Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World

October 2007
Optimizing Users And Applications
In A Mobile World A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Riverbed
Optimizing Users And Applications In A Mobile World
Table Of Contents
Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................3
Research Methodology ..........................................................................................................................3
Companies Are More Distributed Than Ever ........................................................................................4
And Workforces Are Demanding More Mobile Environments .........................................................5
IT Struggles To Keep Up As Users Demand Applications That Are Always On, Always Available....7
As Apps Go Mobile, IT Is Failing To Meet End User Expectations..................................................8
Companies Are Already Looking To The Network To Solve Woes...............................................10
Overcoming The Challenge: Optimizing The Mobile WAN.................................................................11
The Benefits Of WAN Optimization For Mobile Users....................................................................12
Recommendations For Mobile WAN Optimization Solutions.........................................................13
Buy Now; Plan For Tomorrow.....................................................................................................13
Pay Attention To What's Under The Hood .................................................................................13
Pick A Vendor With Operational Maturity...................................................................................13
Appendix A: Endnotes..........................................................................................................................14
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Executive Summary Based on interviews of more than 300 IT decision-makers in seven countries, Forrester sees the increasing fragmentation of organizations. The problem is threefold:
1) Companies are becoming increasingly distributed. We found that companies must support a large number of branch locations, outsourcing relationships, and employees that are simply no longer in the traditional headquarter location.
2) Users are becoming increasingly mobile. On top of more remote locations, users are also becoming more mobile - relying on broadband wireless technologies to stay connected and productive.
3) Applications are becoming increasingly complex. IT must support all of these locations and users with a very broad mix of applications. In fact, a large organization can support hundreds if not thousands of unique apps. But to make matters worse, new application types like software-as-a-service (SaaS) force IT to recalibrate support mechanisms.
The result of all this is poor performance and users will no longer tolerate it. Today's mobile worker expects access to any application, and when something goes wrong, the help desk gets the call. However, we already know that companies are successfully overcoming this hurdle by deploying WAN optimization solutions that are specifically tuned for a mobile environment. Mobile WAN optimization provides the acceleration needed to ensure consistent performance, room for new applications, and the ability to ensure end user productivity at all times.
Research Methodology In September 2007, Forrester Consulting conducted an online survey of 302 IT decision-makers and influencers in North America, Japan, China, France, The United ... [download for more]