Ep093: Forrester's Vision: Linda Ivy-Rosser on the Evolution and Future of Business Applications

Linda Ivy-Rosser, Vice President for Forrester, outlines the evolution of business applications and forward thinking predictions of their future.

Topics Include:

• Linda Ivy-Rosser has extensive business applications experience since the 1990s.
• Business applications historically seen as rigid and lethargic.
• 1990s: On-premise software with limited scale and flexibility.
• 2000s: SaaS emergence with Salesforce, AWS, and Azure.
• 2010s: Mobile-first applications focused on accessibility.
• Present: AI-driven applications characterize the "AI economy."
• Purpose of applications evolved from basic to complex capabilities.
• User expectations grew from friendly interfaces to intelligent systems.
• Four agreements: AI-infused, composable, cloud-native, ecosystem-driven.
• AI-infused: 69% consider essential/important in vendor selection.
• Composability expected to grow in importance with API architectures.
• Cloud-native: 79% view as foundation for digital transformation.
• Ecosystem-driven: 68% recognize importance of strategic alliances.
• Challenges: integration, interoperability, data accessibility, user adoption.
• 43% prioritizing cross-functional workflow and data accessibility capabilities.
• Tech convergence recycles as horizontal strategy for software companies.
• Data contextualization crucial for employee adoption of intelligent applications.
• Explainable AI necessary to build trust in recommendations.
• Case study: 83% of operators rejected AI recommendations without explanations.
• Tulip example demonstrated three of four agreements successfully.
• Software giants using strategic alliances as competitive advantage.
• AWS offers comprehensive AI infrastructure, platforms, models, and services.
• Salesforce created ecosystem both within and outside their platform.
• SaaS marketplaces bridge AI model providers and businesses.
• Innovation requires partnerships between software vendors and ISVs.
• Enterprises forming cohorts with startups to solve business challenges.
• Software supply chain transparency increasingly important.
• Government sector slower to adopt cloud and AI technologies.
• Change resistance remains significant challenge for adoption.
• 69% prioritize improving innovation capability over next year.

Participants:

• Linda Ivy-Rosser - Vice President, Enterprise Software, IT services and Digital Transformation Executive Portfolio, Forrester

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