006 ID Number: G00139352 Business Intelligence Focus Shifts From Tactical to Strategic Betsy Burton, Lee Geishecker, Kurt Schlegel, Bill Hostmann, Tom Austin, Gareth

More information

Q&A: How Can ERP Recurring Costs Be Contained?

Q&A: How Can ERP Recurring Costs Be Contained? Research Publication Date: 18 December 2008 ID Number: G00163030 Q&A: How Can ERP Recurring Costs Be Contained? Peter Wesche Driven by increased pressure for cost containment, attendees at the 2008 Financial

More information

Business Intelligence Platform Usage and Quality Dynamics, 2008

Business Intelligence Platform Usage and Quality Dynamics, 2008 Research Publication Date: 2 July 2008 ID Number: G00159043 Business Intelligence Platform Usage and Quality Dynamics, 2008 James Richardson This report gives results from a survey of attendees at Gartner's

More information

Q&A: The Many Aspects of Private Cloud Computing

Q&A: The Many Aspects of Private Cloud Computing Research Publication Date: 22 October 2009 ID Number: G00171807 Q&A: The Many Aspects of Private Cloud Computing Thomas J. Bittman Cloud computing is at the Peak of Inflated Expectations on the Gartner

More information

Knowledge Management and Enterprise Information Management Are Both Disciplines for Exploiting Information Assets

Knowledge Management and Enterprise Information Management Are Both Disciplines for Exploiting Information Assets Research Publication Date: 31 July 2009 ID Number: G00169664 Knowledge Management and Enterprise Information Management Are Both Disciplines for Exploiting Information Assets Regina Casonato This research

More information

The Five Competencies of MRM 'Re-' Defined

The Five Competencies of MRM 'Re-' Defined Research Publication Date: 14 March 2008 ID Number: G00155835 The Five Competencies of MRM 'Re-' Defined Kimberly Collins This research details the five key competencies of marketing resource management

More information

The Current State of Agile Method Adoption

The Current State of Agile Method Adoption Research Publication Date: 12 December 2008 ID Number: G00163591 The Current State of Agile Method Adoption David Norton As the pace of agile adoption increases, development organizations must understand

More information

The What, Why and When of Cloud Computing

The What, Why and When of Cloud Computing Research Publication Date: 4 June 2009 ID Number: G00168582 The What, Why and When of Cloud Computing David Mitchell Smith, Daryl C. Plummer, David W. Cearley Cloud computing continues to gain visibility.

More information

Case Study: A K-12 Portal Project at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Case Study: A K-12 Portal Project at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Industry Research Publication Date: 31 December 2007 ID Number: G00154138 Case Study: A K-12 Portal Project at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Bill Rust The Miami-Dade County Public Schools a school

More information

Managing IT Risks During Cost-Cutting Periods

Managing IT Risks During Cost-Cutting Periods Research Publication Date: 22 October 2008 ID Number: G00162359 Managing IT Risks During Cost-Cutting Periods Mark Nicolett, Paul E. Proctor, French Caldwell To provide visibility into increased risks

More information

Integrated Marketing Management Aligns Executional, Operational and Analytical Processes in a Closed-Loop Process

Integrated Marketing Management Aligns Executional, Operational and Analytical Processes in a Closed-Loop Process Research Publication Date: 26 October 2010 ID Number: G00207031 Integrated Marketing Management Aligns Executional, Operational and Analytical Processes in a Closed-Loop Process Kimberly Collins This research

More information

Eight Critical Forces Shape Enterprise Data Center Strategies

Eight Critical Forces Shape Enterprise Data Center Strategies Research Publication Date: 8 February 2007 ID Number: G00144650 Eight Critical Forces Shape Enterprise Data Center Strategies Rakesh Kumar Through 2017, infrastructure and operations managers, architects

More information

Key Issues for Business Intelligence and Performance Management Initiatives, 2008

Key Issues for Business Intelligence and Performance Management Initiatives, 2008 Research Publication Date: 14 March 2008 ID Number: G00156014 Key Issues for Business Intelligence and Performance Management Initiatives, 2008 Kurt Schlegel The Business Intelligence and Performance Management

