Analyst Research

	The Forrester Wave: Order Management Hubs, Q3 2010 August 2010 Sterling Commerce returns as a Leader in this edition of the Forrester Wave of order management hubs. Sterling Commerce leads among all the vendors evaluated for overall support of end-to-end order management processes. IBM To Acquire Sterling Commerce June 2010 On June 2nd, Forrester released a report pertaining to the impending acquisition by IBM. The report indicates the move will lead to significant changes in the B2B market and brings IBM closer to a full comprehensive integration capability. Key Strategies for Enterprise Mobile Application Deployment and Measurement Enterprises are achieving benefits from using a wide variety of mobile applications March 2010 Results from this study show that enterprises in the identified vertical markets are deploying and measuring benefits achieved from many mobile applications. These mobile applications extend beyond sales force or field service applications that improve the productivity of employees who are away from the office or mobile commerce applications that some companies use to expand customer revenue streams. Driving Business Value through Choice How flexible options around deployment, pricing, and functionality lead to success March 2010 In conducting 333 surveys and subsequent follow-up interviews with business and IT professionals, Forrester found that firms with sufficient choices in the market are able to find the right functionality, compatibility, and deployment options to drive better business outcomes. The Forrester Wave: B2B Service Providers, Q4 2009 October 2009 To assess the state of the B2B service provider market and see how the vendors stack up against each other, Forrester evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of 12 key B2B service providers. This report is Forrester’s first evaluation of our Sterling Collaboration Network and our Sterling Commerce Managed Services offerings.
	IBM Makes a Big B2B Play With Strategic Potential as it Acquires Sterling Commerce By Benoit Lheureux and Jeff Woods July, 2010 IBM’s acquisition of Sterling Commerce makes IBM a more significant purveyor of B2B solutions and expands the company’s WebSphere portfolio of multienterprise applications. The deal will likely be a net positive for customers. Magic Quadrant for E-Commerce, 2010 May 18, 2010 Client interest in e-commerce continues to mount, as organizations address tough, competitive business climates. Many realize they must reduce the overall cost of sales by moving more sales to the online channel, while others are hoping to reach new markets. Either way, large numbers of businesses need to replace outdated e-commerce systems to improve online customer experiences and establish competitive Web presences. "Sterling Commerce Builds a Multichannel Retail Mobile Experience" February 23, 2010 Sterling Commerce has been acquiring and building multichannel order management and fulfillment software for retailers since 2004. Sterling has taken its core capabilities in multichannel to create a very rich customer experience on the mobile phone via two new mobile applications: Sterling Mobile Store Channel and Store Associate Mobile. What's interesting is that this experience goes well beyond the mobile phone interface and into a multichannel experience that can start on the mobile and end in the store. MarketScope for Sales Configuration, 3Q09 October 2, 2009 The sales configuration market is evolving beyond core configuration capabilities. The focus is on supporting integrated sales business processes, such as opportunity to order with the larger vendors (Oracle, SAP and Sterling Commerce) and for niche vendors taking on this new challenge. Magic Quadrant for Integration Service Providers, 2009 November 20, 2009 This research can be used to understand the fast-growing Integration-as-a-Service (IaaS) market, and how it benefits from trends in B2B infrastructure modernization, cloud computing, Web services, community management/on-boarding, multi-enterprise applications and SOA. Magic Quadrant for Managed File Transfer, 2009 September 18, 2009 The perfect storm of compliance, risk, governance and performance has caused vendors in the managed file transfer space to segment and specialize. Still, there are enough commonalities to make "apples to apples" comparisons.
	Now Is the Time to Rethink Your B2B Integration Strategy May 2010 IDC research shows that many organizations invested years ago to automate how they interact and integrate with business network partners. Regardless, they are finding a need to reassess B2B integration to improve their processes. As enterprises reassess, there are several important factors that need to be taken into account to ensure that the best decision is made about the following: Whether it makes sense to change their existing B2B process Whether there is benefit in changing the location of where the process is run Whether they need to change vendors This White Paper provides guidance and tools that will help guide B2B teams as they go through their reassessment. Business Value of Sterling Commerce Managed Services for B2B Integration September 2009 In second quarter 2009, IDC began working with a cross sample of Sterling Commerce Managed Services (SCMS) customers to determine the return on investment (ROI) following their shift to a managed services offering for B2B integration. This paper presents the results of the research and includes a case study. Selecting B2B Managed Services to Cost-Effectively Enable B2B Collaboration June 2009 IDC demand-side research shows that enterprises are increasingly looking toward using outsourcing as a means of achieving business transformation. Leading drivers behind the need to transform business models include the ability to compete globally, drive innovation, ensure lowest costs, penetrate new markets, and collaborate more effectively. This paper answers questions posed by Sterling Commerce to Maureen Fleming, program director for IDC's Business Process Management and Middleware service, on behalf of Sterling's enterprise clients.
	Technical Audit of Sterling Commerce Managed Services Updated July 2009 This report reviews the Managed Services offering in detail and describes Sterling Commerce in terms of being a best-of-breed player for both B2B infrastructure managed services and supply chain application managed services. The report describes our product operation, deployment, and future strategy from both a US and European perspective.
	Moving B2B Into the Network: How B2B Managed Services Changes the Way You Interact With Trading Partners December 2009 To deal with changing customer requirements and the need to support e-commerce initiatives around the globe, many organizations are turning to B2B managed services to augment their internal capabilities. This Report shares the drivers, benefits, and best practices for picking the right managed service provider for your B2B e-commerce strategy. Managed Services Emerges as a Common Thread in B2B Discussions September 2009 Companies are rethinking their B2B strategies to reflect the dynamic and collaborative nature of their business. This short paper highlights the few common themes where companies are focusing their efforts and discusses the increasing interest in moving B2B integration responsibility to a managed service provider. How Well Does Your Company Take Orders? June 2009 Order management was one of the first automated processes. Most companies do it poorly, though, which impacts working capital performance, according to AMR Research studies.