Transform Your Field Technical Support Services

Improve service and reduce costs through digital transformation.

Analyst Perspective

Improve staffing challenges through digital transformation.

Many IT teams are struggling to keep up with demand while trying to refocus on customer service. With more remote workers than ever, organizations who have traditionally provided desktop and field services have been revaluating the role of the field service technicians. Add in the price of fuel, and there is even more reason to assess the support model. Often changes to the way IT does support, especially if moving centralized support to an outsourcer, is met with resistance by end users who don’t see the value of phoning someone else when their local technician is still available to problem solve. This speaks to the need to ensure the central group is providing value to end users as well as the technical team. With the challenges of finding the right number of technicians with the right skills, it’s time to rethink remote support and how that can be used to train and upskill the people you have. And it’s time to think about how to use field services tools to make the best use of your technician’s time.

Sandi Conrad

Principal Research Director

Infrastructure & Operations Practice

Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

With remote work becoming a normal employee offering for many organizations, self-serve/self-solve becoming more prominent, and a common call out to improve customer service, there is a need to re-examine the way many organizations are supplying onsite support. For organizations with a small number of offices, a central desk with remote tools may be enough or can be combined with a concierge service or technical center, but for organizations with multiple offices it becomes difficult to provide a consistent level of service for all customers unless there is a team onsite for each location. This may not be financially possible if there isn’t enough work to keep a technical team busy full-time.

Common Obstacles

Where people have a choice between calling a central phone number or talking to the technician down the hall, the in-person experience often wins out. End users may resist changes to in-person support as work is rerouted to a centralized group by choosing to wait for their favorite technician to show up onsite rather than reporting issues centrally. This can make the job of the onsite technician more challenging as they need to schedule time in every visit for unplanned work. And where technicians need to support multiple locations, travel needs to be calculated into lost technician time and costs.

Info-Tech’s Approach

• Service needs to be defined in a way that considers the organizational need for local, hands-on technicians, the need for customer service, and the need to make the best use of resources that you have.
• Service-level agreements will need to be refined and metrics will need to be analyzed for capacity and skilled planning.
• Organizational change management will be key to persuade users to engage with the technical team in a way that supports the new structure.

Info-Tech Insight

Improving process will be helpful for smaller teams, but as teams expand or work gets more complicated, investment in appropriate tools to support field services technicians will enable them to be more efficient, reduce costs, and improve outcomes when visits are warranted.

Your challenge

This research is designed to help organizations who are looking to:

• Redefine the role of deskside or field technicians as demand for service evolves and service teams are restructured.
• Redefine the role of onsite technicians when the help desk is outsourced.
• Define requirements when supplementing with outsourced field services teams.
• Identify barriers to streamlining processes.
• Look for opportunities to streamline processes and better use technical teams.
• Communicate and manage change to support roles.

With many companies having new work arrangements for users, where remote work may be a permanent offering or if your digital transformation is well underway, this provides an opportunity to rethink how field support needs to be done.

What is field services?

Field services is in-person support delivered onsite at one or more locations. Management of field service technicians may include queue management, scheduling service and maintenance requests, triaging incidents, dispatching technicians, ordering parts, tracking job status, and billing.

What challenges are you trying to solve within your field services offering?

Focus on the reasons for the change to ensure the outcome can be met. Common goals include improved customer service, better technician utilization, and increased response time and stability.

• Discuss specific challenges the team feels are contributing to less-than-ideal customer service.
• Does the team have the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to be successful? Technicians may be solving issues with the customer looking over their shoulder. Having quick access to knowledge articles or to subject matter experts who can provide deeper expertise remotely may be the difference between a single visit to resolve or multiple or extended visits.
• What percentage of tickets would benefit from triage and troubleshooting done remotely before sending a technician onsite? Where there are a high number of no-fault-found visits, this may be imperative to improving technician availability.
• Review method for distribution of tickets, including batching criteria and dispatching of technicians. Are tickets being dispatched efficiently? By location and/or priority? Is there an attempt to solve more tickets centrally? Should there be? What SLA adjustment is reasonable for onsite visits?
• Has the support value been defined?

Field services will see the biggest improvements through technology updates

Customer Intake Provide tools for scheduling technicians, self-serve and self- or assisted-solve through ITSM or CRM-based portal and visual remote tools.		Triage and Troubleshoot Upgrade remote tools to visual remote solutions to troubleshoot equipment as well as software. Eliminate no-fault-found visits and improve first-time fix rate by visually inspecting equipment before technician deployments.
Improve Communications FSM GPS and SMS updates can be set to notify customers when a technician is close by and can be used for customer sign-off to immediately update service records and launch survey or customer billing where applicable.		Schedule Technicians Field service management (FSM) ITSM modules will allow skills-based scheduling for remote technicians and determine best route for multi-site visits.
Enable Work From Anywhere FSM mobile applications can provide technicians with daily schedules, turn-by-turn directions, access to inventory, knowledge articles, maintenance, and warranty and asset records. Visual remote captures service records and enables access to SMEs.		Manage Expectations Know where technicians are for routing to emergency calls and managing workload using field service management solutions with GPS.

Digital transformation can dramatically improve customer and technician experience

Sources: 1 - TechSee, 2019; 2 - Glartek; 3 - Geoforce; 4 - TechSee, 2020

Improve technician utilization and scheduling with field services management software

Field services management (FSM) software is designed to improve scheduling of technicians by skills and location while reducing travel time and mileage. When integrated with ITSM software, the service record is transferred to the field technician for continuity and to prepare for the job. FSM mobile apps will enable technicians to receive schedule updates through the day and through GPS update the dispatcher as technicians move from site to site.

Improve time to resolve while cutting costs by using visual remote support tools

Visual remote support tools enable live video sessions to clearly see what the client or field service technician sees, enabling the experts to provide real-time assistance where the experts will provide guidance to the onsite person. Getting a view of the technology will reduce issues with getting the right parts, tools, and technicians onsite and dramatically reduce second visits.

Master the Secrets of Adobe’s Creative Cloud Contracts to Right-Size Your Adobe Spend

Learn the essential steps to avoid overspending and to maximize negotiation leverage with Adobe.

ANALYST PERSPECTIVE

Only 18% of Adobe licenses are genuine copies: are yours?

"Adobe has designed and executed the most comprehensive evolution to the subscription model of pre-cloud software publishers with Creative Cloud. Adobe's release of Document Cloud (replacement for the Acrobat series of software) is the final nail in the coffin for legacy licensing for Adobe. Technology procurement functions have run out of time in which to act while they still retain leverage, with the exception of some late adopter organizations that were able to run on legacy versions (e.g. CS6) for the past five years. Procuring Adobe software is not the same game as it was just a few years ago. Adopt a comprehensive approach to understanding Adobe licensing, contract, and delivery models in order to accurately forecast your software needs, transact against the optimal purchase plan, and maximize negotiation leverage. "

Scott Bickley

Research Lead, Vendor Practice

Info-Tech Research Group

Our understanding of the problem

This Research is Designed For:

• IT managers scoping their Adobe licensing requirements and compliance position.
• CIOs, CTOs, CPOs, and IT directors negotiating licensing agreements in search of cost savings.
• ITAM/Software asset managers responsible for tracking and managing Adobe licensing.
• IT and business leaders seeking to better understand Adobe licensing options (Creative Cloud).
• Vendor management offices in the process of a contract renewal.

This Research Will Help You:

• Understand and simplify licensing per product to help optimize spend.
• Ensure agreement type is aligned to needs.
• Navigate the purchase process to negotiate from a position of strength.
• Manage licenses more effectively to avoid compliance issues, audits, and unnecessary purchases.

This Research Will Also Assist:

• CFOs and the finance department
• Enterprise architects
• ITAM/SAM team
• Network and IT architects
• Legal
• Procurement and sourcing

This Research Will Help Them:

• Understand licensing methods in order to make educated and informed decisions.
• Understand the future of the cloud in your Adobe licensing roadmap.

Executive summary

Situation

• Adobe’s dominant market position and ownership of the creative software market is forcing customers to refocus the software acquisition process to ensure a positive ROI on every license.
• In early 2017, Adobe announced it would stop selling perpetual Creative Suite 6 products, forcing future purchases to be transitioned to the cloud.

Complication

• Adobe operates in its own niche in the creative space, and Adobe users have grown accustomed to their products, making switching very difficult.
• With transition to a cloud-based subscription model, organizations need to actively manage licenses, software provisioning, and consumption.
• Without a detailed understanding of Adobe’s various purchasing models, overspending often occurs.
• Organizations have experienced issues in identifying commercial licensed packages with their install files, making it difficult to track and assign licenses.

Resolution

• Gain visibility into license deployments and needs with a strong SAM program/tool; this will go a long way toward optimizing spend.
• Number of users versus number of installs are not the same, and confusing the two can result in overspending. Device-based licensing historically would have required two licenses, but now only one may be required.
• Ensure compliance with internal audits. Adobe has a very high rate of piracy stemming from issues such as license overuse, misunderstanding of contract language, using cracks/keygens, virtualized environments, indirect access, and sharing of accounts.
• A handful of products are still sold as perpetual – Acrobat Standard/Pro, Captivate, ColdFusion, Photoshop, and Premiere Elements – but be aware of what is being purchased and used in the organization.
• Beware of products deployed on server, where the number of users accessing that product cannot easily be counted.

Info-Tech Insight

1. Your user-need analysis has shifted in the new subscription-based model. Determine which products are needed versus nice to have to prevent overspending on the Creative Cloud suite.
2. Examine what you need, not what you have. You can no longer mix and match applications.
3. Compliance is not automatic with products that are in the cloud. Shared logins or computers with desktop installs that can be accessed by multiple users can cause noncompliance.

The aim of this blueprint is to provide a foundational understanding of Adobe

Why Adobe

In 2011 Adobe took the strategic but radical move toward converting its legacy on-premises licensing to a cloud-based subscription model, in spite of material pushback from its customer base. While revenues initially dipped, Adobe’s resolve paid off; the transition is mostly complete and revenues have doubled. This was the first enterprise software offering to effect the transition to the cloud in a holistic manner. It now serves as a case study for those following suit, such as Microsoft, Autodesk, and Oracle.

What to know

Adobe elected to make this market pivot in a dramatic fashion, foregoing a gradual transition process. Enterprise clients were temporarily allowed to survive on legacy on-premises editions of Adobe software; however, as the Adobe Creative Cloud functionality was quickly enhanced and new applications were launched, customer capitulation to the new subscription model was assured.

The Future

Adobe is now leveraging the power of connected customers, the availability of massive data streams, and the ongoing digitalization trend globally to supplement the core Creative Cloud products with online services and analytics in the areas of Creative Cloud for content, Marketing Cloud for marketers, and Document Cloud for document management and workflows. This blueprint focuses on Adobe's Creative Cloud and Document Cloud solutions and the enterprise term license agreement (ETLA).

Info-Tech Insight

Beware of your contract being auto-renewed and getting locked into the quantities and product subset that you have in your current agreement. Determining the number of licenses you need is critical. If you overestimate, you're locked in for three years. If you underestimate, you have to pay a big premium in the true-up process.

Learn the “Adobe way,” whether you are reviewing existing spend or considering the purchase of new products

1. Legacy on-premises Adobe Creative Suite products used to be available in multiple package configurations, enabling right-sized spend with functionality. Adobe’s support for legacy Creative Suites CS6 products ended in May 2017.
2. While early ETLAs allowed customer application packaging at a lower price than the full Creative Cloud suite, this practice has been discontinued. Now, the only purchasing options are the full suite or single-application subscriptions.
3. Buyers must now assess alternative Adobe products as an option for non-power users. For example, QuarkXPress, Corel PaintShop Pro, CorelDRAW, Bloom, and Affinity Designer are possible replacements for some Creative Cloud applications.
4. Document Cloud, Adobe’s latest step in creating an Acrobat-focused subscription model, limits the ability to reduce costs with an extended upgrade cycle. These changes go beyond the licensing model.
5. Organizations need to perform a cost-benefit analysis of single app purchases vs. the full suite to right-size spend with functionality.

As Adobe’s dominance continues to grow, organizations must find new ways to maintain a value-added relationship

Adobe estimates the total addressable market for creative and document cloud to be $21 billion. With no sign of growth slowing down, Adobe customers must learn how to work within the current design monopoly.

Source: Adobe, 2017

"Adobe is not only witnessing a steady increase in Creative Cloud subscriptions, but it also gained more visibility into customers’ product usage, which enables it to consistently push out software updates relevant to user needs. The company also successfully transformed its sales organization to support the recurring revenue model."

– Omid Razavi, Global Head of Success, ServiceNow

Consider your route forward

Consider your route forward, as ETLA contract commitments, scope, and mechanisms differ in structure to the perpetual models previously utilized. The new model shortchanges technology procurement leaders in their expectations of cost-usage alignment and opex flexibility (White, 2016).

☑ Implement a user profile to assign licenses by version and limit expenditures. Alternatives can include existing legacy perpetual and Acrobat classic versions that may already be owned by the organization.

☑ Examine the suitability and/or dependency on Document Cloud functions, such as existing business workflows and e-signature integration.

☑ Involve stakeholders in the evaluation of alternate products for use cases where dependency on Acrobat-specific functionality is limited.

☑ Identify not just the installs and active use of the applications but also the depth and breadth of use across the various features so that the appropriate products can be selected.

Use Info-Tech’s Adobe toolkit to prepare for your new purchases or contract renewal

Info-Tech Insight

IT asset management (ITAM) and software asset management (SAM) are critical! An error made in a true-up can cost the organization for the remaining years of the ETLA. Info-Tech worked with one client that incurred a $600k error in the true-up that they were not able to recoup from Adobe.

Apply licensing best practices and examine the potential for cost savings through an unbiased third-party perspective

Establish Licensing Requirements

• Understand Adobe’s product landscape and transition to cloud.
• Analyze users and match to correct Adobe SKU.
• Conduct an internal software assessment.
• Build an effective licensing position.

Evaluate Licensing Options

• Value Incentive Plan (VIP)
• Cumulative Licensing Program (CLP)
• Transactional Licensing Program (TLP)
• Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA)

Evaluate Agreement Options

• Price
• Discounts
• Price protection
• Terms and conditions

Purchase and Manage Licenses

• Learn negotiation tactics to enhance your current strategy.
• Control the flow of communication.
• Assign the right people to manage the environment.

Preventive practices can help find measured value ($)

Time and resource disruption to business if audited

Lost estimated synergies in M&A

Cost of new licensing

Cost of software audit, penalties, and back support

Lost resource allocation and time

Third party, legal/SAM partners

Cost of poor negotiation tactics

Lost discount percentage

Terms and conditions improved

Explore Adobe licensing and optimize spend – project overview

PHASE 1

Manage Your Adobe Agreements

Phase 1 outline

Call 1-888-670-8889 or email GuidedImplementations@InfoTech.com for more information.

Complete these steps on your own, or call us to complete a guided implementation. A guided implementation is a series of 2-3 advisory calls that help you execute each phase of a project. They are included in most advisory memberships.

Adobe’s Cloud – Snapshot of what has changed

1. Since Adobe has limited the procurement and licensing options with the introduction of Creative Cloud, there are three main choices:
1. Direct online purchase at Adobe.com
2. Value Incentive Plan (VIP): Creative Cloud for teams–based purchase with a volume discount (minimal, usually ~10%); may have some incentives or promotional pricing
3. Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA): Creative Cloud for Enterprise (CCE)
2. Adobe has discontinued support for legacy perpetual licenses, with the latest version being CS6, which is steering organizations to prioritize their options for products in the creative and document management space.
3. Document Cloud (DC) is the cloud product replacing the Acrobat perpetual licensing model. DC extends the subscription-based model further and limits options to extend the lifespan of legacy on-premises licenses through a protracted upgrade process.
4. The subscription model, coupled with limited discount options on transactional purchases, forces enterprises to consider the ETLA option. The ETLA brings with it unique term commitments, new pricing structures, and true-up mechanisms and inserts the "land and expand" model vs. license reassignment.

Info-Tech Insight

Adobe’s move from a perpetual license to a per-user subscription model can be positive in some scenarios for organizations that experienced challenges with deployment, management of named users vs. devices, and license tracking.

Core concepts of Adobe agreements: Discounting, pricing, and bundling

ETLA

Adobe has been systematically reducing discounts on ETLAs as they enter the second renewal cycle of the original three-year terms.

Adobe Cloud Bundling

Adobe cloud services are being bundled with ETLAs with a mandate that companies that do not accept the services at the proposed cost have Adobe management’s approval to unbundle the deal, generally with no price relief.

Custom Bundling

The option for custom bundling of legacy Creative Suite component applications has been removed, effectively raising the price across the board for licensees that require more than two Adobe applications who must now purchase the full Creative Cloud suite.

Higher and Public Education

Higher education/public education agreements have been revamped over the past couple of years, increasing prices for campus-wide agreements by double-digit percentages (~10-30%+). While they still receive an 80% discount over list price, IT departments in this industry are not prepared to absorb the budget increase.

Info-Tech Insight

Adobe has moved to an all-or-one bundle model. If you need more than two application products, you will likely need to purchase the full Creative Cloud suite. Therefore, it is important to focus on creating accurate user profiles to identify usage needs.

Use Info-Tech’s Adobe deployment tool for SAM: Track deployment and needs

Use Info-Tech’s Adobe deployment tool for SAM: Audit

Use Info-Tech’s Adobe deployment tool for SAM: Cost

Use Info-Tech’s tools to compare ETLA vs. VIP and to document forecasted costs and benefits

Is the ETLA or VIP option better for your organization?

Use Info-Tech’s Adobe ETLA vs. VIP Pricing Table tool to compare ETLA costs against VIP costs.

Your ETLA contains multiple products and is a multi-year agreement.

Use Info-Tech’s ETLA Forecasted Costs and Benefits tool to forecast your ETLA costs and document benefits.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud Complete offering provides access to all Adobe creative products and ongoing upgrades

Why subscription model?

The subscription model forces customers to an annuity-based pricing model, so Adobe has recurring revenue from a subscription-based product. This increases customer lifetime value (CLTV) for Adobe while providing ongoing functionality updates that are not version/edition dependent.

Key Characteristics:

• Available as a month-to-month or annual subscription license
• Can be purchased for one user, for a team, or for an enterprise
• Subject to annual payment and true-up of license fees
• Can only true-up during lifespan of contract; quantities cannot be reduced until renewal
• May contain auto-renewal clauses – beware!

Key things to know:

1. Applications can be purchased individually if users require only one specific product. A few products continue to have on-premises licensing options, but most are offered by per-user subscriptions.
2. At the end of the subscription period, the organization no longer has any rights to the software and would have to return to a previously owned version.
3. True-downs are not possible (in contrast to Microsoft’s Office 365).
4. Downgrade rights are not included or are limited by default.

