We have some exciting changes in the works at Cutter!

Business technology executives constantly grapple with how quickly the IT landscape shifts. Old barriers erode; new technologies take hold. Concepts that at one time were novel become mainstream or embedded in another strategy. It's all part of what makes the business technology field so intriguing: it's never the same. To succeed, you've got to remain agile.

A Little History

For more than 20 years, we've adapted Cutter's content and its formats to respond to market changes. For example, when object technology became understood widely and organizations began to make reusable objects a reality, we refocused our Object-Oriented Strategies newsletter to Component Development Strategies. As the market again shifted, and components became, well, a component of distributed computing strategy, that service evolved into Distributed Computing Architectures and then on to today's current Enterprise Architecture practice.

Realignment

In response to the huge market shift that's happening now, we're again reorganizing our research, consulting, training, and executive education offerings to reflect the altered landscape. Plus, we're launching some additional channels for access to Cutter's expert content and advisory services. Mirroring the way enterprises are putting business technology strategies to work, we are reorganizing our content -- current and future -- into four major practice areas. You'll still get Executive Reports and Summaries, Executive Updates, Advisors, and webinars on all the same topics you do today (and read on for some new formats), but they'll be realigned and categorized into one of four "umbrella" practice areas.

Here's how the reorganization plays out:

• Business Technology Strategies

  This practice area will embrace the areas that are of primary concern to the CIO, and includes the research and consulting offerings of Cutter's Business-IT Strategies, Enterprise Risk Management & Governance, Innovation & Enterprise Agility, Business Technology Trends & Impacts, and Sourcing & Vendor Relationships advisory services. Drilling down, you'll find topics ranging from cloud computing as a sourcing strategy, to operational excellence, governance, privacy, security, the financial management of IT, CIO/leadership development, and more.

• Business and Enterprise Architecture

  Topics of this expanded practice area include: enterprise architecture, business architecture, applications architecture, information/data architecture, security architecture, plus business process management, legacy application modernization, and more. Previously some of these areas were addressed in our Business Intelligence and Enterprise Risk Management & Governance advisory services, but now are more appropriate here.

• Data Integration, BI & Collaboration

  Comprising content and topics from our Business Intelligence and Social Networking practices, Data Integration, BI & Collaboration is where you'll find information on knowledge management, collaboration and social networking tools and strategies from Facebook to SharePoint, as well as the most cutting-edge ideas on collecting, managing, and mining big data. Since mobile delivery platforms figure prominently in many of today's issues surrounding the way both structured and unstructured data is acquired and how its resulting intelligence is shared, you'll also find research on mobile strategies here. Regardless of whether your data, social, and knowledge sharing requirements are internal- or external-facing, built on the latest platforms, or sit on legacy systems, this Cutter practice area will provide you with cutting edge insights and guidance.

• Agile Product & Project Management

  This practice area will remain nearly identical to the current Agile Product & Project Management advisory service, covering all aspects of project management, software engineering, software debt management, and software governance with a focus on iterative methods that deliver working modules rapidly.

New Formats

Now, for the new formats! To make it easier to read Cutter research wherever and whenever you want, you'll have access to epub versions of Executive Reports and Executive Updates. However you navigate to a Cutter article -- from your Cutter gateway page; via links from cutter.com, our Twitter feed, or some other place on the Web; from our RSS feed; etc. -- you can read it any way you want. So whatever your platform: desktop/laptop, smartphone, tablet, e-reader, or print, the version you choose will be optimized for your device.

New Interactive Offerings

Also new from Cutter are online Q&A sessions featuring Cutter experts answering your questions. The idea is not all that different than a book discussion group: after you've read an Executive Report or Update, you may have questions, or want clarification about a concept, or wonder how you can apply it in an organization with a culture like yours. These sessions will give you the answers. There's no presentation, just live conversation -- a virtual roundtable. Watch your inbox for upcoming scheduled Q&As.

And beginning late fall, Cutter Members will enjoy quarterly virtual strategy sessions with our Practice Directors. Like the Q&As, these are not presentations but conversations -- around a topic or issue you're wrestling with right now.

We'll be unveiling this makeover soon, beginning with a redesigned cutter.com home page that simplifies and aligns the navigation with the four practice areas described above. We hope this makes it easier for you to take full advantage of your Cutter connection and leverage your access to Cutter's community of experts!

Your Thoughts?

We welcome your feedback and questions on the refined practice areas, formats, Web conferences, and anything else. Please don't hesitate to call, email, or connect with me via Facebook or Twitter. Best regards,

Karen Coburn
President & CEO
kcoburn@cutter.com
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