More information

An outline of the five critical components of a CRM vision and how they contribute to an enterprise's CRM success

An outline of the five critical components of a CRM vision and how they contribute to an enterprise's CRM success Research Publication Date: 1 March 2007 ID Number: G00146362 How to Create a Powerful CRM Vision Gene Alvarez This research provides: Guidance on how to develop a CRM vision An outline of the five critical

More information

Research. Mastering Master Data Management

Research. Mastering Master Data Management Research Publication Date: 25 January 2006 ID Number: G00136958 Mastering Master Data Management Andrew White, David Newman, Debra Logan, John Radcliffe Despite vendor claims, master data management has

More information

Discovering the Value of Unified Communications

Discovering the Value of Unified Communications Research Publication Date: 12 February 2007 ID Number: G00144673 Discovering the Value of Unified Communications Bern Elliot, Steve Cramoysan Unified communications represent a broad range of new solutions

More information

XBRL Will Enhance Corporate Disclosure and Corporate Performance Management

XBRL Will Enhance Corporate Disclosure and Corporate Performance Management Research Publication Date: 23 April 2008 ID Number: G00156910 XBRL Will Enhance Corporate Disclosure and Corporate Performance Management Nigel Rayner, Neil Chandler Extensible Business Reporting Language

More information

Agenda for Supply Chain Strategy and Enablers, 2012

Agenda for Supply Chain Strategy and Enablers, 2012 G00230659 Agenda for Supply Chain Strategy and Enablers, 2012 Published: 23 February 2012 Analyst(s): Michael Dominy, Dana Stiffler When supply chain executives establish the right strategies and enabling

More information

When to Use Custom, Proprietary, Open-Source or Community Source Software in the Cloud

When to Use Custom, Proprietary, Open-Source or Community Source Software in the Cloud Industry Research Publication Date: 3 May 2010 ID Number: G00175030 When to Use Custom, Proprietary, Open-Source or Community Source Software in the Cloud Massimiliano Claps, Andrea Di Maio Cloud computing

More information

The Value of Integrating Configuration Management Databases With Enterprise Architecture Tools

The Value of Integrating Configuration Management Databases With Enterprise Architecture Tools Research Publication Date: 13 January 2011 ID Number: G00210132 The Value of Integrating Configuration Management Databases With Enterprise Architecture Tools Ronni J. Colville, Patricia Adams As configuration

More information

Real-Time Decisions Need Corporate Performance Management

Real-Time Decisions Need Corporate Performance Management Research Publication Date: 26 April 2004 ID Number: COM-22-3674 Real-Time Decisions Need Corporate Performance Management Frank Buytendijk, Brian Wood, Mark Raskino The real-time enterprise model depends

More information

Cloud, SaaS, Hosting and Other Off-Premises Computing Models

Cloud, SaaS, Hosting and Other Off-Premises Computing Models Research Publication Date: 8 July 2008 ID Number: G00159042 Cloud, SaaS, Hosting and Other Off-Premises Computing Models Yefim V. Natis, Nicholas Gall, David W. Cearley, Lydia Leong, Robert P. Desisto,

More information

For cloud services to deliver their promised value, they must be underpinned by effective and efficient processes.

For cloud services to deliver their promised value, they must be underpinned by effective and efficient processes. Research Publication Date: 15 October 2010 ID Number: G00208009 ITIL 'in the Cloud' George Spafford, Ed Holub The cloud-computing delivery model is generating a lot of interest from organizations wishing

More information

Iron Mountain's acquisition of Mimosa Systems addresses concerns from prospective customers who had questions about Mimosa's long-term viability.

Iron Mountain's acquisition of Mimosa Systems addresses concerns from prospective customers who had questions about Mimosa's long-term viability. Research Publication Date: 22 March 2010 ID Number: G00175194 Iron Mountain Acquires Mimosa Systems Sheila Childs, Kenneth Chin, Adam W. Couture Iron Mountain offers a portfolio of solutions for cloud-based

More information

Cloud E-Mail Decision-Making Criteria for Educational Organizations

Cloud E-Mail Decision-Making Criteria for Educational Organizations Research Publication Date: 10 June 2011 ID Number: G00213675 Cloud E-Mail Decision-Making Criteria for Educational Organizations Matthew W. Cain Educational organizations sometimes struggle to choose between

More information

IT Operational Considerations for Cloud Computing

IT Operational Considerations for Cloud Computing Research Publication Date: 13 June 2008 ID Number: G00157184 IT Operational Considerations for Cloud Computing Donna Scott Cloud computing market offerings increase the options available to source IT services.