Which products are in the Creative Cloud bundle?

Adobe Acrobat® XI Pro

Adobe After Effects® CC

Adobe Audition® CC

Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition

Adobe InDesign® CC

Adobe Dreamweaver® CC

Adobe Edge Animate

Adobe Edge Code preview

Adobe Edge Inspect

Adobe Photoshop CC

Adobe Edge Reflow preview

Adobe Edge Web Fonts

Adobe Extension Manager

ExtendScript Toolkit

Adobe Fireworks® CS6

Adobe Flash® Builder® 4.7 Premium Edition

Adobe Flash Professional CC

Adobe Illustrator® CC

Adobe Prelude® CC

Adobe Premiere® Pro CC

Adobe Scout

Adobe SpeedGrade® CC

Adobe Muse CC

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6

Adobe offers different solutions for teams vs. enterprise licensing

Evaluate the various options for Creative Cloud, as they can be purchased individually, for teams, or for enterprise.

For further information on specific functionality differences, reference Adobe’s comparison table.

A Cloud-ish solution: Considerations and implications for IT organizations

☑ True cloud products are typically service-based, scalable and elastic, shared resources, have usage metering, and rely upon internet technologies. Currently, Adobe’s Creative Cloud and Document Cloud products lack these characteristics. In fact, the core products are still downloaded and physically installed on endpoint devices, then anchored to the cloud provisioning system, where the software can be automatically updated and continuously verified for compliance by ensuring the subscription is active.

☑ Adobe Cloud allows Adobe to increase end-user productivity by releasing new features and products to market faster, but the customer will increase lock-in to the Adobe product suite. The fast-release approach poses a different challenge for IT departments, as they must prepare to test and support new functionality and ensure compatibility with endpoint devices.

☑ There are options at the enterprise level that enable IT to exert more granular control over new feature releases, but these are tied to the ETLA and the provided enterprise portal and are not available on other subscription plans. This is another mechanism by which Adobe has been able to spur ETLA adoption.

☑ Not all CIOs consider SaaS/subscription applications their first choice, but the Adobe’s dominant position in the content and document management marketplace is forcing the shift regardless. It is significant that Adobe bypassed the typical hybrid transition model by effectively disrupting the ability to continue with perpetual licensing without falling behind the functionality curve.

☑ VIP plans do allow for annual terms and payment, but you lose the price elasticity that comes with multi-year terms.

Download Info-Tech’s Adobe ETLA vs. VIP Pricing Table tool to compare ETLA costs against VIP costs.

When moving to Adobe cloud, validate that license requirements meet organizational needs, not a sales quota

Follow these steps in your transition to Creative Cloud.

Step 1: Make sure you have a software asset management (SAM) tool to determine Adobe installs and usage within your environment.

Step 2: Look at the current Adobe install base and usage. We recommend reviewing three months’ worth of reliable usage data to decide which users should have which licenses going forward.

Step 3: Understand the changes in Adobe packages for Creative Cloud (CC). Also, take into account that the license types are based on users, not devices.

Step 4: Identify those users who only need a single license for a single application (e.g. Photoshop, InDesign, Muse).

Step 5: Identify the users who require CC suites. Look at their usage of previous Adobe suites to get an idea of which CC suite they require. Did they have Design Suite Standard installed but only use one or two elements? This is a good way to ensure you do not overspend on Adobe licenses.

Source: The ITAM Review

Download Info-Tech’s Adobe ETLA Deployment Forecast tool to track Adobe installs within your environment and to determine usage needs.

Acquiring Adobe Software

Adobe offers four common licensing methods, which are reviewed in detail in the following slides.

"Customers are not even obliged to manage all the licenses themselves. The reseller partners have access to the cloud console and can manage licenses on behalf of their customers. Even better, they can seize cross and upsell opportunities and provide good insight into the environment. Additionally, Adobe itself provides optimization services."

– B-lay

CLP and TLP

The CLP and TLP are transactional agreements generally used for the purchase of perpetual licenses. For example, they could be used for making Acrobat purchases if Creative Suite products are purchased on the ETLA.

Source: “Adobe Buying Programs Comparison Guide for Commercial and Government Organizations”

VIP and ETLA

The Value Incentive Plan is aimed at small- to medium-sized organizations with no minimum quantity required. However, there is limited flexibility to reduce licenses and limited price protection for future purchases. The ETLA is aimed at large organizations who wish to have new functionality as it comes out, license management portal, services, and security/IT control aspects.

Source: “Adobe Buying Programs Comparison Guide for Commercial and Government Organizations”

ETLA commitments risk creating “shelfware-as-a-service”

The Adobe ETLA’s rigid contract parameters, true-up process, and unique deployment/provisioning mechanisms give technology/IT procurement leaders fewer options to maximize cost-usage alignment and to streamline opex costs.

☑ No ETLA price book is publicly published; pricing is controlled by the Adobe enterprise sales team.

☑ Adobe's retail pricing is a good starting point for negotiating discounted pricing.

☑ ETLA commitments are usually for three years, and the lack of a true-down option increases the risk involved in overbuying licenses should the organization encounter a business downturn or adverse event.

☑ Pricing discounts are the highest at the initial ETLA signing for the upfront volume commitment. The true-up pricing is discounted from retail but still higher than the signing cost per license.

☑ Technical support is included in the ETLA.

☑ While purchases typically go through value-added resellers (VARs), procurement can negotiate directly with Adobe.

"For cloud products, it is less complex when it comes to purchasing and pricing. If larger quantities are purchased on a longer term, the discount may reach up to 15%. As soon as you enroll in the VIP program, you can control all your licenses from an ‘admin console’. Any updates or new functionalities are included in the original price. When the licenses expire, you may choose to renew your subscriptions or remove them. Partial renewal is also accepted. Of course, you can also re-negotiate your price if more subscriptions are added to your console."

– B-lay

ETLA recommendations

1. Assess the end-user requirements with a high degree of scrutiny. Perform an analysis that matches the licensee with the correct Adobe product SKU to reduce the risk of overspending.

• Leverage metering data that identifies actual usage and lack thereof, match to user profile functional requirements, and then determine end users’ actual license requirements.

• Demand price transparency and granularity in the proposal process.
• Validate that volume discounts are appropriate and show through to the true-up line item pricing.

INFO-TECH TIP: For further guidance on ETLAs and pricing, contact your Info-Tech representative to set up a call with an analyst.

Use Info-Tech’s Adobe ETLA Deployment Forecast tool to match licensees with Adobe product SKUs.

Prepare for Adobe’s true-up process

How the true-up process works

When adding a license, the true-up price will be prorated to 50% of the license cost for previous year’s usage plus 100% of the license cost for the next year. This back-charging adds up to 150% of the overall true-up license cost. In some rare cases, Adobe has provided an “unlimited” quantity for certain SKUs; these Unlimited ETLAs generally align with FTE counts and limit FTE increases to about 5%. Procurement must monitor and work with SAM/ITAM and stakeholder groups to restrain unnecessary growth during the term of an Unlimited ETLA to avoid the risk of cost escalation at renewal time.

Higher-education specific

Higher-education clients can license under the ETLA based on a prescribed number of user and classroom/lab devices and/or on a FTE basis. In these cases, the combination of Creative Cloud and Acrobat Pro volume must equal the FTE total, creating an enterprise footprint. FTE calculations establish the full-time faculty plus one-third of part-time faculty plus one-half of part-time staff.

Info-Tech Insight

Compliance takes a different form in terms of the ETLA true-up process. The completion of Adobe's transition to cloud-based licensing and verification has improved compliance rates via phone home telemetry such that pirated software is less available and more easily detected. Adobe has actually decommissioned its audit arm in the Americas and EMEA.

Audits and software asset management with Adobe

Watch out for:

• Virtual desktops, freeware, and test and trial licenses
• Adobe products that may be bundled into a suite; a manual check will be needed to ensure the suite isn’t recognized as a standalone license
• Pirated licenses with a “crack” built into the software

Simplify your process – from start to finish – with these steps:

Determine License Entitlements

Obtain documentation from internal records and Adobe to track licenses and upgrades to determine what licenses you own and have the right to use.

Gather Deployment Information

Leverage a software asset management tool or process to determine what software is deployed and what is/is not being used.

Determine Effective License Position

Compare license entitlements with deployment data to uncover surpluses and deficits in licensing. Look for opportunities.

Plan Changes to License Position

Meet with IT stakeholders to discuss the enterprise license program (ELP), short- and long-term project plans, and budget allocation. Plan and document licensing requirements.

Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service

• This service was started in 2014 to combat non-genuine software sold by non-authorized resellers.
• The service works hand in hand with the cloud movement to reduce piracy.
• Every Adobe product now contains an executable file that will scan your machine for non-genuine software.
• If non-genuine software is detected, the user will be notified and directed to the official Adobe website for next steps.

Detailed list of Adobe licensing contract types

The table below describes Adobe contract types beyond the four typical purchasing models explained in the previous slides:

Insight breakdown

Insight 1

Adobe operates in its own niche in the creative space, and Adobe users have grown accustomed to their products, making switching very difficult.

Insight 2

Adobe has transitioned the vast majority of its software offerings to the cloud-based subscription model. Active management of licenses, software provisioning, and consumption of cloud services is now an ongoing job.

Insight 3

With the vendor lock-in process nearly complete via the transition to a SaaS subscription model, Adobe is raising prices on an annual basis. Advance planning and strategic use of the ETLA is key to avoid budget-breaking surprises.

Summary of accomplishment

Knowledge Gained

• The key pieces of licensing information that should be gathered about the current state of your own organization.
• An in-depth understanding of the required licenses across all of your products.
• Clear methodology for selecting the most effective contract type.
• Development of measurable, relevant metrics to help track future project success and identify areas of strength and weakness within your licensing program.

Processes Optimized

• Understanding of the importance of licensing in relation to business objectives.
• Understanding of the various licensing considerations that need to be made.
• Contract negotiation.

Deliverables Completed

• Adobe ETLA Deployment Forecast
• Adobe ETLA Forecasted Cost and Benefits
• Adobe ETLA vs. VIP Pricing Table

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Bibliography

“Adobe Buying Programs: At-a-glance comparison guide for Commercial and government organizations.” Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

“Adobe Buying Programs Comparison Guide for Commercial and Government Organizations.” Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2018. Web.

“Adobe Buying Programs Comparison Guide for Education.” Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2018. Web. 1 Feb 2018.

“Adobe Education Enterprise Agreement: Give your school access to the latest industry-leading creative tools.” Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

“Adobe Enterprise Term License Agreement for commercial and government organizations.” Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Adobe Investor Presentation – October 2017. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 2017. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Cabral, Amanda. “Students react to end of UConn-Adobe contract.” The Daily Campus (Uconn), 5 April 2017. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

de Veer, Patrick and Alecsandra Vintilescu. “Quick Guide to Adobe Licensing.” B-lay, Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

“Find the best program for your organization.” Adobe, Web. 1 Feb 2018.

Foxen, David. “Adobe Upgrade Simplified.” Snow Software, 7 Oct. 2016. Web.

Frazer, Bryant. “Adobe Stops Reporting Subscription Figures for Creative Cloud.” Studio Daily. Access Intelligence, LLC. 17 March 2016. Web.

“Give your students the power to create bright futures.” Adobe, Web. 1 Feb 2018.

Jones, Noah. “Adobe changes subscription prices, colleges forced to pay more.” BG Falcon Media. Bowling Green State University, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Mansfield, Adam. “Is Your Organization Prepared for Adobe’s Enterprise Term License Agreements (ETLA)?” UpperEdge,30 April 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Murray, Corey. “6 Things Every School Should Know About Adobe’s Move to Creative Cloud.” EdTech: Focus on K-12. CDW LLC, 10 June 2013. Web.

“Navigating an Adobe Software Audit: Tips for Emerging Unscathed.” Nitro, Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Razavi, Omid. “Challenges of Traditional Software Companies Transitioning to SaaS.” Sand Hill, 12 May 2015. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Rivard, Ry. “Confusion in the Cloud.” Inside Higher Ed. 22 May 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

Sharwood, Simon. “Adobe stops software licence audits in Americas, Europe.” The Register. Situation Publishing. 12 Aug. 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2018.

“Software Licensing Challenges Faced In The Cloud: How Can The Cloud Benefit You?” The ITAM Review. Enterprise Opinions Limited. 20 Nov. 2015. Web.

White, Stephen. “Understanding the Impacts of Adobe’s Cloud Strategy and Subscriptions Before Negotiating an ETLA.” Gartner, 22 Feb. 2016. Web.

Define Your Virtual and Hybrid Event Requirements

Accelerate your event scoping and software selection process.

Analyst Perspective

When events go virtual, IT needs to cover its bases.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a dramatic digital transformation on the events industry. Though event ticket and registration software, mobile event apps, and onsite audio/visual technology were already important pieces of live events, the total transformation of events into online experiences presented major challenges to organizations whose regular business operations involve at least one annual mid-sized to large event (association meetings, conferences, trade shows, and more).

Many organizations worked to shift to online, or virtual events, in order to maintain business continuity. As time went on, and public gatherings began to restart, a shift to “hybrid” events began to emerge—events that accommodate both in-person and virtual attendance. Regardless of event type, this pivot to using virtual event software, or digital event technology, brings events more closely into IT’s areas of responsibility. If you don't begin with strategy, you risk fitting your event to technology, instead of the other way around.

If virtual and hybrid events are becoming standard forms of delivering content in your organization, use Info-Tech’s material to help define the scope of the event and your requirements, and to support your software selection process.

Emily Sugerman
Research Analyst, Infrastructure & Operations
Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insight

If you don't begin with strategy, you will fit your event to technology, instead of the other way around.

Your challenge

The solution you have been using for online events does not meet your needs.

Though you do have some tools that support large meetings, it is not clear if you require a larger and more comprehensive virtual event solution. There is a need to determine what type of technology you might need to purchase versus leveraging what you already have.

It is difficult to quickly and practically identify core event requirements and how they translate into technical capabilities.

Maintaining or improving audience engagement is a perpetual challenge for virtual events.

Source: Virtual Event Tech Guide, 2022

Common obstacles

These barriers make this challenge difficult to address for many organizations.

Events with networking objectives are not always well served by webinars, which are traditionally more limited in their interactive elements.

Events that include the conducting of organizational/association business (like voting) may have bylaws that make selecting a virtual solution more challenging.

Maintaining attendee engagement is more challenging in a virtual environment.

Prior to the pandemic, your organization may not have been as experienced in putting on fully virtual events, putting more responsibility in your corner as IT. Navigating virtual events can also require technological competencies that your attendee userbase may not universally possess.

Technological limitations and barriers to access can exclude potential attendees just as much as bringing events online can open up attendance to new audiences.

Opportunity: Virtual events can significantly increase an event’s reach

Events held virtually during the pandemic noted significant increases in attendees.

“We had 19,000 registrations from all over the world, almost 50 times the number of people we had expected to host in Amsterdam. . . . Most of this year’s [2020] attendees would not have been able to participate in a physical GrafanaCon in Amsterdam. That was a huge win.” – Raj Dutt, Grafana Labs CEO[5]

[1] Kelly, 2020; [2] Price, 2020; [3] Stanford Digital Economy Lab, 2022; [4] Warren, 2022; [5] Fast Company, 2020

Info-Tech’s methodology for defining virtual/hybrid event requirements

Event planning phases

Apply project management principles to your virtual/hybrid event planning process.

Online event planning should follow the same established principles as in-person event planning.
Align the event’s concept and objectives with organizational goals.

Source: Adapted from Event Management Body of Knowledge, CC BY 4.0

Gather inputs to the planning processes

Acquire as much of this information as possible before you being the planning process.

Budget: Determine your organization’s budget for this event to help decide the scope of the event and the purchasing decisions you make as you plan.

Internal human resources: Identify who in your organization is usually involved in the organization of this event and if they are available to organize this one.

List of communication and collaboration tools: Acquire the list of the existing communication and collaboration tools you are currently licensed for. Ensure you know the following information about each tool:

• Type of license
• License limitations (maximum number of users)
• Internal or external-facing tool (or capable of both)
• Level of internal training and competency on the tool

Decision point: Relate event goals to organizational goals

What is driving the event?

Your organization may hold a variety of in-person events that you now wish, for various reasons, to hold fully or partially online. Each event likely has a slightly different set of goals.

Before getting into the details of how to transition your event online, return to the business/organizational goals the event is serving.

Ensure each event (and each component of each event) maps back to an organizational goal.

If a component of the event does not align to an organizational goal, assess whether it should remain as part of the event.

Common organizational goals

• Increase revenue
• Increase productivity
• Attract and retain talent
• Improve change management
• Carry out organizational mission
• Identify new markets
• Increase market share
• Improve customer service
• Launch new product/service

Common event goals

• Education/training
• Knowledge transfer
• Decision making
• Professional development
• Sales/lead generation
• Fundraising
• Entertainment
• Morale boosting
• Recognition of achievement

Decision point: Identify your organization’s digital event vision

What do you want the outcome of this event to be?

Attendee goals: Who are your attendees? Why do they attend this event? What attendee needs does your event serve? What is your event’s value proposition? Are they intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to attend?

Event goals: From the organizer perspective, why do you usually hold this event? Who are your stakeholders?

Organizational goals: How do the event goals map to your organizational goals? Is there a clear understanding of what the event’s larger strategic purpose is.

Common attendee goals

Education: our attendees need to learn something new that they cannot learn on their own.
Networking: our attendees need to meet people and make new professional connections.
Professional development: our attendees have certain obligations to keep credentials updated or to present their work publicly to advance their careers.
Entertainment: our attendees need to have fun.
Commerce: our attendees need to buy and sell things.

Decision point: Level of external event production

Will you be completely self-managed, reliant on external event production services, or somewhere in the middle?

You can review this after working through the other decision points and the scope becomes clearer.

Decision point: Assign event planning roles

Who will be involved in planning the event? Fill/combine these roles as needed.

Decision point: Assign event production roles

Who will be involved in running the event?

Decision point: Map attendee goals to event goals to organizational goals

Input: List of attendee benefits, List of event goals, List of organizational goals
Output: Ranked list of event goals as they relate to attendee needs and organizational goals
Materials: Whiteboard/flip charts
Participants: Planning team

1. Define attendee benefits:
   1. List the attendee benefits derived from your event (as many as possible).
   2. Rank attendee benefits from most to least important.
2. Define event goals:
   1. List your event goals (as many as possible).
   2. Draw a connecting line to your ranked list of attendee benefits.
   3. Identify if any event goals exist with no clear relationship to attendee benefits. Discuss whether this event goal needs to be re-envisioned. If it connects to no discernible attendee benefits, consider removing it. Otherwise, figure out what attendee benefits the event goal provides.
3. Define organizational goals:
   1. Acquire a list of your organization’s main strategic goals.
   2. Draw a connecting line from each event goal to the organizational goal it supports.
   3. If most of your event goals do not immediately seem to support an organizational goal, discuss why this is. Try to find the connection. If you cannot, discuss whether the event should proceed or be rethought.

