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Ovum Research Agenda 2010
In challenging economic conditions, there is an intense spotlight on both IT-enabled business investments and on the cost-efficient operation of the IT department, which affects enterprises, technology vendors and service providers alike. Those organisations that are able to manage their way successfully through this environment will be best placed to grow quickly as the economy recovers, and IT-enabled business transformation will be a vital part of such a strategy. Tactical cost savings and efficiency must therefore be balanced with making the right longer-term choices that maintain future flexibility, and ensuring that the most effective use is made of the IT funds that are available. Ovum is uniquely placed to assist all participants in the IT value chain in making the key decisions that will enable them to meet their strategic objectives. Our proposition is built on a four-step approach that provides a clear line of sight from consumer demand through business agenda to IT strategy, which is informed by systematic client input and feedback. Read more
Intro to scrum
The process to clarify and define functionality on the site is based on the presentation below.
In summary you need to specify your need in the following format: Read more
Ovum Straight Talk - November 2009
My favourite article from Ovum Straight Talk in November is the cover story on Telecomms 2020, particularly the need for Telco's to decide whether to be SMART or LEAN players. This is highly relevant to the South African market where Telkom is considering entry into mobile, the mobile players are developing SMART services, as is Neotel. Who will take the LEAN route? Read more
Web 2.0 and beyond
As Web 2.0 becomes more and more compelling for business, Web 3.0 is emerging and developing faster than you think.
Feel free to download and distribute this presentation CXO-Web2.0simple.pps
Also page down for an excellent "prezi" entitled Social Media
in plain English below...
There are may useful links in here including interesting video material on the topic which you can also view at I'm Lost!
Also page down for an excellent "prezi" entitled Social Media in plain English below...
Managing IT like a business - Assessments
We have developed a number of assessments for Managing IT like a business. In order to manage IT like a business, attention needs to shift away from technology to:
- IT Economics and Finance
- IT Sourcing and Procurement
- IT Strategy and Leadership
- IT Operations (IT without fuss)
- IT HR and People
- IT Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Here is an overview of the programme and method. Read more
Business Model Analysis and Improvement
Slides 14 to 36 provide an excellent approach to go to market planning and implementation. Read more
Managing beyond Web 2.0
Companies should prepare now for the day when Web 2.0 morphs into Web 3.0. Read more
Butler Group’s Information Architecture
The Information Architecture represents a set of capabilities that must span structured and unstructured information, combine both tangible and intangible sources, and be abstracted as far as possible from individual technologies. Leading organisations are using an architectural view to ensure a coherent approach to building business applications on these foundations.
The Building Blocks - Figure 3
Previous experience and small capex makes retailers reluctant to outsource
One of the biggest current hurdles to outsourcing is the industry-wide reduction of capex in retail. Because capex must go a lot further than a year ago, retailers now require outsourcers to offer flexible payment structures, for instance by offering shorter-term contracts with monthly payments. This frees up capex for more pressing issues.
Previous experience with service contracts has caused retailers to doubt whether the benefits of outsourcing outweigh the challenges that can arise. Barriers to outsourcing include the unrest caused by offshoring jobs, language barriers, and retail sector expertise requirements.
IBM is the leading service provider to the retail sector, but recent technology and services market consolidation could change that
Holding almost a quarter of the market between them, Datamonitor believes the top 2 services providers to the retail, wholesale and distribution sectors are IBM Global Services, and HP Services. We estimate that in 2008, IBM held around 14% of the services to retail market, and we expect similar results for 2009. Read more