More information

Vendor Focus for IBM Global Services: Consulting Services for Cloud Computing

Vendor Focus for IBM Global Services: Consulting Services for Cloud Computing Research Publication Date: 22 February 2010 ID Number: G00174046 Vendor Focus for IBM Global Services: Consulting Services for Cloud Computing Susan Tan Amid the hype and buzz of cloud computing are very

More information

Recognize the Importance of Digital Marketing

Recognize the Importance of Digital Marketing Recognize the Importance of Digital Marketing Laura McLellan, Lead Author Laura McLellan, Laura McLellan serves CMOs and other marketing executives, sharing how digital strategies are being integrated

More information

Predicts 2008: The Market for Servers and Operating Systems Continues to Evolve

Predicts 2008: The Market for Servers and Operating Systems Continues to Evolve Research Publication Date: 6 December 2007 ID Number: G00152575 Predicts 2008: The Market for Servers and Operating Systems Continues to Evolve John Enck, Philip Dawson, George J. Weiss, Rakesh Kumar,

More information

User Survey Analysis: Usage Plans for SaaS Application Software, France, Germany and the U.K., 2009

User Survey Analysis: Usage Plans for SaaS Application Software, France, Germany and the U.K., 2009 Dataquest Publication Date: 23 February 2009 ID Number: G00165376 User Survey Analysis: Usage Plans for SaaS Application Software, France, Germany and the U.K., 2009 Chris Pang Gartner surveyed nearly

More information

Roundup of Business Intelligence and Information Management Research, 1Q08

Roundup of Business Intelligence and Information Management Research, 1Q08 Gartner for IT Leaders Publication Date: 2 May 2008 ID Number: G00157226 Roundup of Business Intelligence and Information Management Research, 1Q08 Bill Hostmann This document provides a roundup of our

More information

Best Practice: Having a 'Big Picture' View of IP Telephony Will Give the Buyer More Control

Best Practice: Having a 'Big Picture' View of IP Telephony Will Give the Buyer More Control Research Publication Date: 12 February 2008 ID Number: G00154811 Best Practice: Having a 'Big Picture' View of IP Telephony Will Give the Buyer More Control Steve Blood Companies spend too much on IP-PBXs

More information

IT Architecture Is Not Enterprise Architecture

IT Architecture Is Not Enterprise Architecture Research Publication Date: 17 November 2010 ID Number: G00206910 IT Architecture Is Not Enterprise Architecture Bruce Robertson Many enterprise architecture (EA) teams and their stakeholders still use

More information

Global Talent Management Isn't Just Global

Global Talent Management Isn't Just Global Research Publication Date: 22 July 2008 ID Number: G00159366 Global Talent Management Isn't Just Global Thomas Otter Global talent management projects must take into account local compliance issues or

More information

Clients That Don't Segment Their Network Infrastructure Will Have Higher Costs and Increased Vendor Lock-in

Clients That Don't Segment Their Network Infrastructure Will Have Higher Costs and Increased Vendor Lock-in Research Publication Date: 15 March 2011 ID Number: G00210952 Clients That Don't Segment Their Network Infrastructure Will Have Higher Costs and Increased Vendor Lock-in Tim Zimmerman Enterprises must

More information

Key Issues for Data Management and Integration, 2006

Key Issues for Data Management and Integration, 2006 Research Publication Date: 30 March 2006 ID Number: G00138812 Key Issues for Data Management and Integration, 2006 Ted Friedman The effective management and leverage of data represent the greatest opportunity

More information

Gartner Clarifies the Definition of the Term 'Enterprise Architecture'

Gartner Clarifies the Definition of the Term 'Enterprise Architecture' Research Publication Date: 12 August 2008 ID Number: G00156559 Gartner Clarifies the Definition of the Term 'Enterprise Architecture' Anne Lapkin, Philip Allega, Brian Burke, Betsy Burton, R. Scott Bittler,

More information

Private Cloud Computing: An Essential Overview

Private Cloud Computing: An Essential Overview Research Publication Date: 23 November 2010 ID Number: G00209000 Private Cloud Computing: An Essential Overview Thomas J. Bittman Private cloud computing requires strong leadership and a strategic plan

More information

The EA process and an ITG process should be closely linked, and both efforts should leverage the work and results of the other.