Decision point: Break down your event into its constituent components

Identify your event archetype

Decompose the event into its component parts

Identify technical requirements that help meet event goals

Benefits:

• Clarify how formerly in-person events map to virtual archetypes.
• Ensure your virtual event planning is anchored to organizational goals from the outset.
• Streamline your virtual event tech stack planning later.

Decision point: Determine your event archetype

Analyze your event’s:

• Main goals.
• The components and activities that support those goals.
• How these components and activities fall into people- vs. content-centric activities, and real-time vs. asynchronous activities.

1. Conference
2. Trade show
3. Annual general meeting
4. Department meeting
5. Town hall
6. Workshop

Info-Tech Insight

Begin the digital event planning process by understanding how your event’s content is typically consumed. This will help you make decisions later about how best to deliver the content virtually.

Conference

Goals: Education/knowledge transfer; professional advancement; networking.

Major content

• Call for proposals/circulation of abstracts
• Keynotes or plenary address: key talk addressed to large audience
• Panel sessions: multiple panelists deliver address on common theme
• Poster sessions: staffed/unstaffed booths demonstrate visualization of major research on a poster
• Association meetings (see also AGM archetype): professional associations hold AGM as one part of a larger conference agenda

Community

• Formal networking (happy hours, social outings)
• Informal networking (hallway track, peer introductions)
• Business card exchange
• Pre- and post-event correspondence

Commercial Partners

• Booth reps: Publishing or industry representatives exhibit products/discuss collaboration

Trade show

Objectives: Information transfer; sales; lead generation.

Major content

• Live booth reps answer questions
• Product information displayed
• Promotional/information material distributed
• Product demonstrations at booths or onstage
• Product samples distributed to attendees

Community interactions

• Statements of intent to buy
• Lead generation (badge scanning) of booth visitors
• Business card exchange
• Pre- and post-event correspondence

Annual general meeting

Objectives: Transparently update members; establish governance and alignment.

Meeting events

• Updates provided to members on organization’s activities/finances
• Decisions made regarding organization’s direction
• Governance over organization established (elections)
• Speakers addressing large audience from stage
• In-camera sessions
• Translation of proceedings
• Real-time weighted voting
• Minutes taken during meeting

Administration

• Notice given of meeting within mandated time period
• Agenda circulated prior to meeting
• Distribution of proxy material
• Minutes distributed

Department meeting

Objectives: Information transfer of company agenda/initiatives; group decision making.

Major content

• Agenda circulated prior to meeting
• Updates provided from senior management/leadership to employees on organization’s initiatives and direction
• Employee questions and feedback addressed
• Group decision making
• Minutes taken during meeting
• Minutes or follow-up circulated

Town hall meeting

Objectives: Update public; answer questions; solicit feedback.

Major content

• Public notice of meeting announced
• Agenda circulated prior to meeting
• Speakers addressing large audience from stage
• Presentation of information pertinent to public interest
• Audience members line up to ask questions/provide feedback
• Translation of proceedings
• Recording of meeting archived

Workshop

Objectives: Make progress on objective; achieve consensus; knowledge transfer.

Major content

• Scheduling of workshop
• Agenda circulated prior to meeting
• Facilitator leads group activities
• Participants develop alignment on project
• Progress achieved on workshop project
• Feedback on workshop shared with facilitator

Decision point: Analyze your event’s purpose and value

Use the event archetypes to help you identify your event’s core components and value proposition.

1. Attendee types: Who typically attends your event? Exclusively internal participants? External participants? A mix of the two?
2. Communication: How do participants usually communicate with each other during this event? How do they communicate with the event organizers? Include both formal types of communication (listening to panel sessions) and informal (serendipitous conversations in the hallway).
3. Connection: What types of connections do your attendees need to experience? (networking with peers; interactions with booth reps; consensus building with colleagues).
4. Exchange of material: What kind of material is usually exchanged at this event and between whom? (Pamphlets, brochures, business cards, booth swag).
5. Engagement: How do you usually retain attendees' attention and make sure they remain engaged throughout the event?
6. Length: How long does the event typically last?
7. Location and setup: Where does the event usually take place and who is involved in its setup?
8. Success metrics: How do you usually measure your event's success?

Info-Tech Insight

Avoid trying to exactly reproduce the formerly in-person event online. Instead, identify the value proposition of each event component, then determine what its virtual expression could be.

Example: Trade show

Goals: Information transfer; sales; lead generation.

1. Identify event component(s)
2. Document its face-to-face expression(s)
3. Identify the expression’s value proposition
4. Translate the value proposition to a virtual component that facilitates overall event goal

Plan your metrics

Use the analytics and reporting features available in your event technology toolset to capture the data you want to measure. Decide how each metric will impact your planning process for the next event.

Examples of metrics:

• Number of overall participants/registrants: Did you have more or fewer registrants/attendees than previous iterations of the event? What is the difference between number of registrants and number of real attendees?
• Locations of participants: Where are people participating from? How many are attending for the first time? Are there new audiences you can pursue next time?
• Most/least popular sessions: How long did people stay in the sessions and the event overall?
• Most/least popular breakout rooms and discussion boards: Which topics should be repeated/skipped next time?
• Social media mentions: Which topics received the most engagement on social media?
• Surveys: What do participants report enjoying most? Least?
• Technical failures: Can your software report on failures? Identify what technical problems arose and prepare a plan to mitigate them next time.

Ensure the data you capture feeds into better planning for the next event

Determine compliance requirements

A greater event reach also means new data privacy considerations, depending on the location of your guests.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Concerns over the collection of personal electronic data may not have previously been a part of your event planning considerations. However, now that your event is online, it’s wise to explore which data protection regulations apply to you. Remember, even if your organization is not located in the EU, if any of your attendees are European data subjects you may still be required to comply with GDPR, which involves the notification of data collected, allowing for opt-out options and the right to have data purged. The data must be collected for a specific purpose; if that purpose is expired, it can no longer be retained. You also have an obligation to report any breaches.

Accessibility requirements

What kind of accessibility laws are you subject to (AODA, WCAG2)? Regardless of compliance requirements, it is a good idea to ensure the online event follows accessibility best practices.

Decision point: Set event policies

What event policies need to be documented?
How will you communicate them to attendees?

Code of conduct

One trend in the large event and conference space in recent years has been the development of codes of conduct that attendees are required to abide by to continue participating in the event.
Now that your event is online, consider whether your code of conduct requires updating. Are there new types of appropriate/inappropriate online behavior that you need to define for your attendees?

Harassment reporting

If your organization has an event harassment reporting process, determine how this process will transfer over to the digital event.
Ensure the reporting process has an owner and a clear methodology to follow to deal with complaints, as well as a digital reporting channel (a dedicated email or form) that is only accessed by approved staff to protect sensitive information.

Develop a risk management plan

Plan for how you will mitigate technical risks during your virtual event
Provide presenters with a process to follow if technical problems arise.

• Presenter’s internet connection cuts out
• Attendees cannot log in to event platform
• Attendees cannot hear/see video feed
• What process will be followed when technical problems occur: ticketing system; chatbot; generic email accessible by all IT support assigned

Testing/Rehearsal

Test audio hardware: Ensure speakers use headphones/earbuds and mics (they do not have to be fancy/expensive). Relying on the computer/laptop mic can lead to more ambient noise and potential feedback problems.

Check lighting: Avoid backlighting. Reposition speakers so they are not behind windows. Ask them to open/close shades. Add lamps as needed.

Prevent interruptions: Before the event, ask panelists to turn phone and computer notifications to silent. Put a sign on the door saying Do not Disturb.

Control audience view of screenshare: If your presenters will be sharing their screens, teach them how this works on the platform they are using. Advise them to exit out of any other application that is not part of their presentation, so they do not share the wrong screen unintentionally. Advise them to remove anything from the desktop that they do not want the audience to see, in case their desktop becomes visible at any point.

Control audience view of physical environment: Before the event, advise participants to turn their cameras on and examine their backgrounds. Remove anything the audience should not be able to see.

Test network connectivity: Send the presenters a link to a speed test and check their internet speed.

Emergency contact: Exchange cell phone numbers for emergency backchannel conversations if problems arise on the day of the event.

Set expectations: Presenting to an online audience feels very different to a live crowd. Prepare presenters for a lack of applause and lack of ability to see their audience, and that this does not mean the presentation was unsuccessful.

Identify requirements

To determine what kind of technical requirements you need to build the virtual expression of your event, consult the Virtual Event Platform Requirements Tool.

1. If you have determined that the requirements you wish to use for the event exceed the capabilities of your existing communication and collaboration toolset, identify whether these gaps tip the scale toward purchasing a new tool. Use the requirement gaps to make the business case for purchasing a new tool.
2. Use the Virtual Event Platform Requirements Tool to create a list of requirements.
3. Consult the Software Reviews category for Virtual Event Platform Data Quadrant and Emotional Footprint reports.
4. Assemble your documentation for approvals and the Rapid Application Selection Process.

Download the Virtual/Hybrid Event Software Feature Analysis Tool

Rapid Application Selection Framework and Contract Review

Launch Info-Tech’s Rapid Application Selection Framework.

Using the requirements you’ve just gathered as a base, use Info-Tech’s complete framework to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of software selection.

Once you’ve selected a vendor(s), review the contract. Does it define an exit strategy? Does it define when your data will be deleted? Does it set service-level agreements that you find acceptable? Leverage Info-Tech’s contract review service once you have selected the virtual event solution and have received a contract from the vendor.

Further research

Run Better Meetings

Bibliography

Dutt, Raj. “7 Lessons from This Company’s First-Ever Virtual Conference.” Fast Company, 29 Jul 2020. Web.

Kelly, Samantha Murphy. “Microsoft Build Proves Splashy Tech Events Can Thrive Online.” CNN, 21 May 2020. Web.

“Phases.” Event Management Body of Knowledge (EMBOK), n.d. Web.

Price, Michael. “As COVID-19 Forces Conferences Online, Scientists Discover Upsides of Virtual Format.” Science, 28 Apr 2020. Web.

“Stanford HAI Spring Conference - Key Advances in Artificial Intelligence.” Stanford Digital Economy Lab, 2022. Web.

“Virtual Event Tech Guide 2022.” Skift Meetings, April 2022. Web.

Warren, Tom. “Microsoft Build 2022 Will Take Place May 24th–26th.” The Verge, 30 March 2022. Web.

Contributors

6 anonymous contributors

Drive Technology Adoption

The project is over. The new technology is implemented. Now how do we make sure it's used?

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

Technology endlessly changes and evolves. Similarly, business directions and requirements change, and these changes need to be supported by technology. Improved functionality and evolvement of systems, along with systems becoming redundant or unsupported, means that maintaining a static environment is virtually impossible.

Enormous amounts of IT budget are allocated to these changes each year. But once the project is over, how do you manage that change and ensure the systems are being used? Planning your technology adoption is vital.

Common Obstacles

The obstacles to technology adoption can be many and various, covering a broad spectrum of areas including:

• Reluctance of staff to let go of familiar processes and procedures.
• Perception that any change will add complications but not add value, thereby hampering enthusiasm to adopt.
• Lack of awareness of the change.
• General fear of change.
• Lack of personal confidence.

Info-Tech’s Approach

Start by identifying, understanding, categorizing, and defining barriers and put in place a system to:

• Gain an early understanding of the different types of users and their attitudes to technology and change.
• Review different adoption techniques and analyze which are most appropriate for your user types.
• Use a “Follow the Leader” approach, by having technical enthusiasts and champions to show the way.
• Prevent access to old systems and methods.

Info-Tech Insight

For every IT initiative that will be directly used by users, consider the question, “Will the final product be readily accepted by those who are going to use it?” There is no point in implementing a product that no one is prepared to use. Gaining user acceptance is much more than just ticking a box in a project plan once UAT is complete.

The way change should happen is clear

Prosci specializes in change. Its ADKAR model outlines what’s required to bring individuals along on the change journey.

AWARENESS

• Awareness means more than just knowing there’s a change occurring,
• it means understanding the need for change.

DESIRE

• To achieve desire, there needs to be motivation, whether it be from an
• organizational perspective or personal.

KNOWLEDGE

• Both knowledge on how to train during the transition and knowledge
• on being effective after the change are required. This can only be done
• once awareness and desire are achieved.

ABILITY

• Ability is not knowledge. Knowing how to do something doesn’t necessarily translate to having the skills to do it.

REINFORCEMENT

• Without reinforcement there can be a tendency to revert.

When things go wrong

New technology is not being used

The project is seen as complete. Significant investments have been made, but the technology either isn’t being used or is only partially in use.

Duplicate systems are now in place

Even worse. The failure to adopt the new technology by some means that the older systems are still being used. There are now two systems that fail to interact; business processes are being affected and there is widespread confusion.

Benefits not being realized

Benefits promised to the business are not being realized. Projected revenue increases, savings, or efficiencies that were forecast are now starting to be seen as under threat.

There is project blowout

The project should be over, but the fact that the technology is not being used has created a perception that the implementation is not complete and the project needs to continue.

Info-Tech Insight

People are far more complicated than any technology being implemented.

Consider carefully your approach.

Why does it happen?

POOR COMMUNICATION

There isn’t always adequate communications about what’s changing in the workplace.

FEAR

Fear of change is natural and often not rational. Whether the fear is about job loss or not being able to adapt to change; it needs to be managed.

TRAINING

Training can be insufficient or ineffective and when this happens people are left feeling like they don’t have the skills to make the change.

LACK OF EXECUTIVE SUPPORT

A lack of executive support for change means the change is seen as less important.

CONFLICTING VIEWS OF CHANGE

The excitement the project team and business feels about the change is not necessarily shared throughout the business. Some may just see the change as more work, changing something that already works, or a reason to reduce staff levels.

LACK OF CONFIDENCE

Whether it’s a lack of confidence generally with technology or concern about a new or changing tool, a lack of confidence is a huge barrier.

BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS

There is a cost with managing people during a change, and budget must be allocated to allow for it.

Communications

Info-Tech Insight

Since Sigmund Freud there has been endless work to understand people’s minds.
Don’t underestimate the effect that people’s reactions to change can have on your project.

Communication plans are designed to properly manage change. Managing change can be easier when we have the right tools and information to adapt to new circumstances. The Kubler-Ross change curve illustrates the expected steps on the path to acceptance of change. With the proper communications strategy, each can be managed appropriately

Analyst perspective

Paul Binns – Principal Research Advisor, Info-Tech

The rapidly changing technology landscape in our world has always meant that an enthusiasm or willingness to embrace change has been advantageous. Many of us have seen how the older generation has struggled with that change and been left behind.

In the work environment, the events of the past two years have increased pressure on those slow to adopt as in many cases they couldn't perform their tasks without new tools. Previously, for example, those who may have been reluctant to use digital tools and would instead opt for face-to-face meetings, suddenly found themselves without an option as physical meetings were no longer possible. Similarly, digital collaboration tools that had been present in the market for some time were suddenly more heavily used so everyone could continue to work together in the “online world.”

At this stage no one is sure what the "new normal" will be in the post-pandemic world, but what has been clearly revealed is that people are prepared to change given the right motivation.

“Technology adoption is about the psychology of change.”
Bryan Tutor – Executive Counsellor, Info-Tech

The Fix

• Categorize Users
  • Gain a clear understanding of your user types.
• Identify Adoption Techniques
  • Understand the range of different tools and techniques available.
• Match Techniques To Categories
  • Determine the most appropriate techniques for your user base.
• Follow-the-Leader
  • Be aware of the different skills in your environment and use them to your advantage.
• Refresh, Retrain, Restrain
  • Prevent reversion to old methods or systems.

Categories

Client-Driven Insight

Consider your staff and industry when looking at the Everett Rogers curve. A technology organization may have less laggards than a traditional manufacturing one.

In Everett Rogers’ book Diffusion of Innovations 5th Edition (Free Press, 2005), Rogers places adopters of innovations into five different categories.

Category 1: The Innovator – 2.5%

Innovators are technology enthusiasts. Technology is a central interest of theirs, either at work, at home, or both. They tend to aggressively pursue new products and technologies and are likely to want to be involved in any new technology being implemented as soon as possible, even before the product is ready to be released.

For people like this the completeness of the new technology or the performance can often be secondary because of their drive to get new technology as soon as possible. They are trailblazers and are not only happy to step out of their comfort zone but also actively seek to do so.

Although they only make up about 2.5% of the total, their enthusiasm, and hopefully endorsement of new technology, offers reassurance to others.

Info-Tech Insight

Innovators can be very useful for testing before implementation but are generally more interested in the technology itself rather than the value the technology will add to the business.

Category 2: The Early Adopter – 13.5%

Whereas Innovators tend to be technologists, Early Adopters are visionaries that like to be on board with new technologies very early in the lifecycle. Because they are visionaries, they tend to be looking for more than just improvement – a revolutionary breakthrough. They are prepared to take high risks to try something new and although they are very demanding as far as product features and performance are concerned, they are less price-sensitive than other groups.

Early Adopters are often motivated by personal success. They are willing to serve as references to other adopter groups. They are influential, seen as trendsetters, and are of utmost importance to win over.

Info-Tech Insight

Early adopters are key. Their enthusiasm for technology, personal drive, and influence make them a powerful tool in driving adoption.

Category 3: The Early Majority – 34%

This group is comprised of pragmatists. The first two adopter groups belong to early adoption, but for a product to be fully adopted the mainstream needs to be won over, starting with the Early Majority.

The Early Majority share some of the Early Adopters’ ability to relate to technology. However, they are driven by a strong sense of practicality. They know that new products aren’t always successful. Consequently, they are content to wait and see how others fare with the technology before investing in it themselves. They want to see well-established references before adopting the technology and to be shown there is no risk.

Because there are so many people in this segment (roughly 34%), winning these people over is essential for the technology to be adopted.

Category 4: The Late Majority – 34%

The Late Majority are the conservatives. This group is generally about the same size as the Early Majority. They share all the concerns of the Early Majority; however, they are more resistant to change and are more content with the status quo than eager to progress to new technology. People in the Early Majority group are comfortable with their ability to handle new technology. People in the Late Majority are not.

As a result, these conservatives prefer to wait until something has become an established standard and take part only at the end of the adoption period. Even then, they want to see lots of support and ensure that there is proof there is no risk in them adopting it.

