
What It Means: A Forrester Podcast
Each episode of the What It Means podcast features Forrester analysts providing their unique perspective on the latest news and trends impacting marketing, CX, and technology leaders.
Latest episodes

Jun 26, 2025 • 22min
TV Options For B2C, GenAI For CRM, Data Centers Go Nuclear
From pickleball to nuclear energy, this week’s episode covers a lot of ground. Listen in as Forrester analysts put three recent business headlines into context for sales, marketing, and technology leaders.

6 snips
Jun 12, 2025 • 23min
Perplexity’s Strategy, B2B Influencers, Salesforce Buys Informatica
Rick Bradbury and Kate Leggett, both analysts at Forrester, dive into the chaotic world of business transformation. They explore Perplexity's strategic partnership with PayPal and Shopify, boosting e-commerce integration. AI's impact on online shopping and the risks involved, from data privacy to catalog management, is discussed. They also highlight how B2C brands must adapt to influencer marketing and the implications of Salesforce's staggering $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, reshaping CRM with an AI focus.

May 29, 2025 • 20min
New AI Lessons In Coding, Marketing, And Product Design
In this episode, we look at how to avoid the risks of AI-enabled tools in three common business use cases: coding, marketing, and product design. The key takeaway from all three areas: There’s still a strong need to have a human in the loop to review your AI outputs.

May 15, 2025 • 16min
Temu On Tariffs, RSAC Review, SaaS Pricing Trends
In this episode, we look at how one online retailer is working to minimize the impact of tariffs on its business, provide a review of a major cybersecurity conference, and highlight a new trend in software-as-a-service (SaaS) pricing.

May 1, 2025 • 18min
Google’s Monopolies, Microsoft’s AI Agents, Intel’s Latest Deal
In this episode, we look at a major legal ruling that could shake up the adtech market, some new capabilities to make AI agents even smarter, and a tech industry deal that could breathe new life into a struggling giant.

Apr 17, 2025 • 28min
Oracle’s Data Breach Silence, Tariff Impacts, Homegrown Social Influencers
In this episode, we look at the ongoing fallout from two healthcare data breaches involving Oracle servers and what the on-again, off-again tariffs could mean for CIOs. Then we discuss the rising prominence of social media influencers in the B2B space — and why tapping your own employees could be a smart move.

Apr 10, 2025 • 1min
Coming Next Week: What It Means, 2.0
There are some exciting changes coming to Forrester’s What It Means podcast. Get a sneak preview this week and tune in next week to hear a full episode.

Mar 27, 2025 • 27min
Put Employees At The Center Of Your AI Strategy
What does it take to make the most of AI in the enterprise? Hint: It’s not the tools. VP and Principal Analyst J. P. Gownder shares insights on the value of putting humans at the center of your AI strategy.

Mar 20, 2025 • 21min
Encore Presentation: Get Your AI Aligned
The big challenge with AI for business is risk. How can an organization minimize the risk while maximizing the benefit of AI? In this episode, Vice President and Principal Analyst Brandon Purcell proposes a solution to this challenge — AI alignment — and outlines how an “align by design” approach can help.

Mar 13, 2025 • 31min
Finally, An Alternative To 3LOD: Meet Continuous Risk Management
For more than a decade, risk managers have been trying to use the three lines of defense (3LOD) framework for enterprise risk management. But it was never meant for that. In this episode, Senior Analysts Alla Valente and Cody Scott walk through the new Forrester Continuous Risk Management Model, a more holistic and business-centric risk management approach.