The EA process and an ITG process should be closely linked, and both efforts should leverage the work and results of the other. Research Publication Date: 4 April 2008 ID Number: G00155260 Integrate EA and IT Governance s Betsy Burton, R. Scott Bittler, Cassio Dreyfuss In many organizations, we find that IT governance (ITG) initiatives

More information

Evaluating Microsoft, Oracle and SAP CRM Application Strategy

Evaluating Microsoft, Oracle and SAP CRM Application Strategy Research Publication Date: 8 October 2009 ID Number: G00170698 Evaluating Microsoft, Oracle and SAP CRM Application Strategy Michael Maoz, Kimberly Collins, Robert P. Desisto The quality of the customer

More information

Overcoming the Gap Between Business Intelligence and Decision Support

Overcoming the Gap Between Business Intelligence and Decision Support Research Publication Date: 9 April 2009 ID Number: G00165169 Overcoming the Gap Between Business Intelligence and Decision Support Rita L. Sallam, Kurt Schlegel Although the promise of better decision

More information

The IT Service Desk Market Is Ready for SaaS

The IT Service Desk Market Is Ready for SaaS Research Publication Date: 17 April 2009 ID Number: G00166526 The IT Service Desk Market Is Ready for SaaS David M. Coyle The IT service desk market is well-positioned to use the software-as-a-service

More information

Embrace Virtual Assistants as Part of a Holistic Web Customer Service Strategy

Embrace Virtual Assistants as Part of a Holistic Web Customer Service Strategy Research Publication Date: 19 August 2010 ID Number: G00205618 Embrace Virtual Assistants as Part of a Holistic Web Customer Service Strategy Johan Jacobs Customers are insisting on multiple methods to

More information

Data in the Cloud: The Changing Nature of Managing Data Delivery

Data in the Cloud: The Changing Nature of Managing Data Delivery Research Publication Date: 1 March 2011 ID Number: G00210129 Data in the Cloud: The Changing Nature of Managing Data Delivery Eric Thoo Extendible data integration strategies and capabilities will play

More information

Government 2.0 is both citizen-driven and employee-centric, and is both transformational and evolutionary.

Government 2.0 is both citizen-driven and employee-centric, and is both transformational and evolutionary. Industry Research Publication Date: 11 November 2009 ID Number: G00172423 Government 2.0: Gartner Definition Andrea Di Maio Given the increasing confusion and hype surrounding Government 2.0, it is important

More information

The Seven Building Blocks of MDM: A Framework for Success

The Seven Building Blocks of MDM: A Framework for Success Research Publication Date: 11 October 2007 ID Number: G00151496 The Seven Building Blocks of MDM: A Framework for Success John Radcliffe Gartner's Seven Building Blocks of Master Data Management (MDM)

More information

Case Study: Lexmark Uses MDM to Turn Information Into a Business Asset

Case Study: Lexmark Uses MDM to Turn Information Into a Business Asset G00217757 Case Study: Lexmark Uses MDM to Turn Information Into a Business Asset Published: 22 December 2011 Analyst(s): Bill O'Kane Lexmark International undertook a master data management (MDM) program

More information

Document the IT Service Portfolio Before Creating the IT Service Catalog

Document the IT Service Portfolio Before Creating the IT Service Catalog Research Publication Date: 8 January 2009 ID Number: G00163200 Document the IT Service Portfolio Before Creating the IT Service Catalog Debra Curtis, Kris Brittain IT service portfolios and IT service

More information

Bankinter Differentiates Itself by Focusing on Innovation and CRM

Bankinter Differentiates Itself by Focusing on Innovation and CRM Research Publication Date: 4 October 2005 ID Number: G00127276 Bankinter Differentiates Itself by Focusing on Innovation and CRM John Radcliffe Bankinter successfully competes in the Spanish banking market

More information

Invest in an analysis of current metrics and those missing, and develop a plan for continuous management and improvement.