Category 5: The Laggard – 16%

This group is made up of the skeptics and constitutes 16% of the total. These people want nothing to do with new technology and are generally only content with technological change when it is invisible to them. These skeptics have a strong belief that disruptive new technologies rarely deliver the value promised and are almost always worried about unintended consequences.

Laggards need to be dealt with carefully as their criticism can be damaging and without them it is difficult for a product to become fully adopted. Unfortunately, the effort required for this to happen is often disproportional to the size of the group.

Info-Tech Insight

People aren’t born laggards. Technology projects that have failed in the past can alter people’s attitudes, especially if there was a negative impact on their working lives. Use empathy when dealing with people and respect their hesitancy.

Adoption Techniques

Different strokes for different folks

Technology adoption is all about people; and therefore, the techniques required to drive that adoption need to be people oriented.

The following techniques are carefully selected with the intention of being impactful on all the different categories described previously.

There are multitudes of different methods to get people to adopt new technology, but which is the most appropriate for your situation? Generally, it’s a combination.

Train the Trainer

Use your staff to get your message across.

Abstract

This technique involves training key members of staff so they can train others. It is important that those selected are strong communicators, are well respected by others, and have some expertise in technology.

Advantages

• Cost effective
• Efficient dissemination of information
• Trusted internal staff

Disadvantages

• Chance of inconsistent delivery
• May feel threatened by co-worker

Best to worst candidates

• Early Adopter: Influential trendsetters. Others receptive of their lead.
• Innovator: Comfortable and enthusiastic about new technology, but not necessarily a trainer.
• Early Majority: Tendency to take others’ lead.
• Late Majority: Risk averse and tend to follow others, only after success is proven.
• Laggard: Last to adopt usually. Unsuitable as Trainer.

Marketing

Marketing should be continuous throughout the change to encourage familiarity.

Abstract

Communication is key as people are comfortable with what is familiar to them. Marketing is an important tool for convincing adopters that the new product is mainstream, widely adopted and successful.

Advantages

• Wide communication
• Makes technology appear commonplace
• Promotes effectiveness of new technology

Disadvantages

• Reliant on staff interest
• Can be expensive

Best to worst candidates

• Early Majority: Pragmatic about change. Marketing is effective encouragement.
• Early Adopter: Receptive and interested in change. Marketing is supplemental.
• Innovator: Actively seeks new technology. Does not need extensive encouragement.
• Late Majority: Requires more personal approach.
• Laggard: Resistant to most enticements.

One-on-One

Tailored for individuals.

Abstract

One-on-one training sometimes is the only way to train if you have staff with special needs or who are performing unique tasks.
It is generally highly effective but inefficient as it only addresses individuals.

Advantages

• Tailored to specific need(s)
• Only relevant information addressed
• Low stress environment

Disadvantages

• Expensive
• Possibility of inconsistent delivery
• Personal conflict may render it ineffective

Best to worst candidates

• Laggard: Encouragement and cajoling can be used during training.
• Late Majority: Proof can be given of effectiveness of new product.
• Early Majority: Effective, but not cost efficient.
• Early Adopter: Effective, but not cost-efficient.
• Innovator: Effective, but not cost-efficient.

Group Training

Similar roles, attitudes, and abilities.

Abstract

Group training is one of the most common methods to start people on their journey toward new technology. Its effectiveness with the two largest groups, Early Majority and Late Majority, make it a primary tool in technology adoption.

Advantages

• Cost effective
• Time effective
• Good for team building

Disadvantages

• Single method may not work for all
• Difficult to create single learning pace for all

Best to worst candidates

• Early Majority: Receptive. The formality of group training will give confidence.
• Late Majority: Conservative attitude will be receptive to traditional training.
• Early Adopter: Receptive and attentive. Excited about the change.
• Innovator: Will tend to want to be ahead or want to move ahead of group.
• Laggard: Laggards in group training may have a negative impact.

Force

The last resort.

Abstract

The transition can’t go on forever.

At some point the new technology needs to be fully adopted and if necessary, force may have to be used.

Advantages

• Immediate full transition
• Fixed delivery timeline

Disadvantages

• Alienation of some staff
• Loss of faith in product if there are issues

Best to worst candidates

• Laggard: No choice but to adopt. Forces the issue.
• Late Majority: Removes issue of reluctance to change.
• Early Majority: Content, but worried about possible problems.
• Early Adopter: Feel less personal involvement in change process.
• Innovator: Feel less personal involvement in change process.

Contests

Abstract

Contests can generate excitement and create an explorative approach to new technology. People should not feel pressured. It should be enjoyable and not compulsory.

Advantages

• Rapid improvement of skills
• Bring excitement to the new technology
• Good for team building

Disadvantages

• Those less competitive or with lower skills may feel alienated
• May discourage collaboration

Best to worst candidates

• Early Adopter: Seeks personal success. Risk taker. Effective.
• Innovator: Enthusiastic to explore limits of technology.
• Early Majority: Less enthusiastic. Pragmatic. Less competitive.
• Late Majority: Conservative. Not enthusiastic about new technology.
• Laggard: Reluctant to get involved.

Incentives

Incentives don’t have to be large.

Abstract

For some staff, merely taking management’s lead is not enough. Using “Nudge” techniques to give that extra incentive is quite effective. Incentivizing staff either financially or through rewards, recognition, or promotion is a successful adoption technique for some.

Advantages

Encouragement to adopt from receiving tangible benefit

Draws more attention to the new technology

Disadvantages

Additional expense to business or project

Possible poor precedent for subsequent changes

Best to worst candidates

Early Adopter: Desire for personal success makes incentives enticing.

Early Majority: Prepared to change, but extra incentive will assist.

Late Majority: Conservative attitude means incentive may need to be larger.

Innovator: Enthusiasm for new technology means incentive not necessary.

Laggard: Sceptical about change. Only a large incentive likely to make a difference.

Champions

Strong internal advocates for your new technology are very powerful.

Abstract

Champions take on new technology and then use their influence to promote it in the organization. Using managers as champions to actively and vigorously promote the change is particularly effective.

Advantages

• Infectious enthusiasm encourages those who tend to be reluctant
• Use of trusted internal staff

Disadvantages

• Removes internal staff from regular duties
• Ineffective if champion not respected

Best to worst candidates

• Early Majority: Champions as references of success provide encouragement.
• Late Majority: Management champions in particular are effective.
• Laggard: Close contact with champions may be effective.
• Early Adopter: Receptive of technology, less effective.
• Innovator: No encouragement or promotion required.

Herd Mentality

Follow the crowd.

Abstract

Herd behavior is when people discount their own information and follow others. Ideally all adopters would understand the reason and advantages in adopting new technology, but practically, the result is most important.

Advantages

• New technology is adopted without question
• Increase in velocity of adoption

Disadvantages

• Staff may not have clear understanding of the reason for change and resent it later
• Some may adopt the change before they are ready to do so

Best to worst candidates

• Early Majority: Follow others’ success.
• Late Majority: Likely follow an established proven standard.
• Early Adopter: Less effective as they prefer to set trends rather than follow.
• Innovator: Seeks new technology rather than following others.
• Laggard: Suspicious and reluctant to change.

Proof of Concepts

Gain early input and encourage buy-in.

Abstract

Proof of concept projects give early indications of the viability of a new initiative. Involving the end users in these projects can be beneficial in gaining their support

Advantages

Involve adopters early on

Valuable feedback and indications of future issues

Disadvantages

If POC isn’t fully successful, it may leave lingering negativity

Usually, involvement from small selection of staff

Best to worst candidates

• Innovator: Strong interest in getting involved in new products.
• Early Adopter: Comfortable with new technology and are influencers.
• Early Majority: Less interest. Prefer others to try first.
• Late Majority: Conservative attitude makes this an unlikely option.
• Laggard: Highly unlikely to get involved.

Match techniques to categories

What works for who?

Follow the leader

Engage your technology enthusiasts early to help refine your product, train other staff, and act as champions. A combination of marketing and group training will develop a herd mentality. Finally, don’t neglect the laggards as they can prevent project completion.

Info-Tech Insight

Although there are different size categories, none can be ignored. Consider your budget when dealing with smaller groups, but also consider their impact.

Refresh, retrain, restrain

We don’t want people to revert.

Don’t assume that because your staff have been trained and have access to the new technology that they will keep using it in the way they were trained. Or that they won’t revert back to their old methods or system.

Put in place methods to remove completely or remove access to old systems. Schedule refresh training or skill enhancement sessions and stay vigilant.

Research Authors

Paul Binns

Principal Research Advisor, Info-Tech Research Group

With over 30 years in the IT industry, Paul brings to his work his experience as a Strategic Planner, Consultant, Enterprise Architect, IT Business Owner, Technologist, and Manager. Paul has worked with both small and large companies, local and international, and has had senior roles in government and the finance industry.

Scott Young

Principal Research Advisor, Info-Tech Research Group

Scott Young is a Director of Infrastructure Research at Info-Tech Research Group. Scott has worked in the technology field for over 17 years, with a strong focus on telecommunications and enterprise infrastructure architecture. He brings extensive practical experience in these areas of specialization, including IP networks, server hardware and OS, storage, and virtualization.

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Quality Management User Satisfaction Survey

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Master Organizational Change Management Practices

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Bibliography

Beylis, Guillermo. “COVID-19 accelerates technology adoption and deepens inequality among workers in Latin America and the Caribbean.” World Bank Blogs, 4 March 2021. Web.

Cleland, Kelley. “Successful User Adoption Strategies.” Insight Voices, 25 Apr. 2017. Web.

Hiatt, Jeff. “The Prosci ADKAR ® Model.” PROSCI, 1994. Web.

Malik, Priyanka. “The Kübler Ross Change Curve in the Workplace.” whatfix, 24 Feb. 2022. Web.

Medhaugir, Tore. “6 Ways to Encourage Software Adoption.” XAIT, 9 March 2021. Web.

Narayanan, Vishy. “What PwC Australia learned about fast tracking tech adoption during COVID-19” PWC, 13 Oct. 2020. Web.

Sridharan, Mithun. “Crossing the Chasm: Technology Adoption Lifecycle.” Think Insights, 28 Jun 2022. Web.

Manage Exponential Value Relationships

Are you ready to manage outcome-based agreements?

Analyst Perspective

Outcome-based agreements require a higher degree of mutual trust.

Exponential IT brings with it an exciting new world of cutting-edge technology and increasingly accelerated growth of business and IT. But adopting and driving change through this paradigm requires new capabilities to grow impactful and meaningful partnerships with external vendors who can help implement technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Building outcome-based partnerships involves working very closely with vendors who, in many cases, will have just as much to lose as the organizations implementing these new technologies. This requires a greater degree of trust between parties than a standard vendor relationship. It also drastically increases the risks to both organizations; as each loses some control over data and outcomes, they must trust that the other organization will follow through on commitments and obligations. Outcome-based partnerships build upon traditional vendor management practices and create the potential for organizations to embrace emerging technology in new ways. Kim Osborne Rodriguez Research Director, CIO Advisory Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insight

Outcome-based partnerships require a higher degree of trust than traditional vendor relationships. Build trust by sharing risks and rewards.

Vendor relationships can be worth billions of dollars

Positive vendor relationships directly impact the bottom line, sometimes to the tune of billions of dollars annually.

• Organizations typically spend 40% to 80% of their total budget on external suppliers.
• Greater supplier trust translates directly to greater business profits, even in traditional vendor relationships.1
• Based on over a decade of data from vehicle manufacturers, greater supplier relationships nearly doubled the unit profit margin on vehicles, contributing over $20 billion to Toyota’s annual profits based on typical sales volume.2
• Having positive vendor relationships can be instrumental in times of crisis – when scarcity looms, vendors often choose to support their best customers.3,4 For example, Toyota protected itself from the losses many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) faced in 2020 and showed improved profitability that year due to increased demand for vehicles which it was able to supply as a result of top-ranked vendor relationships.

1 PR Newswire, 2022.
2 Based on 10 years of data comparing Toyota and Nissan, every 1-point increase in the company’s Working Relations Index was correlated with a $15.77 net profit increase per unit. Impact on Toyota annual profits is based on 10.5 million units sold in 2021 and 2022.
3 Interview with Renee Stanley, University of Texas at Arlington. Conducted 17 May 2023.
4 Plante Moran, 2020.

Sources: Macrotrends, Plante Moran 2022, Nissan 2022 and 2023, and Toyota 2022. Profit per car is based on total annual profit divided by total annual sales volume.

Outcome-based relationships are a new paradigm

In a new model where organizations are procuring autonomous capabilities, outcomes will govern vendor relationships.

An outcome-based relationship requires a higher level of mutual trust than traditional vendor relationships. This requires shared reward and shared risk.

Don’t forget about traditional vendor management relationships! Not all vendor relationships can (or should) be outcome-based.

Case study

INDUSTRY: Technology

SOURCE: Press Release

Microsoft and OpenAI partner on Azure, Teams, and Microsoft Office suite

In January 2023, Microsoft announced a $10 billion investment in OpenAI, allowing OpenAI to continue scaling its flagship large language model, ChatGPT, and giving Microsoft first access to deploy OpenAI’s products in services like GitHub, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Teams.

Shared risk

Issues with OpenAI’s platforms could have a debilitating effect on Microsoft’s own reputation – much like Google’s $100 billion stock loss following a blunder by its AI platform Bard – not to mention the financial loss if the platform does not live up to the hype.

Shared reward

This was a particularly important strategic move by Microsoft, as its main competitors develop their own AI models in a race to the top. This investment also gave OpenAI the resources to continue scaling and evolving its services much faster than it would be capable of on its own. If OpenAI’s products succeed, there is a significant upside for both companies.

Adapt your approach to vendor relationships

Both traditional vendors and exponential relationships are important.

Use Info-Tech’s research to Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative.

Common obstacles

Exponential relationships require new approaches to vendor management as businesses autonomize:

• Autonomization refers to the shift toward autonomous business capabilities which leverage technologies such as AI and quantum computing to operate independently of human interaction.
• The speed and complexity of technology advancement requires that businesses move quickly and confidently to develop strong relationships and deliver value.
• We are seeing businesses shift from procuring products and services to procuring autonomous business capabilities (sometimes called “as a service,” or aaS). This shift can drive exponential value but also increases complexity and risk.
• Exponential IT requires a shift in emphasis toward more mature relationship and risk management strategies, compared to traditional vendor management.

The shift from technology service agreements to business capability agreements needs a new approach

Eighty-seven percent of organizations are currently experiencing talent shortages or expect to within a few years.

Source: McKinsey, “Mind the [skills] gap”, 2021.

Sixty-three percent of IT leaders plan to implement AI in their organizations by the end of 2023.

Source: Info-Tech Research Group survey, 2022

Insight summary

Assess your readiness for exponential value relationships

Key deliverable:

Exponential Relationships Readiness Assessment

Determine your readiness to build exponential value relationships.

Measure the value of this blueprint

Save thousands of dollars by leveraging this research to assess your readiness, before you lose millions from a relationship gone bad.

Our research indicates that most organizations would take months to prepare this type of assessment without using our research. That’s over 80 person-hours spent researching and gathering data to support due diligence, for a total cost of thousands of dollars. Doesn’t your staff have better things to do?

Start by answering a few brief questions, then return to this slide at the end to see how much your answers have changed.

Use Info-Tech’s research to Exponential Relationships Readiness Assessment.

Establish a baseline

Gauge the effectiveness of this research by asking yourself the following questions before and after completing your readiness assessment:

How to use this research

Five tips to get the most out of your readiness assessment.

1. Each category consists of five competencies, with a maximum of five points each. The maximum score on this assessment is 100 points.
2. Effectiveness levels range from basic (level 1) to advanced (level 5). Level 1 is generally considered the baseline for most effectively operating organizations. If your organization is struggling with level 1 competencies, it is recommended to improve maturity in those areas before pursuing exponential relationships.
3. This assessment is qualitative; complete the assessment to the best of your ability, based on the scoring rubric provided. If you fall between levels, use the lower one in your assessment.
4. The scoring rubric may not perfectly fit the processes and practices within every organization. Consider the spirit of the description and score accordingly.
5. Other industry- and region-specific competencies may be required to succeed at exponential relationships. The competencies in this assessment are a starting point, and internal validation and assessments should be conducted to uncover additional competencies and skills.

Financial management

Manage your budget and spending to stay on track throughout your relationship.

“Most organizations underestimate the amount of time, money, and skill required to build and maintain a successful relationship with another organization. The investment in exponential relationships is exponential in itself – as are the returns.”

– Jennifer Perrier, Principal Research Director,
Info-Tech Research Group

This step involves the following participants:

• Executive leadership team, including CIO
• CFO
• Vendor management leader
• Other internal stakeholders of vendor relationships

Activities:

• Assess your ability to manage scope and budget in exponential IT relationships.

Successfully manage complex finances

Stay on track and keep your relationship running smoothly.

Why is this important?

• Finance is at the core of most business – it drives decision making, acts as a constraint for innovation and optimization, and plays a key role in assessing options (such as return on investment or payback period).
• Effectively managing finances is a critical success factor in developing strong relationships. Each organization must be able to manage their own budget and spending in order to balance the risk and reward in the relationship. Often, these risks and rewards will come in the form of profit and loss or revenue and spend.

Build it into your practice:

1. Ensure your financial decision-making practices are aligned with the organizational and relationship strategy. Do metrics and criteria reflect the organization’s goals?
2. Develop strong accounting and financial analysis practices – this includes the ability to conduct financial due diligence on potential vendors.
3. Develop consistent methodology to track and report on the desired outcomes on a regular basis.

Build your ability to manage finances

The five competencies needed to manage finances in exponential value relationships are:

Relationship management

Drive exponential value by becoming a customer of choice.

“The more complex the business environment becomes — for instance, as new technologies emerge or as innovation cycles get faster — the more such relationships make sense. And the better companies get at managing individual relationships, the more likely it is that they will become “partners of choice” and be able to build entire portfolios of practical and value-creating partnerships.”

(“Improving the management of complex business partnerships.” McKinsey, 2019)

This step involves the following participants:

• Executive leadership team, including CIO
• Vendor management leader
• Other internal stakeholders of vendor relationships

Activities:

• Assess your ability to manage relationships in exponential IT relationships.

Take your relationships to the next level

Maintaining positive relationships is key to building trust.

Why is this important?

• All relationships will experience challenges, and the ability to resolve these issues will rely heavily on the relationship management skills and soft skills of the leadership within each organization.
• Based on a 20-year study of vendor relationships in the automotive sector, business-to-business trust is a function of reasonable demands, follow-through, and information sharing.

