What It Means: A Forrester Podcast

On July 19, an update from security software vendor CrowdStrike took down 8.5 million Windows endpoints and caused widespread chaos. In this episode, VP and Research Director Amy DeMartine and Principal Analyst Allie Mellen discuss the lessons learned from the outage and what steps security and business leaders should take as a result.

The rapid growth of AI will have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. In this episode, Vice President and Principal Analyst Thomas Husson delves into both AI’s environmental downsides and its potential to help solve the climate crisis.

AI has the potential to make the work of human resources more streamlined — and more complicated. How is that possible? Find out as Principal Analyst Betsy Summers explains the AI-HR paradox and sheds some light on the benefits and risks that AI poses to the HR function.

Reports of the demise of the CMO role have been greatly exaggerated, say VP and Principal Analyst Ian Bruce and VP and Research Director Mike Proulx. On this week’s What It Means episode, they dive into new research that paints a highly nuanced picture of the prevalence and tenure of CMOs.

What are the most compelling AI use cases in the public sector, and what are some of the challenges? Find out as Principal Analyst Sam Higgins shares insights on the current state and future outlook for AI in the public sector globally.

Are passwords obsolete or still a necessary evil? In this episode, Vice President and Principal Analyst Andras Cser and Principal Analyst Geoff Cairns describe where we are on the path to passwordless authentication for both enterprise and consumer users.

There are digital doubles and digital twins. How can you tell the two apart? And more importantly, are either (or both) right for your organization? Vice President and Principal Analyst Paul Miller and Senior Analyst Stephanie Liu provide clarity in this episode.

Generative AI (genAI) holds tantalizing potential for contact centers, but turning that potential into reality will require overcoming some hurdles. How should contact center leaders get started? Senior Analyst Christina McAllister provides insight on What It Means.

Medical deserts — geographic areas that lack essential healthcare services — encompass over 80% of counties in the US. How did we get here, and what will it take to reverse the trend? Principal Analysts Arielle Trzcinski and Judy Weader discuss on What It Means.

Business and tech leaders expect (slightly) bigger budgets next year. How should they use them? On this episode of What It Means, VPs and Group Research Directors Stephanie Balaouras, Keith Johnston, and Srividya Sridharan dive into Forrester’s Budget Planning Guides’ recommendations for tech, marketing and sales, and customer experience (CX) leaders.

Customer experience (CX) quality in the US has dropped for three consecutive years and now sits at an all-time low. What’s behind the decline, and how can brands turn things around? VP and Principal Analyst David Truog and Principal Analyst Pete Jacques weigh in on this week’s What It Means.

AI has been portrayed as both the solution to and the cause of employee burnout. Which is it? In this episode, VP and Principal Analyst J. P. Gownder and Senior Analyst Jonathan Roberts describe the impact of AI on employee burnout.

What are industry clouds? What are their use cases, benefits, and drawbacks? Find out as VP and Principal Analyst Kate Leggett provides a detailed look at the latest trends in industry clouds.

Generative AI is breathing new life into traditional technology, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are no exception. In this episode, Vice President and Principal Analyst Liz Herbert discusses the opportunities, use cases, and challenges of genAI in ERP.

The pace of technology innovation can make it hard to keep an eye on the tech horizon. In this episode, Vice President of Emerging Tech Portfolio Brian Hopkins walks through this year’s list of the top 10 emerging technologies, describing when each technology will bring value to users.

The broad changes Broadcom made in the wake of the deal have technology executives reviewing their technology roadmaps closely. In this episode Principal Analyst Naveen Chhabra walks through the changes and discusses the choices available to VMWare customers.

As payment options have proliferated, they’ve become more than just a way to make a purchase. What should brands consider as they develop or add payment options to appeal to buyers? This week on What It Means, Principal Analyst Lily Varón shares insights and explains what’s ahead for digital payments.

With AI PCs finding their way into the consumer market this year, the big question is: When will they hit the enterprise market? In this episode, Principal Analyst Andrew Hewitt discusses the current state and future potential of AI PCs.

There are a lot of reasons why cloud cost management is a thorn in the CIO’s side. In this episode, Principal Analyst Tracy Woo describes how FinOps, the FOCUS standard, and other new initiatives can help reduce cloud costs.

Journey centricity can help companies boost their revenue, reduce costs, and build better experiences for customers and employees. What defines a journey-centric company, and what does it take to become one? Vice President and Principal Analyst Joana de Quintanilha explains on this week’s episode of What It Means.

As generative AI becomes more pervasive in products and ads, consumers are questioning what they see and, by extension, whether they should trust the brands using it. How should brands navigate these perils? Principal Analyst Audrey Chee-Read shares insights and advice on What It Means.

The world’s first binding legislation on AI has arrived, and its impact will extend far beyond Europe’s borders. This week on What It Means, Principal Analyst Enza Iannopollo explains the EU AI Act’s timeline, enforcement, and potential impact on innovation.

In today’s cybersecurity environment, threat detection is key. In this episode, Principal Analyst Brian Wrozek and Senior Analyst Janet Worthington discuss the top five cybersecurity threats in 2024 and how organizations can protect themselves.

How important is AI to cloud providers? And how vital is cloud to the expanding list of AI workloads? In this episode, Vice President and Principal Analyst Mike Gualtieri and Principal Analyst Lee Sustar explore all aspects of the rise of AI in the cloud.

Perhaps the biggest challenge CX leaders have is proving the value of CX. Can AI help? Principal Analyst Pete Jacques thinks so and joins the podcast to explain how AI can help CX leaders prove ROI.