Invest in an analysis of current metrics and those missing, and develop a plan for continuous management and improvement. Research Publication Date: 29 April 2008 ID Number: G00154802 Key Metrics for IT Service and Support David M. Coyle, Kris Brittain To evaluate IT service and support performance, senior management must

More information

Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure: Guidance for Researchers, Vendors and End Users

Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure: Guidance for Researchers, Vendors and End Users Research Publication Date: 17 October 2006 ID Number: G00144061 Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure: Guidance for Researchers, Vendors and End Users Amrit T. Williams, John Pescatore, Paul E. Proctor

More information

Toolkit: Reduce Dependence on Desk-Side Support Technicians

Toolkit: Reduce Dependence on Desk-Side Support Technicians Gartner for IT Leaders Publication Date: 23 April 2007 ID Number: G00147075 Toolkit: Reduce Dependence on Desk-Side Support Technicians David M. Coyle, Terrence Cosgrove The IT service desk and PC life

More information

Microsoft's Cloud Vision Reaches for the Stars but Is Grounded in Reality

Microsoft's Cloud Vision Reaches for the Stars but Is Grounded in Reality Research Publication Date: 4 November 2008 ID Number: G00162793 Microsoft's Cloud Vision Reaches for the Stars but Is Grounded in Reality David Mitchell Smith, Neil MacDonald At Professional Developers

More information

Q&A: The Impact of XBRL on Corporate Performance Management

Q&A: The Impact of XBRL on Corporate Performance Management Research Publication Date: 27 May 2008 ID Number: G00158184 Q&A: The Impact of XBRL on Corporate Performance Management Nigel Rayner Extensible Business Reporting Language is an XML-based standard that

More information

Critical Privacy Questions to Ask an HCM/CRM SaaS Provider

Critical Privacy Questions to Ask an HCM/CRM SaaS Provider Research Publication Date: 31 July 2009 ID Number: G00168488 Critical Privacy Questions to Ask an HCM/CRM SaaS Provider Carsten Casper, Thomas Otter, Arabella Hallawell The vast majority (probably greater

More information

Case Study: New South Wales State Department of Education Adopts Gmail for 1.2 Million Students

Case Study: New South Wales State Department of Education Adopts Gmail for 1.2 Million Students Industry Research Publication Date: 26 January 2010 ID Number: G00172722 Case Study: New South Wales State Department of Education Adopts Gmail for 1.2 Million Students Steve Bittinger Australia's New

More information

Governance Is an Essential Building Block for Enterprise Information Management

Governance Is an Essential Building Block for Enterprise Information Management Research Publication Date: 18 May 2006 ID Number: G00139707 Governance Is an Essential Building Block for Enterprise Information Management David Newman, Debra Logan Organizations are seeking new ways

More information

What Is the Role of Quality Assurance in a SaaS Environment?

What Is the Role of Quality Assurance in a SaaS Environment? Research Publication Date: 15 September 2009 ID Number: G00170552 What Is the Role of Quality Assurance in a SaaS Environment? Thomas E. Murphy, Daniel Sholler, Christian Hestermann Software as a service

More information

Microsoft and Google Jostle Over Cloud-Based E-Mail and Collaboration

Microsoft and Google Jostle Over Cloud-Based E-Mail and Collaboration Research Publication Date: 24 March 2008 ID Number: G00156216 Microsoft and Google Jostle Over Cloud-Based E-Mail and Collaboration Tom Austin Both Google and Microsoft come up short in terms of delivering

More information

How BPM Can Enhance the Eight Building Blocks of CRM

How BPM Can Enhance the Eight Building Blocks of CRM Research Publication Date: 6 April 2007 ID Number: G00146588 How BPM Can Enhance the Eight Building Blocks of CRM Marc Kerremans, Jim Davies Business process management (BPM) should complement an organization's