(Source: Plante Moran, 2020)

Build it into your practice:

1. Develop the soft skills necessary to promote psychological safety, growth mindset, and strong and open communication channels.
2. Be smart about sharing information – you don’t need to share everything, but being open about relevant information will enhance trust.
3. Both parties need to work hard to develop trust necessary to build a true relationship. This will require increased access to decision-makers, clearly defined guardrails, and the ability for unsatisfied parties to leave.

Build your ability to manage relationships

The five competencies needed to manage relationships in exponential partnerships are:

Performance management

Outcomes management focuses on results, not methods.

According to Jennifer Robinson, senior editor at Gallup, “This approach focuses people and teams on a concrete result, not the process required to achieve it. Leaders define outcomes and, along with managers, set parameters and guidelines. Employees, then, have a high degree of autonomy to use their own unique talents to reach goals their own way.” (Forbes, 2023)

In the context of exponential relationships, vendors can be given a high degree of autonomy provided they meet their objectives.

This step involves the following participants:

• Executive leadership team, including CIO
• Vendor management leader
• Other internal stakeholders of vendor relationships

Activities:

• Assess your ability to manage outcomes in exponential IT relationships.

Manage outcomes to drive mutual success

Build trust by achieving shared objectives.

Why is this important?

• Relationships are based on shared risk and shared reward for all parties. In order to effectively communicate the shared rewards, you must first understand and communicate your objectives for the relationship, then measure outcomes to ensure all parties are benefiting.
• Effectively managing outcomes reduces the risk that one party will choose to leave based on a perception of benefits not being achieved. Parties may still leave the agreement, but decisions should be based on shared facts and issues should be communicated and addressed early.

Build it into your practice:

1. Clearly articulate what you hope to achieve by entering an outcome-based relationship. Each party should outline and agree to the goals, objectives, and desired outcomes from the relationship.
2. Document how rewards will be shared among parties. What type of rewards are anticipated? Who will benefit and how?
3. Develop consistent methodology to track and report on the desired outcomes on a regular basis. This might consist of a vendor scorecard or a monthly meeting.

Build your ability to manage outcomes

The five competencies needed to manage outcomes in exponential value relationships are:

Risk management

Exponential IT means exponential risk – and exponential rewards.

One of the key differentiators between traditional vendor relationships and exponential relationships is the degree to which risk is shared between parties. This is not possible in all industries, which may limit companies’ ability to participate in this type of exponential relationship.

This step involves the following participants:

• Executive leadership team, including CIO
• Vendor management leader
• Risk management leader
• Other internal stakeholders of vendor relationships

Activities:

• Assess your ability to manage risk in exponential IT relationships.

Relationships come with a lot of hidden risks

Successfully managing complex risks can be the difference between a spectacular success and company-ending failure.

Why is this important?

• Relationships inherently involve a loss of control. You are relying on another party to fulfill their part of the agreement, and you depend on the success of the outcome. Loss of control comes with significant risks.
• Sharing in risk is what differentiates an outcome-based relationship from a traditional vendor relationship; vendors must have skin in the game.
• Organizations must consider many different types of risk when considering a relationship with a vendor: fraud, security, human rights, labor relations, ESG, and operational risks. Remember that risk is not inherently bad; some risk is necessary.

Build it into your practice:

1. Build or hire the necessary risk expertise needed to properly assess and evaluate the risks of potential vendor relationships. This includes intellectual property, ESG, legal/regulatory, cybersecurity, data security, and more.
2. Develop processes and procedures which clearly communicate and report on risk on a regular basis.

Info-Tech Insight

Some highly regulated industries (such as finance) are prevented from transferring certain types of risk. In these industries, it may be much more difficult to form vendor relationships.

Don’t forget about third-party ESG risk

Customers care about ESG. You should too.

Protect yourself against third-party ESG risks by considering the environmental and social impacts of your vendors.

Third-party ESG risks can include the following:

• Environmental risk: Vendors with unsustainable practices such as carbon emissions or waste generation of natural resource depletion can negatively impact the organization’s environmental goals.
• Social risk: Unsafe or illegal labor practices, human rights violations, and supply chain management issues can reflect negatively on organizations that choose to work with vendors who engage in such practices.
• Governance risk: Vendors who engage in illegal or unethical behaviors, including bribery and corruption or data and privacy breaches can impact downstream customers.

Working with vendors that have a poor record of ESG carries a very real reputational risk for organizations who do not undertake appropriate due diligence.

A global survey of nearly 14,000 customers revealed that…

Source: EY Future Consumer Index, 2021

Seventy-seven percent of customers believe companies have a responsibility to manufacture sustainably.

Sixty-eight percent of customers believe businesses should ensure their suppliers meet high social and environmental standards.

Fifty-five percent of customers consider the environmental impact of production in their purchasing decisions.

Build your ability to manage risk

The five competencies needed to manage risk in exponential value relationships are:

Contract management

Contract management is a critical part of vendor management.

Well-managed contracts include clearly defined pricing, performance-based outcomes, clear roles and responsibilities, and appropriate remedies for failure to meet requirements. In outcome-based relationships, contracts are generally used as a secondary method of enforcing performance, with relationship management being the primary method of addressing challenges and ensuring performance.

This step involves the following participants:

• Executive leadership team, including CIO
• Vendor management leader
• Risk management leader
• Other internal stakeholders of vendor relationships

Activities:

• Assess your ability to manage risk in exponential IT relationships.

Build your ability to manage contracts

The five competencies needed to manage contracts in exponential value relationships are:

Activity 1: Assess your readiness for exponential relationships

1-3 hours

1. Gather key stakeholders from across your organization to participate in the readiness assessment exercise.
2. As a group, review the core competencies from the previous four sections and determine where your organization’s effectiveness lies for each competency. Record your responses in the Exponential Relationships Readiness Assessment tool.

Download the Exponential Relationships Readiness Assessment tool.

Understand your assessment

This step involves the following participants:

• Executive leadership team, including CIO
• Vendor management leader
• Other internal stakeholders of vendor relationships

Activities:

• Create an action plan.

Understand the results of your assessment

Consider the following recommendations based on your readiness assessment scores:

• The chart to the right shows sample results. The bars indicate the recommended scores, and the line indicates the readiness score.
• Three or more categories below the recommended scores, or any categories more than five points below the recommendation: outcome-based relationships are not recommended at this time.
• Two or more categories below the recommended scores: Proceed with caution and limit outcome-based relationships to low-risk areas. Continue to mature capabilities.
• One category below the recommended scores: Evaluate the risks and benefits before engaging in higher-risk vendor relationships. Continue to mature capabilities.
• All categories at or above the recommended scores: You have many of the core capabilities needed to succeed at exponential relationships! Continue to evaluate and refine your vendor relationships strategy, and identify any additional competencies needed based on your industry or region.

Activity 2: Create an action plan

1 hour

1. Gather the stakeholders who participated in the readiness assessment exercise.
2. As a group, review the results of the readiness assessment. Where there any surprise? Do the results reflect your understanding of the organization’s maturity?
3. Determine which areas are likely to limit the organization’s relationship capability, based on lowest scoring areas and relative importance to the organization.
4. Break out into groups and have each group identify three actions the organization could take to mature the lowest scoring areas.
5. Bring the group back together and prioritize the actions. Note who will be accountable for each next step.

Related Info-Tech Research

Jump Start Your Vendor Management Initiative
Create and implement a vendor management framework to begin obtaining measurable results in 90 days.

Elevate Your Vendor Management Initiative
Transform your VMI from tactical to strategic to maximize its impact and value

Evaluate Your Vendor Account Team to Optimize Vendor Relations
Understand the value of knowing your account team’s influence in the organization, and your influence, to drive results.

Related Info-Tech Research

Build an IT Risk Management Program
Mitigate the IT risks that could negatively impact your organization.

Build an IT Budget
Effective IT budgets are more than a spreadsheet. They tell a story.

Adopt an Exponential IT Mindset
Thrive through the next paradigm shift..

Author

Kim Osborne Rodriguez Research Director, CIO Advisory Info-Tech Research Group

Kim is a professional engineer and Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) with over a decade of experience in management and engineering consulting spanning healthcare, higher education, and commercial sectors. She has worked on some of the largest hospital construction projects in Canada, from early visioning and IT strategy through to design, specifications, and construction administration. She brings a practical and evidence-based approach, with a track record of supporting successful projects. Kim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Honours Mechatronics Engineering and an option in Management Sciences from the University of Waterloo.

Research Contributors and Experts

	Jack Hakimian Senior Vice President Info-Tech Research Group Jack has more than 25 years of technology and management consulting experience. He has served multibillion-dollar organizations in multiple industries including financial services and telecommunications. Jack also served several large public sector institutions. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at technology and innovation conferences and events and holds a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering as well as an MBA from the ESCP-EAP European School of Management.		Michael Tweedie Practice Lead, CIO Strategy Info-Tech Research Group Mike Tweedie brings over 25 years as a technology executive. He’s led several large transformation projects across core infrastructure, application and IT services as the head of Technology at ADP Canada. He was also the Head of Engineering and Service Offerings for a large French IT services firm, focused on cloud adoption and complex ERP deployment and management. Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Ryerson University.
	Scott Bickley Practice Lead, VCCO Info-Tech Research Group Scott Bickley is a Practice Lead & Principal Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group, focused on Vendor Management and Contract Review. He also has experience in the areas of IT Asset Management (ITAM), Software Asset Management (SAM), and technology procurement along with a deep background in operations, engineering, and quality systems management. Scott holds a B.S. in Justice Studies from Frostburg State University. He also holds active IAITAM certification designations of CSAM and CMAM and is a Certified Scrum Master (SCM).		Donna Bales Principal Research Director Info-Tech Research Group Donna Bales is a Principal Research Director in the CIO Practice at Info-Tech Research Group, specializing in research and advisory services in IT risk, governance, and compliance. She brings over 25 years of experience in strategic consulting and product development and has a history of success in leading complex, multistakeholder industry initiatives. Donna has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Western Ontario.

Research Contributors and Experts

Jennifer Perrier Principal Research Director Info-Tech Research Group Jennifer has 25 years of experience in the information technology and human resources research space, joining Info-Tech in 1998 as the first research analyst with the company. Over the years, she has served as a research analyst and research manager, as well as in a range of roles leading the development and delivery of offerings across Info-Tech’s product and service portfolio, including workshops and the launch of industry roundtables and benchmarking. She was also Research Lead for McLean & Company, the HR advisory division of Info-Tech, during its start-up years. Jennifer’s research expertise spans the areas of IT strategic planning, governance, policy and process management, people management, leadership, organizational change management, performance benchmarking, and cross-industry IT comparative analysis. She has produced and overseen the development of hundreds of publications across the full breadth of both the IT and HR domains in multiple industries. In 2022, Jennifer joined Info-Tech’s IT Financial Management Practice with a focus on developing financial transparency to foster meaningful dialogue between IT and its stakeholders and drive better technology investment decisions.

Phil Bode Principal Research Director Info-Tech Research Group Phil has 30+ years of experience with IT procurement-related topics: contract drafting and review, negotiations, RFXs, procurement processes, and vendor management. Phil has been a frequent speaker at conferences, a contributor to magazine articles in CIO Magazine and ComputerWorld, and quoted in many other magazines. He is a co-author of the book The Art of Creating a Quality RFP. Phil has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a double major of Finance and Entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major of Accounting, both from the University of Arizona.

Research Contributors

Erin Morgan Assistant Vice President, IT Administration University of Texas at Arlington

Renee Stanley Assistant Director IT Procurement and Vendor Management University of Texas at Arlington

Note: Additional contributors did not wish to be identified.

Bibliography

Andrea, Dave. “Plante Moran’s 2022 Working Relations Index® (WRI) Study shows supplier relations can improve amid industry crisis.” Plante Moran, 25 Aug 2022. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Andrea, Dave. “Trust between suppliers and OEMs can better prepare you for the next crisis.” Plante Moran, 9 Sept 2020. Accessed 17 May 2023.
Cleary, Shannon, and Carolan McLarney. “Organizational Benefits of an Effective Vendor Management Strategy.” IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol. 16, Issue 4, Dec 2019.
De Backer, Ruth, and Eileen Kelly Rinaudo. “Improving the management of complex business partnerships.” McKinsey, 21 March 2019. Accessed 9 May 2023 .
Dennean, Kevin et al. “Let's chat about ChatGPT.” UBS, 22 Feb 2023. Accessed 26 May 2023.
F&I Tools. “Nissan Worldwide Vehicle Sales Report.” Factory Warranty List, 2022. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Gomez, Robin. “Adopting ChatGPT and Generative AI in Retail Customer Service.” Radial, 235, April 2023. Accessed 10 May 2023.
Harms, Thomas and Kristina Rogers. “How collaboration can drive value for you, your partners and the planet.” EY, 26 Oct 2021. Accessed 10 May 2023.
Hedge & Co. “Toyota, Honda finish 1-2; General Motors finishes at 3rd in annual Supplier Working Relations Study.” PR Newswire, 23 May 2022. Accessed 17 May 2023.
Henke Jr, John W., and T. Thomas. "Lost supplier trust, lost profits." Supply Chain Management Review, May 2014. Accessed 17 May 2023.
Information Services Group, Inc. “Global Demand for IT and Business Services Continues Upward Surge in Q2, ISG Index™ Finds.” BusinessWire, 7 July 2021. Accessed 8 May 2023.
Kasanoff, Bruce. “New Study Reveals Costs Of Bad Supplier Relationships.” Forbes, 6 Aug 2014. Accessed 17 May 2023.
Macrotrends. “Nissan Motor Gross Profit 2010-2022.” Macrotrends. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Macrotrends. “Toyota Gross Profit 2010-2022.” Macrotrends. Accessed 18 May 2023.
McKinsey. “Mind the [skills] gap.” McKinsey, 27 Jan 2021. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Morgan, Blake. “7 Examples of How Digital Transformation Impacted Business Performance.” Forbes, 21 Jul 2019. Accessed 10 May 2023.
Nissan Motor Corporation. “Nissan reports strong financial results for fiscal year 2022.” Nissan Global Newsroom, 11 May 2023. Accessed 18 May 2023.

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“OpenAI and Microsoft extend partnership.” Open AI, 23 Jan 2023. Accessed 26 May 2023.
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Build a More Effective Brand Architecture

Strategically optimize your portfolio to increase brand recognition and value.

Analyst perspective

Brand Architecture

Nathalie Vezina
Marketing Research Director
SoftwareReviews Advisory

This blueprint highlights common brand issues faced by companies, such as inconsistencies in branding and sub-branding due to absent or inadequate planning and documentation or non-compliance with the brand architecture. It emphasizes the importance of aligning or modifying the company's brand strategy with the existing architecture to create a consistent brand when launching new products, services, or divisions or preparing for acquisitions.

Changing the brand architecture can be challenging, as it often requires significant resources, time, and effort. Additionally, there may be resistance from stakeholders who have become attached to the existing brand architecture and may not see the value in making changes. However, it's important for companies to address suboptimal brand architecture to ensure consistency and clarity in brand messaging and support business growth and success.

This blueprint guides brand leaders on building and updating their brand architecture for optimal clarity, consistency, adaptability, and efficiency.

Executive summary

"[B]rand architecture is like a blueprint for a house...the foundation that holds all the pieces together, making sure everything fits and works seamlessly."
Source: Verge Marketing

The basics of brand architecture

The significance of brand hierarchy organization

Brand architecture is the hierarchical organization and its interrelationships. This includes shaping the brand strategy and structuring the company's product and service portfolio.

A well-designed brand architecture helps buyers navigate a company's product offerings and creates a strong brand image and loyalty.

A company's brand architecture typically includes three levels:

• Master or parent brand
• Sub-brands
• Endorsed brands

Choosing the right architecture depends on business strategy, products and services, and target audience. It should be reviewed periodically as the brand evolves, new products and services are launched, or new brands are acquired.

"A brand architecture is the logical, strategic, and relational structure for your brands, or put another way, it is the entity's 'family tree' of brands, sub-brands, and named products."
Source: Branding Strategy Insider

Enhancing a company's brand hierarchy for better business outcomes

Maximize brand strategy with a well-defined and managed brand architecture.

Align brand architecture with business goals
A well-defined brand architecture aligned with business objectives contributes to building brand recognition, facilitating brand extension, and streamlining brand portfolio management. In addition, it improves marketing effectiveness and customer experience.
With a clear and consistent brand architecture, companies can strengthen their brand equity, increase awareness and loyalty, and grow in their competitive environment.

Effectively engage with the desired buyers
A clear and consistent brand architecture enables companies to align their brand identity and value proposition with the needs and preferences of their target audience, resulting in increased customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Establishing a unique market position and reinforcing brand messaging and positioning allows companies to create a more personalized and engaging customer experience, driving business growth.

Maintain a competitive edge
An effective brand architecture allows companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors by establishing their unique position in the market. It also provides a structured framework for introducing new products or services under the same brand, leveraging the existing one.
By aligning their brand architecture with their business objectives, companies can achieve sustainable growth and outperform their competitors in the marketplace.

"A well-defined brand architecture provides clarity and consistency in how a brand is perceived by its audience. It helps to create a logical framework that aligns with a brand's overall vision and objectives."
Source: LinkedIn

Pitfalls of neglecting brand guidelines

Identifying the negative effects on business and brand value.

Deficient brand architecture can manifest in various ways.

Here are some common symptoms:

• Lack of clarity around the brand's personality and values
• Inconsistent messaging and branding
• Inability to differentiate from competitors
• Weak brand identity
• Confusion among customers and employees
• Difficulty launching new products/services or integrating acquired brands
• Lack of recognition and trust from consumers, leading to potential negative impacts on the bottom line

Brand architecture helps to ensure that your company's brands are aligned with your business goals and objectives, and that they work together to create a cohesive and consistent brand image.

The most common obstacles in developing and maintaining a clear brand architecture

Establishing and maintaining a clear brand architecture requires the commitment of the entire organization and a collaborative effort.

Lack of stakeholder buy-in > Resistance to change

Siloed teams > Inconsistent execution

Limited resources > Lack of education and communication

Types of brand architectures

Different approaches to structuring brand hierarchy

Brand architecture is a framework that encompasses three distinct levels, each comprising a different type of branding strategy.

Examples of types of brand architectures

Well-known brands with different brand and sub-brands structures

Pros and cons of each architecture types

Different approaches to organizing a brand portfolio

The brand architecture impacts the cohesiveness, effectiveness, and market reach. Defining or redefining organization changes is crucial for company performance.

Brand naming decision tree

Create a naming process for brand alignment and resonance with the target audience

To ensure a chosen name is effective and legally/ethically sound, consider the ease of pronunciation/spelling, the availability for registration of brand/domain name, any negative connotations/associations in any language/culture, and potential legal/ethical issues.

To ensure a chosen name is effective and legally/ethically sound, consider the ease of pronunciation/spelling, the availability for registration of brand/domain name, any negative connotations/associations in any language/culture, and potential legal/ethical issues.

Advantages of defining brand architecture

Maximize your brand potential with a clear architecture strategy.

Clear offering

Adaptability

Consistent branding

Competitive differentiation

Operational efficiency

Strong brand identity

Customer loyalty

Business success

"Responding to external influences, all brands must adapt and change over time. A clear system can aid in managing the process, ensuring that necessary changes are implemented effectively and efficiently."
Source: The Branding Journal

SoftwareReviews' brand architecture creation methodology

Insight summary

Brand Architecture: Organize and manage your portfolio of brands
Brand architecture is the way a company organizes and manages its portfolio of brands to achieve strategic goals. It encompasses the relationships between brands, from sub-brands to endorsed brands to independent brands, and how they interact with each other and with the master brand. With a clear brand architecture, businesses can optimize their portfolio, enhance their competitive position, and achieve sustainable growth and success in the long run.

Aligning brand architecture to business strategy
Effective brand architecture aligns with the company's business strategy, marketing objectives, and customer needs. It provides clarity and coherence to the brand portfolio, helps customers navigate product offerings, and maximizes overall equity of the brand.

Choosing between three types of brand architecture
A company's choice of brand architecture depends on factors like product range, target markets, and strategic objectives. Each approach, Branded House, Endorsed, or House of Brands, has its own pros and cons, and the proper option relies on the company's goals, resources, and constraints.

A logical brand hierarchy for more clarity
The order of importance of brands in the portfolio, including the relationships between the master and sub-brands, and the positioning of each in the market is fundamental. A clear and logical hierarchy helps customers understand the value proposition of each brand and reduces confusion.

A win-win approach
Clear brand architecture can help customers easily navigate and understand the product offering, reinforce the brand identity and values, and improve customer loyalty and retention. Additionally, it can help companies optimize their marketing strategies, streamline their product development and production processes, and maximize their revenue and profitability.

Brand architecture, an ongoing process
Brand architecture is not a one-time decision but an ongoing process that requires regular review and adjustment. As business conditions change, companies may need to revise their brand portfolio, brand hierarchy, or brand extension and acquisition strategies to remain competitive and meet customer needs.

Brand architecture creation tools

This blueprint comes with tools to help you develop your brand architecture.

Brand Architecture Toolkit

This kit includes a Brand Architecture Mini-Audit, a Brand Architecture template, and templates for Brand Matrix, Ecosystem, and Development Strategy.

Use this kit to develop a strong brand architecture that aligns with your business goals, clarifies your brand portfolio, and enhances overall brand equity.

Brand Architecture

Develop a robust brand architecture that supports your business goals, clarifies your brand portfolio, and enhances your overall brand equity.

"A brand architecture is the logical, strategic, and relational structure for your brands, or put another way, it is the entity's 'family tree' of brands, sub-brands, and named products."
Source: Branding Strategy Insider

Consequences of Neglected Brand Guidelines

When a company neglects its brand architecture and guidelines, it can result in a number of negative consequences, such as:

• Lack of clarity around the brand's personality and values
• Inconsistent messaging and branding
• Inability to differentiate from competitors
• Weak brand identity
• Confusion among customers and employees
• Difficulty launching new products/services or integrating acquired brands
• Lack of recognition and trust from consumers, leading to potential negative impacts on the bottom line.

Benefits of SoftwareReviews' Methodology

By following SoftwareReviews' methodology to develop and maintain a brand architecture, businesses can:

• Establish a unique market position and stand out from competitors
• Ensure that marketing efforts are focused and effective
• Create personalized and engaging customer experiences
• Reinforce messaging and positioning
• Increase customer loyalty and satisfaction
• Build brand recognition and awareness

Marq, formerly Lucidpress, surveyed over 400 brand management experts and found that "if the brand was consistent, revenue would increase by 10-20%."

Who benefits from this research?

This research is designed for:

• Organizations that value their brand and want to ensure that it is communicated effectively and consistently across all touchpoints.
• Business owners, marketers, brand managers, creative teams, and anyone involved in the development and implementation of brand strategy.

This research will also assist:

• Sales and customer experience teams
• Channel partners
• Buyers

This research will help you:

• Establish a unique market position and stand out from competitors.
• Create a more personalized and engaging customer experience.
• Ensure that marketing efforts are focused and effective.
• Reinforce brand messaging and positioning.

This research will help them:

• Increase customer loyalty and satisfaction
• Build brand recognition and awareness
• Drive business growth and profitability.

SoftwareReviews offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

Guided Implementation

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with a SoftwareReviews Marketing Analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

Your engagement managers will work with you to schedule analyst calls.

Brand Mind Mapping Workshop Overview

Total duration: 3-4 hours

Activities
Visually map out the different elements of your brand portfolio, including corporate brands, sub-brands, product brands, and their relationships with each other.

The workshop also aims to explore additional elements, such as brand expansions, acquisitions, and extensions, and brand attributes and positioning.

Deliverables
Get a mind map that represents the brand architecture and its various components, which can be used to evaluate and improve the overall coherence and effectiveness of the brand portfolio. The mind map can also provide insights into how different brands fit together and contribute to the overall brand strategy.

Participants

• Business owners
• Head of Branding and anyone involved with the brand strategy

Tools

• Brand Architecture Template, slides 7 and 8

Contact your account representative for more information
workshops@infotech.com | 1-888-670-8889

Get started!

Develop a brand architecture that supports your business goals, clarifies your brand portfolio, and enhances your overall brand equity.

Develop and Implement a Robust Brand Architecture

Step 1 Research and Analysis
1.1 Define architecture strategy
1.2 Perform brand audit
1.3 Identify brand core elements

Step 2 Development and Implementation
2.1 Determine brand hierarchy
2.2 Develop or update brand guidelines
2.3 Roll out brand architecture

Phase Outcome

• Brand current performance is assessed
• Issues are highlighted and can be addressed
• Brand structure is developed and implemented across touchpoints and assets
• Adjustments made on an ongoing basis for consistency and relevance to business goals

Develop and implement a robust brand architecture

Steps 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3 Define architecture strategy, audit brand, and identify core elements.

Total duration: 2.5-4.5 hours

Objective
Define brand objectives (hierarchy, acquired brand inclusion, product distinction), scope, and stakeholders. Analyze the brand portfolio to identify gaps or inconsistencies. Identify brand components (name, logo, tagline, personality) and align them with the brand and business strategy.

Output
By completing these steps, you will assess your current brand portfolio and evaluate its consistency and alignment with the overall brand strategy.

Participants

• Business owners
• Head of Branding and anyone involved with the brand strategy

Tools

• Diagnose Brand Health to Improve Business Growth Blueprint (optional)
• Brand Awareness Strategy Template (optional)

1.1 Define Brand Architecture Strategy
(60-120 min.)

Define

Define brand objectives (hierarchy, inclusion of an acquired brand, product distinction), scope, and stakeholders.

1.2 Conduct Brand Audit
(30-60 min.)

Assess

Assess the state of your brand architecture using the "Brand architecture mini-audit checklist," slide 9 of the Brand Architecture Strategy Template. Check the boxes that correspond to the state of your brand architecture. Those left unchecked represent areas for improvement.

For a more in-depth analysis of your brand performance, follow the instructions and use the tools provided in the Diagnose Brand Health to Improve Business Growth blueprint (optional).

1.3 Identify Core Brand Elements
(60-90 min.)

Identify

Define brand components (name, logo, tagline, personality). Align usage with strategy. You can develop your brand strategy, if not already existing, using the Brand Awareness Strategy Template (optional).

Tip!

Continuously monitor and adjust your brand architecture - it's not static and should evolve over time. You can also adapt your brand strategy as needed to stay relevant and competitive.

Develop and implement a robust brand architecture

Steps 2.1. 2.2 & 2.3 Develop brand hierarchy, guidelines, and rollout architecture.

Total duration: 3.5-5.5 hours

Objective
Define your brand structure and clarify the role and market position of each. Create concise brand expression guidelines, implement them across all touchpoints and assets, and adjust as needed to stay aligned with your business goals.

Output
This exercise will help you establish and apply your brand structure, with a plan for ongoing updates and adjustments to maintain consistency and relevance.

Participants

• Business owners
• Head of Branding and anyone involved with the brand strategy

Tools

• Brand Architecture Template
• Brand Voice Guidelines
• Brand Messaging Template
• Asset Creation and Management List Template

2.1 Determine Brand Hierarchy
(30-60 min.)

Analyze & Document

In the Brand Architecture Strategy Template, complete the brand matrix, ecosystem, development strategy matrix, mind mapping, and architecture, to develop a strong brand architecture that aligns with your business goals and clarifies your brand portfolio and market position.

2.2 Develop/Update Brand Guidelines
(120-180 min.)

Develop/Update

Develop (or update existing) clear, concise, and actionable brand expression guidelines using the Brand Voice Guidelines and Brand Messaging Template.

2.2 Rollout Brand Architecture
Preparation (60-90 min.)

Create & Implement

Use the Asset Creation and Management List Template to implement brand architecture across touchpoints and assets.

Monitor and Adjust

Use slide 8, "Brand Strategy Development Matrix," of the Brand Architecture Strategy Template to identify potential and future brand development strategies to build or enhance your brand based on your current brand positioning and business goals. Monitor, and adjust as needed, for relevance to the brand and business strategy.

Tip!

Make your brand architecture clear and simple for your target audience, employees, and stakeholders. This will avoid confusion and help your audience understand your brand structure.

Prioritizing clarity and simplicity will communicate your brand's value proposition effectively and create a strong brand that resonates with your audience and supports your business goals.

Related SoftwareReviews research

Diagnose Brand Health to Improve Business Growth

Have a significant and well-targeted impact on business success and growth by knowing how your brand performs, identifying areas of improvement, and making data-driven decisions to fix them.

• Increase brand awareness and equity.
• Build trust and improve customer retention and loyalty.
• Achieve higher and faster growth.

Accelerate Business Growth and Valuation by Building Brand Awareness

Successfully build awareness and help the business grow. Stand out from the competition and continue to grow in a sustainable way.

• Get a clear understanding of the buyer's needs and your key differentiator.
• Achieve strategy alignment and readiness.
• Create and manage assets.

Bibliography

"Brand Architecture: Definition, Types, Strategies, and Examples." The Branding Journal, 2022.

"Brand Architecture: What It Is and How to Build Your Brand's Framework." HubSpot, 2021.

"Brand Architecture Framework." Verge Marketing, 2021.

"Brand consistency-the competitive advantage and how to achieve it." Marq/Lucidpress, 2021.

"Building brands for growth: A fresh perspective." McKinsey & Company. Accessed on 31 March 2023.

Daye, Derrick. "Brand Architecture Strategy Guide." Branding Strategy Insider, The Blake Project, 13 May 2021.

Todoran, Adrian. "Choosing the Perfect Brand Architecture Strategy for Your Business." LinkedIn, 2023.

IT Talent Trends 2022

The last two years have been a great experiment … but it’s not over yet.

Incorporate new ways of working into your business to build and keep the best team.

Over the past two years, organizations have ventured into unprecedented ways of working and supporting their employees, as they tried to maintain productivity through the pandemic. This experiment has made lasting changes to both business models and employee expectations, and these effects will continue to be seen long after we return to a “new normal.”

While the pandemic forced us to work differently for the past two years, looking forward, successful organizations will incorporate new ways of working into their business models – beyond simply having a remote work policy.

How we work, source roles, and develop talent continue to evolve as we navigate a different world with employees being more vocal in their desires, and leaders continue to play a key role.

The IT talent market will never be the same, and organizations must reevaluate their employee experience from the bottom up to successfully weather the shift to the new normal.

IT Talent Trends 2022

The pandemic has clarified employees’ needs and amplified their voices

If 2021 was about beginning to act on employee needs, 2022 will be about strategically examining each trend to ensure that the actions taken by the organization are more than lip service.

Employees have always been able to see through disingenuous attempts to engage them, but in 2022 the stakes are higher due to increased talent mobility.

Trends that were just starting to come into focus last year have established themselves as critical determinants of the employee experience in 2022.

2021			DEI: A Top Talent Objective	Remote Work Is Here to Stay	Uncertainty Unlocks Performance	A Shift in Skills Priorities	A Greater Emphasis on Wellbeing
2022	Strategic Recruiting Finds Good Talent Finding talent in a strained talent market requires a marketing approach. Posting a job description isn’t enough.	The (Not So) Great Resignation IT is faring better than other functions; however, specific industries need to pay attention.	Grow Your DEI Practices Into Meaningful Actions Good intentions are not enough.	Remote Work Is Here – Can Your Culture Adapt? The Great Experiment is over. Are leaders equipped to capitalize on its promises?		Management Skills Drive Success in a Remote World Despite the need for remote team management training, it is still not happening.

What employees are looking for is changing

Superficial elements of traditional office culture were stripped away by the quick shift to a remote environment, giving employees the opportunity to reevaluate what truly matters to them in a job.

The biggest change from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to today is increases in the importance of culture, flexible/remote work, and work-life balance.

Organizations that fail to keep up with this shift in priorities will see the greatest difficulty in hiring and retaining staff.

As an employee, which of the following would be important to you when considering a potential employer?

	2019		2021
Flexible Work	n=275		n=206
Work-Life Balance	n=277		n=206
Culture	n=277		n=206
Source: Info-Tech Talent Trends Survey data collected in 2019 and 2021	Very Important Somewhat Important Not at All Important

IT’s top talent priorities in 2022

IT Talent Trends 2022

Look beneath the surface of the trends to navigate them successfully

Above Ground Focusing on what you see 'Above the line" won't solve the problem. Talent isn't a checklist.	Strategic Recruiting Finds Good Talent Finding talent in a strained talent market requires a marketing approach. Posting a job description isn't enough. The number of job openings increased to 11.4 million on the last business day of October, up from 10.6 million in September (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dec. 2021)	The (Not So) Great Resignation IT is faring better than other functions; however, specific industries need to pay attention. In September, in the US, 4.4 million people left their jobs. That number dropped to 4.2 million in October. (US Labor Stats, Dec. 2021) 30% of workers will likely switch jobs if they have to return to the office full time. (McKinsey, Dec. 2021)	Grow Your DEI Practices Into Meaningful Actions Good intentions are not enough. 95% of organizations are focusing on DEI. (2022 HR Trends Report) 48% of IT departments have delivered training on DEI over the past year.	Remote Work is Here. Can Your Culture Adapt? The Great Experiment is over. Are you equipped to capitalize on its promises? 85% of organizations saw the same or higher productivity during the pandemic. 91% of organizations are continuing remote work.	Management Skills Drive Success in a Remote World Despite the need for remote team management training, it is still not happening. 72% of IT departments report high effectiveness at managing remote staff. Learning and development is IT's top priority.
Beneath the Surface For each trend, a strategic approach to get "under the line" will help form your response. Talent needs a holistic approach, as under the line everything is connected. If you are experiencing challenges in one area, analyzing data (e.g. engagement, exit surveys, effectiveness of DEI program and leader training) can help drive overall experience.	100% of job seekers cite culture as somewhat to very important. Only 40% of employers advertise culture in job postings.	70% of IT departments state voluntary turnover is less than 10% Top reasons for resignation are salary, development, and opportunity for innovative work. Resignation rates were higher in fields that had experienced extreme stress due to the pandemic (HBR, Dec. 2021)	Senior leadership is overestimating their own commitment to DEI. Most IT departments are not driving their own DEI initiatives. Without effectively measuring DEI practices, organizations will see 1.6x more turnover. (2022 HR Trends Report)	Senior leadership is not open to remote work in 23% of organizations. Without leadership support, employees will not buy into remote work initiatives. A remote work policy will not bring organizational benefits without employee buy-in.	75% of senior managers believe remote team management is highly effective, but only 60% of frontline staff agree. Training focuses on technical skills, to the exclusion of soft skills, including management and leadership.
Solutions Recommendations depending on your department's maturity level.	Attention is required for candidate experience underpinned by a realistic employee value proposition.	Gather and review existing data (e.g. early retirements, demographics) to understand your turnover rate.	Use employee engagement tools to gauge employee sentiment among impacted groups and build out an engagement strategy to meet those needs.	Conduct a cultural assessment to reveal hidden biases that may stand in the way of remote work efficacy.	Provide management training on performance management and development coaching.

This report is based on organizations just like yours

Survey timeline = October 2021
Total respondents = 245 IT professionals

01	United States	45%	08	Middle East	2%
02	Canada	23%	09	Other (Asia)	2%
03	Africa	8%	10	Germany	1%
04	Great Britain	6%	11	India	1%
05	Latin America, South America or Caribbean	4%	12	Netherlands	1%
06	Other (Europe)	4%	13	New Zealand	1%
07	Australia	2%			(N-245)

(n=191)

This report is based on organizations just like yours

Industry

Info-Tech IT Maturity Model

(n=225)

Innovator – Transforms the Business Reliable Technology Innovation Business Partner – Expands the Business Effective Execution Projects, Strategic Use of Analytics and Customer Technology Trusted Operator – Optimizes Business Effective Fulfillment of Work Orders, Functional Business Applications, and Reliable Data Quality Firefighter – Supports the Business Reliable Infrastructure and IT Service Desk Unstable – Struggles to Support Inability to Provide Reliable Business Services

This report is based on people just like you

Which of the following ethnicities (ethnicity refers to a group with a shared or common identity, culture, and/or language) do you identify with? Select all that apply.	What gender do you identify most with?
(N=245)	(n=228)

This report is based on people just like you

What is your sub-department of IT?	Which title best describes your position?
(n=227)	(N=245)

IT Talent Trends 2022

Each trend is introduced with key questions you can ask yourself to see how your department fares in that area.

The report is based on statistics from a survey of 245 of your peers.

It includes recommendations of next steps and a key metric to track your success.

It lists Info-Tech resources that you, as a member, can leverage to begin your journey to improve talent management in your department.

The report is based on data gathered from Info-Tech Research Group’s 2022 IT Talent Trends Survey. The data was gathered in September and October of 2021.

Strategic Recruiting Finds Good Talent

Trend 1 | The Battle to Find and Keep Talent

As the economy has stabilized, more jobs have become available, creating a job seeker’s market. This is a clear sign of confidence in the economy, however fragile, as new waves of the pandemic continue.

Info-Tech Point of View

Recruiting tactics are an outcome of a well-defined candidate experience and employee value proposition.

Introduction

	During our interviews, members that focused on sharing their culture with a strong employee value proposition were more likely to be successful in hiring their first-choice candidates.
	Questions to ask yourself Do you have a well-articulated employee value proposition? Are you using your job postings to market your company culture? Have you explored multiple channels for posting jobs to increase your talent pool of candidates?