More information

Organizations Must Employ Effective Data Security Strategies

Organizations Must Employ Effective Data Security Strategies Research Publication Date: 30 August 2005 ID Number: G00123639 Organizations Must Employ Effective Data Security Strategies Rich Mogull Organizations can best protect data through a hierarchical data security

More information

2009 Gartner FEI Technology Study: XBRL in the U.S. Enterprise

2009 Gartner FEI Technology Study: XBRL in the U.S. Enterprise Research Publication Date: 23 July 2009 ID Number: G00169733 2009 Gartner FEI Technology Study: XBRL in the U.S. Enterprise John E. Van Decker Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) will be a requirement

More information

Organizational Structure: Business Intelligence and Information Management

Organizational Structure: Business Intelligence and Information Management Research Publication Date: 14 April 2006 ID Number: G00138940 Organizational Structure: Business Intelligence and Information Management Betsy Burton, Lee Geishecker, Bill Hostmann, Ted Friedman, David

More information

Research. Identity and Access Management Defined

Research. Identity and Access Management Defined Research Publication Date: 4 November 2003 ID Number: SPA-21-3430 Identity and Access Management Defined Roberta J. Witty, Ant Allan, John Enck, Ray Wagner An IAM solution requires multiple products from

More information

Organizations Should Implement Web Application Security Scanning

Organizations Should Implement Web Application Security Scanning Research Publication Date: 21 September 2005 ID Number: G00130869 Organizations Should Implement Web Application Security Scanning Amrit T. Williams, Neil MacDonald Web applications are prone to vulnerabilities

More information

IAM can utilize SIEM event data to drive user and role life cycle management and automate remediation of exception conditions.

IAM can utilize SIEM event data to drive user and role life cycle management and automate remediation of exception conditions. Research Publication Date: 1 September 2009 ID Number: G00161012 SIEM and IAM Technology Integration Mark Nicolett, Earl Perkins Integration of identity and access management (IAM) and security information

More information

Successful EA Change Management Requires Five Key Elements

Successful EA Change Management Requires Five Key Elements Research Publication Date: 26 December 2007 ID Number: G00153908 Successful EA Change Management Requires Five Key Elements Richard Buchanan Change, in all its many aspects, is a critical aspect of the

More information

Gartner Defines Enterprise Information Architecture

Gartner Defines Enterprise Information Architecture Research Publication Date: 20 February 2008 ID Number: G00154071 Gartner Defines Enterprise Information Architecture David Newman, Nicholas Gall, Anne Lapkin As organizations look for new ways to exploit

More information

The Next Generation of Functionality for Marketing Resource Management

The Next Generation of Functionality for Marketing Resource Management G00212759 The Next Generation of Functionality for Marketing Resource Management Published: 11 May 2011 Analyst(s): Kimberly Collins This research defines the next generation of marketing resource management

More information

Now Is the Time for Security at the Application Level

Now Is the Time for Security at the Application Level Research Publication Date: 1 December 2005 ID Number: G00127407 Now Is the Time for Security at the Application Level Theresa Lanowitz Applications must be available, useful, reliable, scalable and, now

More information

Data Center Consolidation in Western Europe Faces Limitations

Data Center Consolidation in Western Europe Faces Limitations Research Publication Date: 19 September 2006 ID Number: G00143179 Data Center Consolidation in Western Europe Faces Limitations Rakesh Kumar Organizations embarking on pan-european data center site consolidation

More information

Tips for Evaluators: Better Business Intelligence RFPs

Tips for Evaluators: Better Business Intelligence RFPs Research Publication Date: 11 May 2009 ID Number: G00167840 Tips for Evaluators: Better Business Intelligence RFPs James Richardson Many of the business intelligence (BI) RFP data-collection exercises

More information

CDOs Should Use IT Governance and Risk Compliance Management to Advance Compliance

CDOs Should Use IT Governance and Risk Compliance Management to Advance Compliance Industry Research Publication Date: 1 May 2008 ID Number: G00156708 CDOs Should Use IT Governance and Risk Compliance Management to Advance Compliance Barry Runyon Care delivery organizations (CDOs) are