47% of respondents are hiring external talent to fill existing gaps, with 40% using external training programs to upgrade current employees. (Info-Tech IT Talent Trends 2022 Survey)

In October, the available jobs (in the USA) unexpectedly rose to 11 million, higher than the 10.4 million experts predicted. (CNN Business, 2021)

Where has all the talent gone?

IT faces multiple challenges when recruiting for specialized talent

Talent scarcity is focused in areas with specialized skill sets such as security and architecture that are dynamic and evolving faster than other skill sets.

“It depends on what field you work in,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. “There were labor shortages in those fields pre-pandemic and two years forward, there is even more demand for people with those skills” (CNBC, 19 Nov. 2021).

37% of IT departments are outsourcing roles to fill internal skill shortages. (Info-Tech Talent Trends 2022 Survey)

Roles Difficult to Fill

(Info-Tech Talent Trends 2022 Survey)

Case Study: Using culture to drive your talent pool

This case study is happening in real time. Please check back to learn more as Goddard continues to recruit for the position.

Recruiting at NASA

Goddard Space Center is the largest of NASA’s space centers with approximately 11,000 employees. It is currently recruiting for a senior technical role for commercial launches. The position requires consulting and working with external partners and vendors.

NASA is a highly desirable employer due to its strong culture of inclusivity, belonging, teamwork, learning, and growth. Its culture is anchored by a compelling vision, “For the betterment of Humankind,” and amplified by a strong leadership team that actively lives their mission and vision daily.

Firsthand lists NASA as #1 on the 50 most prestigious internships for 2022.

Rural location and no flexible work options add to the complexity of recruiting

The position is in a rural area of Eastern Shore Virginia with a population of approximately 60,000 people, which translates to a small pool of candidates. Any hire from outside the area will be expected to relocate as the senior technician must be onsite to support launches twice a month. Financial relocation support is not offered and the position is a two-year assignment with the option of extension that could eventually become permanent.

“Looking for a Talent Unicorn; a qualified, experienced candidate with both leadership skills and deep technical expertise that can grow and learn with emerging technologies.”

Steve Thornton
Acting Division Chief, Solutions Division,
Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA

Case Study: Using culture to drive your talent pool

A good brand overcomes challenges

Culture takes the lead in NASA's job postings, which attract a high number of candidates. Postings begin with a link to a short video on working at NASA, its history, and how it lives its vision. The video highlights NASA's diversity of perspectives, career development, and learning opportunities.

NASA's company brand and employer brand are tightly intertwined, providing a consistent view of the organization.

The employer vision is presented in the best place to reach NASA's ideal candidate: usajobs.gov, the official website of the United States Government and the “go-to” for government job listings. NASA also extends its postings to other generic job sites as well as LinkedIn and professional associations.

Interview with Robert Leahy
Chief Information Officer
Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA

“Making sure we have the tools and mechanisms are two hiring challenges we are going to face in the future as how we work evolves and our work environment changes. What will we need to consider with our job announcements and the criteria for selecting employees?”

Liteshia Dennis,
Office Chief, Headquarter IT Office, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA

The ability to attract and secure candidates requires a strategy

Despite prioritizing recruiting, IT departments see candidate experience as THE last Priority, either not focusing on it or relegating it to HR

Candidate experience is listed as one of the bottom IT challenges, but without a positive experience, securing the talent you want will be difficult.

Candidate experience starts with articulating your unique culture, benefits, and opportunities for development and innovative work as well as outlining flexible working options within an employer brand. Defining an employee value proposition is key to marketing your roles to potential employees.

81% of respondents' rate culture as very important when considering a potential employer. (Info-Tech IT Talent Trends 2022 Survey)

Tactics Used in Job Postings to Position the Organization Favorably as a Potential Employer

(Info-Tech IT Talent Trends 2022 Survey)

Case Study: Increasing talent pool at Info-Tech Research Group

Strong sales leads to growth in operation capacity

Info-Tech Research Group is an IT research & advisory firm helping IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. Our actionable tools and analyst guidance ensure IT organizations achieve measurable results.

The business has grown rapidly over the last couple of years, creating a need to recruit additional talent who were highly skilled in technical applications and approaches.

In response, approval was given to expand headcount within Research for fiscal year 2022 and to establish a plan for continual expansion as revenue continues to grow.

Looking for deep technical expertise with a passion for helping our members

Hiring for our research department requires talent who are typically subject matter experts within their own respective IT domains and interested in and capable of developing research and advising clients through calls and workshops.

This combination of skills, experience, and interest can be challenging to find, especially in an IT labor market that is more competitive than ever.

Interview with Practice Lead Tracy-Lynn Reid

Focus on Candidate Experience increases successful hire rate

The senior leadership team established a project to focus on recruiting for net-new and open roles. A dedicated resource was assigned and used guidance from our research to enhance our hiring process to reduce time to hire and expand our candidate pool. Senior leaders stayed actively involved to provide feedback.

The hiring process was improved by including panel interviews with interview protocols and a rubric to evaluate all candidates equitably.

The initial screening conversation now includes a discussion on benefits, including remote and flexible work offerings, learning and development budget, support for post-secondary education, and our Buy-a-Book program.

As a result, about 70% of the approved net-new headcount was hired within 12 weeks, with recruitment ongoing.

Enable Omnichannel Commerce That Delights Your Customers

Create a cohesive, omnichannel framework that supports the right transactions through the right channels for the right customers.

Analyst Perspective

A clearly outlined commerce strategy is a necessary component of a broader customer experience strategy.

Ben Dickie
Research Lead, Research – Applications
Info-Tech Research Group

“Your commerce strategy is where the rubber hits the road, converting your prospects into paying customers. To maximize revenue (and provide a great customer experience), it’s essential to have a clearly defined commerce strategy in place.

A strong commerce strategy seeks to understand your target customer personas and commerce journey maps and pair these with the right channels and enabling technologies. There is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach to selecting the right commerce channels: while many organizations are making a heavy push into e-commerce and mobile commerce, others are seeking to differentiate themselves by innovating in traditional brick-and-mortar sales. Hybrid channel design now dominates many commerce strategies – using a blend of e-commerce and other channels to deliver the best-possible customer experience.

IT leaders must work with the business to create a succinct commerce strategy that defines personas and scenarios, outlines the right channel matrix, and puts in place the right enabling technologies (for example, point-of-sale and e-commerce platforms).”

Stop! Are you ready for this project?

This Research Is Designed For:

• IT leaders and business analysts supporting their commercial and marketing organizations in developing and executing a technology enablement strategy for e-commerce or brick-and-mortar commerce.
• Any organization looking to develop a persona-based approach to identifying the right channels for their commerce strategy.

This Research Will Help You:

• Identify key personas and customer journeys for a brick-and-mortar and/or e-commerce strategy.
• Select the right channels for your commerce strategy and build a commerce channel matrix to codify the results.
• Review the “art of the possible” and new developments in brick-and-mortar and e-commerce execution.

This Research Will Also Assist:

• Sales managers, brand managers, and any marketing professional looking to build a cohesive commerce strategy.
• E-commerce or POS project teams or working groups tasked with managing an RFP process for vendor selection.

This Research Will Help Them:

• Build a persona-centric commerce strategy.
• Understand key technology trends in the brick-and-mortar and e-commerce space.

Executive Summary

Your Challenge

Today’s customers expect to be able to transact with you in the channels of their choice.

The proliferation of e-commerce, innovations in brick-and-mortar retail, and developments in mobile commerce and social media selling mean that IT organizations are managing added complexity in drafting a strategy for commerce enablement.

The right technology stack is critical to support world-class e-commerce and brick-and-mortar interactions with customers.

Common Obstacles

Many organizations do not define strong, customer-centric drivers for dictating which channels they should be investing in for transactional capabilities.

As many retailers look to move shopping experiences online during the pandemic, the impetus for having a strong e-commerce suite has markedly increased. The proliferation of commerce vendors has made it difficult to identify and shortlist the right solution, while the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of adopting new vendors quickly and efficiently: companies need to understand the top players in different commerce market landscapes.

IT is receiving a growing number of commerce platform requests and must be prepared to speak intelligently about requirements and the “art of the possible.”

Info-Tech’s Approach

• Leverage Info-Tech’s proven, road-tested approach to using personas and scenarios to build strong business drivers for your commerce strategy.
• Before selecting and deploying technology solutions, create a cohesive channel matrix outlining which channels your organization will support with transactional capabilities.
• Understand evolving trends in the commerce solution space, such as AI-driven product recommendations and integration with other essential enterprise applications (i.e. customer relationship management [CRM] and marketing automation platforms).
• Understand and apply operational best practices such as content optimization and dynamic personalization to improve the conversion rate via your e-commerce channels.

Info-Tech Insight

• Support the right transactional channels for the right customers: there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to commerce enablement – understand your customers to drive selection of the right transactional channels.
• Don’t assume that “traditional” commerce channels have stagnated: IoT, customer analytics, and blended retail are reinvigorating brick-and-mortar selling.
• Don’t buy best-of-breed; buy best-for-you: base commerce vendor selection on your requirements and use cases, not on the vendor’s overall performance.

A strong commerce strategy is an essential component of a savvy approach to customer experience management

A commerce strategy outlines an organization’s approach to selling its products and services. A strong commerce strategy identifies target customers’ personas, commerce journeys that the organization wants to support, and the channels that the organization will use to transact with customers.

Many commerce strategies encompass two distinct but complementary branches: a commerce strategy for transacting through traditional channels and an e-commerce strategy. While the latter often receives more attention from IT, it still falls on IT leaders to provide the appropriate enabling technologies to support traditional brick-and-mortar channels as well. Traditional channels have also undergone a digital renaissance in recent years, with forward-looking companies capitalizing on new technology to enhance customer experiences in their stores.

Traditional Channels

• Physical Stores (Brick and Mortar)
• Kiosks or Pop-Up Stores
• Telesales
• Mail Orders
• EDI Transactions

E-Commerce Channels

• E-Commerce Websites
• Mobile Commerce Apps
• Embedded Social Shopping
• Customer Portals
• Configure Price Quote Tool Sets (CPQ)
• Hybrid Retail

Info-Tech Insight

To better serve their customers, many companies position themselves as “click-and-mortar” shops – allowing customers to transact at a store or online.

Customers’ expectations are on the rise: meet them!

Today’s consumers expect speed, convenience, and tailored experiences at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Successful organizations strive to support these expectations.

58%
of retail customers admitted that their expectations now are higher than they were a year ago (FinancesOnline).

70%
of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 have increasing customer expectations year after year (FinancesOnline).

69%
of consumers now expect store associates to be armed with a mobile device to deliver value-added services, such as looking up product information and checking inventory (V12).

73%
of support leaders agree that customer expectations are increasing, but only…

42%
of support leaders are confident that they’re actually meeting those expectations.

How can you be sure that you are meeting your customers’ expectations?

1. Offer more personalization throughout the entire customer journey
2. Practice quality customer service – ensure staff have up-to-date knowledge and offer quick resolution time for complaints
3. Focus on offering low-effort experiences and easy-to-use platforms (i.e. “one-click buying”)
4. Ensure your products and services perform well and do what they’re meant to do
5. Ensure omnichannel availability – 9 in 10 consumers want a seamless omnichannel experience

Info-Tech Insight

Customers expect to interact with organizations through the channels of their choice. Now more than ever, you must enable your organization to provide tailored commerce and transactional experiences.

Omnichannel commerce is the way of the future

Create a strategy that embraces this reality with the right tools!

Get ahead of the competition by doing omnichannel right! Devise a strategy that allows you to create and maintain a consistent, seamless commerce experience by optimizing operations with an omnichannel framework. Customers want to interact with you on their own terms, and it falls to IT to ensure that applications are in place to support and manage both traditional and e-commerce channels. There must also be consistency of copy, collateral, offers, and pricing between commerce channels.

71%
of consumers want a consistent experience across all channels, but only…

29%
say that they actually get it.

(Source: Business 2 Community, 2020)

Omnichannel is a “multichannel approach that aims to provide customers with a personalized, integrated, and seamless shopping experience across diverse touchpoints and devices.”
Source: RingCentral, 2021

IT is responsible for providing technology enablement of the commerce strategy: e-commerce platforms are a cornerstone

An e-commerce platform is an enterprise application that provides end-to-end capabilities for allowing customers to purchase products or services from your company via an online channel (e.g. a traditional website, a mobile application, or an embedded link in a social media post). Modern e-commerce platforms are essential for delivering a frictionless customer journey when it comes to purchasing online.

$6.388
trillion dollars worth of sales will be conducted online by 2024 (eMarketer, 14 Jan. 2021).

44%
of all e-commerce transactions are expected to be completed via a mobile device by 2024 (Insider).

21.8%
of all sales will be made from online purchases by 2024 (eMarketer, 14 Jan. 2021).

Strong E-Commerce Platforms Enable a Wide Range of Functional Areas:

• Product Catalog Management
• Web Content Delivery
• Product Search Engine
• Inventory Management
• Shopping Cart Management
• Discount and Coupon Management
• Return Management and Reverse Logistics
• Dynamic Personalization
• Dynamic Promotions
• Predictive Re-Targeting
• Predictive Product Recommendations
• Transaction Processing
• Compliance Management
• Commerce Workflow Management
• Loyalty Program Management
• Reporting and Analytics

An e-commerce solution boosts the effectiveness and efficiency of your operations and drives top-line growth

Take time to learn the capabilities of modern e-commerce applications. Understanding the “art of the possible” will help you to get the most out of your e-commerce platform.

An e-commerce platform helps marketers and sales staff in three primary ways:

1. It allows the organization to effectively and efficiently operate e-commerce operations at scale.
2. It allows commercial staff to have a single system for managing and monitoring all commercial activity through online channels.
3. It allows the organization to improve the customer-facing e-commerce experience, boosting conversions and top-line sales.

A dedicated e-commerce platform improves the efficiency of customer-commerce operations

• Workflow automation reduces the amount of time spent executing dynamic e-commerce campaigns.
• The use of internal or third-party data increases conversion effectiveness from customer databases across the organization.

Info-Tech Insight

A strong e-commerce provides marketers with the data they need to produce actionable insights about their customers.

Case Study

INDUSTRY - Retail
SOURCE - Salesforce (a)

PetSmart improves customer experience by leveraging a new commerce platform in the Salesforce ecosystem

PetSmart

PetSmart is a leading retailer of pet products, with a heavy footprint across North America. Historically, PetSmart was a brick-and-mortar retailer, but it has placed a heavy emphasis on being a true multi-channel “click-and-mortar” retailer to ensure it maintains relevance against competitors like Amazon.

E-Commerce Overhaul Initiative

To improve its e-commerce capabilities, PetSmart recognized that it needed to consolidate to a single, unified e-commerce platform to realize a 360-degree view of its customers. A new platform was also required to power dynamic and engaging experiences, with appropriate product recommendations and tailored content. To pursue this initiative, the company settled on Salesforce.com’s Commerce Cloud product after an exhaustive requirements definition effort and rigorous vendor selection approach.

Results

After platform implementation, PetSmart was able to effortlessly handle the massive transaction volumes associated with Black Friday and Cyber Monday and deliver 1:1 experiences that boosted conversion rates.

PetSmart standardized on the Commerce Cloud from Salesforce to great effect.

Case Study

Icebreaker exceeds customer expectations by using AI to power product recommendations

INDUSTRY - Retail
SOURCE - Salesforce (b)

Icebreaker

Icebreaker is a leading outerwear and lifestyle clothing company, operating six global websites and owning over 5,000 stores across 50 countries. Icebreaker is focused on providing its shoppers with accurate, real-time product suggestions to ensure it remains relevant in an increasingly competitive online market.

E-Commerce Overhaul Initiative

To improve its e-commerce capabilities, Icebreaker recognized that it needed to adopt a predictive recommendation engine that would offer its customers a more personalized shopping experience. This new system would need to leverage relevant data to provide both known and anonymous shoppers with product suggestions that are of interest to them. To pursue this initiative, Icebreaker settled on using Salesforce.com’s Commerce Cloud Einstein, a fully integrated AI.

Results

After integrating Commerce Cloud Einstein on all its global sites, Icebreaker was able to cross-sell and up-sell its merchandise more effectively by providing its shoppers with accurate product recommendations, ultimately increasing average order value.

IT must also provide technology enablement for other channels, such as point-of-sale systems for brick-and-mortar

Point-of-sale systems are the “real world” complement to e-commerce platforms. They provide functional capabilities for selling products in a physical store, including basic inventory management, cash register management, payment processing, and retail analytics. Many firms struggle with legacy POS environments that inhibit a modern customer experience.

$27.338
trillion dollars in retail sales are expected to be made globally in 2022 (eMarketer, 2022).

84%
of consumers believe that retailers should be doing more to integrate their online and offline channels (Invoca).

39%
of consumers are unlikely or very unlikely to visit a retailer’s store if the online store doesn’t provide physical store inventory information (V12).

Strong Point-of-Sale Platforms Enable a Wide Range of Functional Areas:

• Product Catalog Management
• Discount Management
• Coupon Management and Administration
• Cash Management
• Cash Register Reconciliation
• Product Identification (Barcode Management)
• Payment Processing
• Compliance Management
• Basic Inventory Management
• Commerce Workflow Management
• Exception Reporting and Overrides
• Loyalty Program Management
• Reporting and Analytics

E-commerce and POS don’t live in isolation

They’re key components of a well-oiled customer experience ecosystem!

Integrate commerce solutions with other customer experience applications – and with ERP or logistics systems – to handoff transactions for order fulfilment.

Having a customer master database – the central place where all up-to-the-minute data on a customer profile is stored – is essential for traditional and e-commerce success. Typically, the POS or e-commerce platform is not the system of record for the master customer profile: this information lives in a CRM platform or customer data warehouse. Conceptually, this system is at the center of the customer-experience ecosystem.

Strong POS and e-commerce solutions orchestrate transactions but typically do not do the heavy lifting in terms of order fulfilment, shipping logistics, economic inventory management, and reverse logistics (returns). In an enterprise-grade environment, these activities are executed by an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution – integrating your commerce systems with a back-end ERP solution is a crucial step from an application architecture point of view.

Case Study

INDUSTRY - Retail
SOURCES - Amazon, n.d. CNET, 2020

Amazon is creating a hybrid omnichannel experience for retail by introducing innovative brick-and-mortar stores

Amazon

Amazon began as an online retailer of books in the mid-1990s, and rapidly expanded its product portfolio to nearly every category imaginable. Often hailed as the foremost success story in online commerce, the firm has driven customer loyalty via consistently strong product recommendations and a well-designed site.

Bringing Physical Retail Into the Digital Age

Beginning in 2016 (and expanding in 2018), Amazon introduced Amazon Go, a next-generation grocery retailer, to the Seattle market. While most firms that pursue an e-commerce strategy traditionally come from a brick-and-mortar background, Amazon upended the usual narrative: the world’s largest online retailer opening physical stores to become a true omnichannel, “click-and-mortar” vendor. From the get-go, Amazon Go focused on innovating the physical retail experience – using cameras, IoT capabilities, and mobile technologies to offer “checkout-free” virtual shopping carts that automatically know what products customers take off the shelves and bill their Amazon accounts accordingly.

Results

Amazon received a variety of industry and press accolades for re-inventing the physical store experience and it now owns and operates seven separate store brands, with more still on the horizon.

Case Study

INDUSTRY - Retail
SOURCES - Glossy, 2020

Old Navy

Old Navy is a clothing and accessories retail company that owns and operates over 1,200 stores across North America and China. Typically, Old Navy has relied on using traditional marketing approaches, but recently it has shifted to producing more digitally focused campaigns to drive revenue.

Bringing Physical Retail Into the Digital Age

To overcome pandemic-related difficulties, including temporary store closures, Old Navy knew that it had to have strong holiday sales in 2020. With the goal of stimulating retail sales growth and maximizing its pre-existing omnichannel capabilities, Old Navy decided to focus more of its holiday campaign efforts online than in years past. With this campaign centered on connected TV platforms, such as Hulu, and social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, Old Navy was able to take a more unique, fun, and good-humored approach to marketing.

Results

Old Navy’s digitally focused campaign was a success. When compared with third quarter sales figures from 2019, third quarter net sales for 2020 increased by 15% and comparable sales increased by 17%.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

DIY Toolkit

“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”

Guided Implementation

“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”

Workshop

“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”

Consulting

“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options

Guided Implementation

What does a typical GI on this topic look like?

A Guided Implementation (GI) is a series of calls with an Info-Tech analyst to help implement our best practices in your organization.

A typical GI is between 8 to 12 calls over the course of 4 to 6 months.

Enable Omnichannel Commerce That Delights Your Customers – Project Overview

Phase 1

Identify Critical Drivers for Your Omnichannel Commerce Strategy

1.1 Assess Personas and Scenarios

1.2 Create Key Drivers and Metrics

Enable Omnichannel Commerce That Delights Your Customers

Step 1.1

Assess Personas and Scenarios

This step will walk you through the following activities:

1.1.1 Build key customer personas for your commerce strategy.

1.1.2 Create commerce scenarios (journey maps) that you need to enable.

Identify Critical Drivers for Your Omnichannel Commerce Strategy

This step involves the following participants:

• Business stakeholders (Sales, Marketing)
• IT project team

Outcomes of this step:

• Critical customer personas
• Key traditional and e-commerce scenarios

Use customer personas to picture who will be using your commerce channels and guide scenario design and key drivers

What Are Personas?

Personas are detailed descriptions of the targeted audience of your e-commerce presence. Effective personas:

• Express and focus on the major needs and expectations of the most important user groups.
• Give a clear picture of the typical user’s behavior.
• Aid in uncovering universal features and functionality.
• Describe real people with backgrounds, goals, and values.

Source: Usability.gov, n.d.

Why Are Personas Important?

Personas help:

• Focus the development of commerce platform features on the immediate needs of the intended audience.
• Detail the level of customization needed to ensure content is valuable to the user.
• Describe how users may behave when certain audio and visual stimulus are triggered from the website.
• Outline the special design considerations required to meet user accessibility needs.

Key Elements of a Persona:

• Persona Group (e.g. executives)
• Demographics (e.g. nationality, age, language spoken)
• Purpose of Using Commerce Channels (e.g. product search versus ready to transact)
• Typical Behaviors and Tendencies (e.g. goes to different websites when cannot find products in 20 seconds)
• Technological Environment of User (e.g. devices, browsers, network connection)
• Professional and Technical Skills and Experiences (e.g. knowledge of websites, area of expertise)

Use Info-Tech’s guidelines to assist in the creation of personas

How many personas should I create?

The number of personas that should be created is based on the organizational coverage of your commerce strategy. Here are some questions you should ask:

• Do the personas cover a majority of your revenues or product lines?
• Is the number manageable for your project team to map out?

How do I prioritize which personas to create?

The identified personas should generate the most revenue – or provide a significant opportunity – for your business. Here are some questions that you should ask:

• Are the personas prioritized based on the revenue they generate for the business?
• Is the persona prioritization process considering both the present and future revenues the persona is generating?

Sample: persona for e-commerce platform

Example

Persona quote: “After I call the company about the widget, I would usually go onto the company’s website and look at further details about the product. How am I supposed to do so when it is so hard to find the company’s website on everyday search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing?”

Michael is a middle-aged manager working in the financial district. He wants to buy the company’s widgets for use in his home, but since he is distrusting of online shopping, he prefers to call the company’s call center first. Afterwards, if Michael is convinced by the call center representative, he will look at the company’s website for further research before making his purchase.

Michael does not have a lot of free time on his hands, and tries to make his free time as relaxing as possible. Due to most of his work being client-facing, he is not in front of a computer most of the time during his work. As such, Michael does not consider himself to be skilled with technology. Once he makes the decision to purchase, Michael will conduct online transactions and pay most delivery costs due to his shortage of time.

Needs:

• Easy-to-find website and widget information.
• Online purchasing and delivery services.
• Answer to his questions about the widget.
• To maintain contact post-purchase for easy future transactions.

Info-Tech Tip

The quote attached to a persona should be from actual quotes that your customers have used when you reviewed your voice of the customer (VoC) surveys or focus groups to drive home the impact of their issues with your company.

1.1.1 Activity: Build personas for your key customers that you’ll need to support via traditional and e-commerce channels

1 hour

1. In two to four groups, list all the major, target customer personas that need to be built. In doing so, consider the people who interact with your e-commerce site (or other channels) most often.
2. Build a demographic profile for each customer persona. Include information such as age, geographic location, occupation, and annual income.
3. Augment the persona with a psychographic profile. Consider the goals and objectives of each customer persona and how these might inform buyer behaviors.
4. Introduce your group’s personas to the entire group, in a round-robin fashion, as if you are introducing your persona at a party.
5. Summarize the personas in a persona map. Rank your personas according to importance and remove any duplicates.
6. Use Info-Tech’s Create Personas to Drive Omnichannel Requirements Template to assist.

Info-Tech Insight

Persona building is typically used for understanding the external customer; however, if you need to gain a better understanding of the organization’s internal customers (those who will be interacting with the e-commerce platform), personas can also be built for this purpose. Examples of useful internal personas are sales managers, brand managers, and customer service directors.

1.1.1 Activity: Build personas for your key customers that you’ll need to support via traditional and e-commerce channels (continued)

Input

• Customer demographics and psychographics

Output

• List of prioritized customer personas

Materials

• Whiteboard
• Markers

Participants

• Project team

Build use-case scenarios to model the transactional customer journey and inform drivers for your commerce strategy

A use-case scenario is a story or narrative that helps explore the set of interactions that a customer has with an organization. Scenario mapping will help identify key business and technology drivers as well as more granular functional requirements for POS or e-commerce platform selection.

A GOOD SCENARIO…

• Describes specific task(s) that need to be accomplished.
• Describes user goals and motivations.
• Describes interactions with a compelling but not overwhelming amount of detail.
• Can be rough, as long as it provokes ideas and discussion.

SCENARIOS ARE USED TO...

• Provide a shared understanding about what a user might want to do and how they might want to do it.
• Help construct the sequence of events that are necessary to address in your user interface(s).

TO CREATE GOOD SCENARIOS…

• Keep scenarios high level, not granular, in nature.
• Identify as many scenarios as possible. If you’re time constrained, try to develop two to three key scenarios per persona.
• Sketch each scenario out so that stakeholders understand the goal of the scenario.

1.1.2 Exercise: Build commerce user scenarios to understand what you want your customers to do from a transactional viewpoint

1 hour

Example

Simplified E-Commerce Workflow Purchase Products

Step 1.2

Create Key Drivers and Metrics

This step will walk you through the following activities:

• Create the business drivers you need to enable with your commerce strategy.
• Enumerate metrics to track the efficacy of your commerce strategy.

Identify Critical Drivers for Your Omnichannel Commerce Strategy

This step involves the following participants:

• Business stakeholders (Sales, Marketing)
• IT project team

Outcomes of this step:

• Business drivers for the commerce strategy
• Metrics and key performance indicators for the commerce strategy

1.2 Finish elaboration of your scenarios and map them to your personas: identify core business drivers for commerce

1.5 hours

1. List all commerce scenarios required to satisfy the immediate needs of your personas.
   1. Does the use-case scenario address commonly felt user challenges?
   2. Can the scenario be used by those with changing behaviors and tendencies?
2. Look for recurring themes in use-case scenarios (for example, increasing average transaction cost through better product recommendations) and identify business drivers: drivers are common thematic elements that can be found across multiple scenarios. These are the key principles for your commerce strategy.
3. Prioritize your use cases by leveraging the priorities of your business drivers.

Example

1.2 Finish elaboration of your scenarios and map them to your personas: identify core business drivers for commerce (continuation)

Input

• User personas

Output

• List of use cases
• Alignment of use cases to business objectives

Materials

• Whiteboard
• Markers

Participants

• Business Analyst
• Developer
• Designer

Show the benefits of commerce solution deployment with metrics aimed at both overall efficacy and platform adoption

The ROI and perceived value of the organization’s e-commerce and POS solutions will be a critical indication of the success of the suite’s selection and implementation.

Info-Tech Insight

Even if e-commerce metrics are difficult to track right now, the implementation of a dedicated e-commerce platform brings access to valuable customer intelligence from data that was once kept in silos.

Phase 2

Map Drivers to the Right Channels and Technologies

2.1 Build the Commerce Channel Matrix

2.2 Review Technology and Trends Primer

Enable Omnichannel Commerce That Delights Your Customers

Step 2.1

Build the Commerce Channel Matrix

This step will walk you through the following activities:

• Based on your business drivers, create a blended mix of e-commerce channels that will suit your organization’s and customers’ needs.

Map Drivers to the Right Channels and Technologies

This step involves the following participants:

• Business stakeholders (Sales, Marketing)
• IT project team

Outcomes of this step:

• Commerce channel map

Pick the transactional channels that align with your customer personas and enable your target scenarios and drivers

Info-Tech Insight

Your channel selections should be driven by customer personas and scenarios. For example, social media may be extensively employed by some persona types (i.e. millennials) but see limited adoption in other demographics or use cases (i.e. B2B).

2.1 Activity: Build your commerce channel matrix

30 minutes

1. Inventory which transactional channels are currently used by your firm (segment by product lines if variation exists).
2. Interview product leaders, sales leaders, and marketing managers to determine if channels support transactional capabilities or are used for marketing and service delivery.
3. Review your customer personas, scenarios, and drivers and assess which of the channels you will use in the future to sell products and services. Document below.

Example: Commerce Channel Map

Input

• Personas, scenarios, and driver

Output

• Channel map

Materials

• Whiteboard
• Markers

Participants

• Project team

Step 2.2

Review Technology and Trends Primer

This step will walk you through the following activities:

• Review the scope of e-commerce and POS solutions and understand key drivers impacting e-commerce and traditional commerce.

Map Drivers to the Right Channels and Technologies

This step involves the following participants:

• Business stakeholders (Sales, Marketing)
• IT project team

Outcomes of this step:

• Understanding of key technologies
• Understanding of key trends

Application spotlight: e-commerce platforms

How It Enables Your Strategy

• Modern e-commerce platforms provide capabilities for end-to-end orchestration of online commerce experiences, from product site deployment to payment processing.
• Some e-commerce platforms are purpose-built for business-to-business (B2B) commerce, emphasizing customer portals and EDI features. Other e-commerce vendors place more emphasis on business-to-consumer (B2C) capabilities, such as product catalog management and executing transactions at scale.
• There has been an increasing degree of overlap between traditional web experience management solutions and the e-commerce market; for example, in 2018, Adobe acquired Magento to augment its overall web experience offering within Adobe Experience Manager.
• E-commerce platforms typically fall short when it comes to order fulfilment and logistics; this piece of the puzzle is typically orchestrated via an ERP system or logistics management module.
• This research provides a starting place for defining e-commerce requirements and selection artefacts.

Key Trends

• E-commerce vendors are rapidly supporting a variety of form factors and integration with other channels such as social media. Mobile is sufficiently popular that some vendors and industry commentators refer to it as “m-commerce” to differentiate app-based shopping experiences from those accessed through a traditional browser.
• Hybrid commerce is driving more interplay between e-commerce solutions and POS.

E-Commerce KPIs

Strong e-commerce applications can improve:

• Bounce Rates
• Exit Rates
• Lead Conversion Rates
• Cart Abandonment Rates
• Re-Targeting Efficacy
• Average Cart Size
• Average Cart Value
• Customer Lifetime Value
• Aggregate Reach/Impressions

Familiarize yourself with the e-commerce market

How it got here

Initial Traction as the Dot-Com Era Came to Fruition

Unlike some enterprise application markets, such as CRM, the e-commerce market appeared almost overnight during the mid-to-late nineties as the dot-com explosion fueled the need to have reliable solutions for executing transactions online.

Early e-commerce solutions were less full-fledged suites than they were mediums for payment processing and basic product list management. PayPal and other services like Digital River were pioneers in the space, but their functionality was limited vis-à-vis tools such as web content management platforms, and their ability to amalgamate and analyze the data necessary for dynamic personalization and re-targeting was virtually non-existent.

Rapidly Expanding Scope of Functional Capabilities as the Market Matured

As marketers became more sophisticated and companies put an increased focus on customer experience and omnichannel interaction, the need arose for platforms that were significantly more feature rich than their early contemporaries. In this context, vendors such as Shopify and Demandware stepped into the limelight, offering far richer functionality and analytics than previous offerings, such as asset management, dynamic personalization, and the ability to re-target customers who abandoned their carts.

As the market has matured, there has also been a series of acquisitions of some players (for example, Demandware by Salesforce) and IPOs of others (i.e. Shopify). Traditional payment-oriented services like PayPal still fill an important niche, while newer entrants like Square seek to disrupt both the e-commerce market and point-of-sale solutions to boot.

Familiarize yourself with the e-commerce market

Where it’s going

Support for a Proliferation of Form Factors and Channels

Modern e-commerce solutions are expanding the number of form factors (smartphones, tablets) they support via both responsive design and in-app capabilities. Many platforms now also support embedded purchasing options in non-owned channels (for example, social media). With the pandemic leading to a heightened affinity for online shopping, the importance of fully using these capabilities has been further emphasized.

AI and Machine Learning

E-commerce is another customer experience domain ripe for transformation via the potential of artificial intelligence. Machine learning algorithms are being used to enhance the effectiveness of dynamic personalization of product collateral, improve the accuracy of product recommendations, and allow for more effective re-targeting campaigns of customers who did not make a purchase.

Merger of Online Commerce and Traditional Point-of-Sale

Many e-commerce vendors – particularly the large players – are now going beyond traditional e-commerce and making plays into brick-and-mortar environments, offering point-of-sale capabilities and the ability to display product assets and customizations via augmented reality – truly blending the physical and virtual shopping experience.

Emphasis on Integration with the Broader Customer Experience Ecosystem

The big names in e-commerce recognize they don’t live on an island: out-of-the-box integrations with popular CRM, web experience, and marketing automation platforms have been increasing at a breakneck pace. Support for digital wallets has also become increasingly popular, with many vendors integrating contactless payment technology (i.e. Apple Pay) directly into their applications.

E-Commerce Vendor Snapshot: Part 1

Mid-Market E-Commerce Solutions

E-Commerce Vendor Snapshot: Part 2

Large Enterprise and Full-Suite E-Commerce Platforms

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The Data Quadrant is a thorough evaluation and ranking of all software in an individual category to compare platforms across multiple dimensions.

Vendors are ranked by their Composite Score, based on individual feature evaluations, user satisfaction rankings, vendor capability comparisons, and likeliness to recommend the platform.

The Emotional Footprint is a powerful indicator of overall user sentiment toward the relationship with the vendor, capturing data across five dimensions.

Vendors are ranked by their Customer Experience (CX) Score, which combines the overall Emotional Footprint rating with a measure of the value delivered by the solution.

Leading B2B E-Commerce Platforms

As of February 2022

Data Quadrant

Emotional Footprint

Leading B2C E-Commerce Platforms

As of February 2022

Data Quadrant

Emotional Footprint

Application spotlight: point-of-sale solutions

How It Enables Your Strategy

• Point-of-sale solutions provide capabilities for cash register/terminal management, transaction processing, and lightweight inventory management.
• Many POS vendors also offer products that have the ability to create orders from EDI, phone, or fax channels.
• An increasing emphasis has been placed on retail analytics by POS vendors – providing reporting and analysis tools to help with inventory planning, promotion management, and product recommendations.
• Integration of POS systems with a central customer data warehouse or other system of record for customer information allows for the ability to build richer customer profiles and compare shopping habits in physical stores against other transactional channels that are offered.
• POS vendors often offer (or integrate with) loyalty management solutions to track, manage, and redeem loyalty points. See this note on loyalty management systems.
• Legacy and/or homegrown POS systems tend to be an area of frustration for customer experience management modernization.

Key Trends

• POS solutions are moving from “cash-register-only” solutions to encompass mobile POS form factors like smartphones and tablets. Vendors such as Square have experienced tremendous growth in opening up the market via “mPOS” platforms that have lower costs to entry than the traditional hardware needed to support full-fledged POS solutions.
• This development puts robust POS toolsets in the hands of small and medium businesses that otherwise would be priced out of the market.

POS KPIs

Strong POS applications can improve:

• Customer Data Collection
• Inventory or Cash Shrinkage
• Cost per Transaction
• Loyalty Program Administration Costs
• Cycle Time for Transaction Execution

Point-of-Sales Vendor Snapshot: Part 1

Mid-Market POS Solutions

Point-of-Sales Vendor Snapshot: Part 2

Large Enterprise POS Platforms

Leading Retail POS Systems

As of February 2022

Data Quadrant

Emotional Footprint

Summary of Accomplishment

Knowledge Gained

• Commerce channel framework
• Customer affinities
• Commerce channel overview
• Commerce-enabling technologies

Processes Optimized

• Persona definition for commerce strategy
• Persona channel shortlist

Deliverables Completed

• Customer personas
• Commerce user scenarios
• Business drivers for traditional commerce and e-commerce
• Channel matrix for omnichannel commerce

Bibliography

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