More information

Risk Intelligence: Applying KM to Information Risk Management

Risk Intelligence: Applying KM to Information Risk Management Research Publication Date: 19 September 2007 ID Number: G00151742 Risk Intelligence: Applying KM to Information Risk Management French Caldwell Risk intelligence is the alignment of information governance

More information

Use These Guidelines for Making Better CRM Consulting Provider Selections

Use These Guidelines for Making Better CRM Consulting Provider Selections Research Publication Date: 7 July 2006 ID Number: G00141062 Use These Guidelines for Making Better CRM Consulting Provider Selections Matthew Goldman, Ed Thompson, Lorrie Scardino Gartner sees many inconsistencies

More information

Gartner's Business Intelligence and Performance Management Framework

Gartner's Business Intelligence and Performance Management Framework Research Publication Date: 9 October 2006 ID Number: G00142827 Gartner's Business Intelligence and Performance Management Framework Bill Hostmann, Nigel Rayner, Ted Friedman The use of business intelligence

More information

How to Choose Providers for Mobile Consumer Application Platforms

How to Choose Providers for Mobile Consumer Application Platforms How to Choose Providers for Mobile Consumer Application Platforms Michael McGuire Lead Author Michael McGuire,, Mike McGuire guides digital marketers on best practices for developing strategies. He specializes

More information

Case Study: Mohawk Fine Papers Uses a CSB to Ease Adoption of Cloud Computing

Case Study: Mohawk Fine Papers Uses a CSB to Ease Adoption of Cloud Computing Research Publication Date: 19 July 2011 ID Number: G00214537 Case Study: Mohawk Fine Papers Uses a CSB to Ease Adoption of Cloud Computing Benoit J. Lheureux Paper manufacturer Mohawk Fine Papers needed

More information

Enterprise Asset Management Migration Requires Detailed Planning

Enterprise Asset Management Migration Requires Detailed Planning Research Publication Date: 2 September 2005 ID Number: G00130205 Enterprise Asset Management Migration Requires Detailed Planning Kristian Steenstrup Neglecting to address key areas when migrating to packaged

More information

Key Issues for Consumer Goods Manufacturers, 2011

Key Issues for Consumer Goods Manufacturers, 2011 Industry Research Publication Date: 1 March 2011 ID Number: G00210698 Key Issues for Consumer Goods Manufacturers, 2011 Don Scheibenreif, Dale Hagemeyer Gartner's 2011 consumer goods manufacturing research

More information

Q&A: Seven Questions Every Business Intelligence Leader Must Answer

Q&A: Seven Questions Every Business Intelligence Leader Must Answer Research Publication Date: 9 April 2008 ID Number: G00156821 Q&A: Seven Questions Every Business Intelligence Leader Must Answer Kurt Schlegel, Bill Hostmann Every business intelligence leader must answer

More information

Data Center Consolidation Projects: Benefits and Pitfalls

Data Center Consolidation Projects: Benefits and Pitfalls Research Publication Date: 2 May 2011 ID Number: G00212148 Data Center Consolidation Projects: Benefits and Pitfalls David J. Cappuccio This research outlines the primary success factors in consolidation

More information

How to Develop an Effective Vulnerability Management Process

How to Develop an Effective Vulnerability Management Process Research Publication Date: 1 March 2005 ID Number: G00124126 How to Develop an Effective Vulnerability Management Process Mark Nicolett IT organizations should develop vulnerability management processes

More information

Emerging PC Life Cycle Configuration Management Vendors

Emerging PC Life Cycle Configuration Management Vendors Research Publication Date: 20 January 2011 ID Number: G00209766 Emerging PC Life Cycle Configuration Management Vendors Terrence Cosgrove Although the PC configuration life cycle management (PCCLM) market

More information

Mainframe Modernization: When Migration Is the Answer

Mainframe Modernization: When Migration Is the Answer Research Publication Date: 8 January 2010 ID Number: G00171622 Mainframe Modernization: When Migration Is the Answer Dale Vecchio Mainframe migrations can be executed in a number of ways. Which choice

More information