What It Means

As we move into September, we dig into new sponsorship options for brands and find out how AI agents are impacting the customer success function as well as the industrial manufacturing and supply chain industries.

As we hurtle toward the end of August, it’s time to look toward the future. More specifically, the future of Anthropic (and other AI firms), the future of AI as a technology, and the future of the CMO role.

As the annual budgeting and planning season comes into full swing, we drill down into two unique pricing trends. We then take a detailed look at how to measure developer productivity.

July heats up with a look at the impact of some regulatory moves in the US and a deep dive into a new AI trend for developers that may be more useful than you think.

In this episode of What It Means, we dig into fear as a motivator in the B2B buying process, the human-centric future of digital experiences, and what CISOs need to know coming out of Cisco Live.

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.

If there’s one constant in business today, it’s change. New partnerships, new strategies, and new risks are popping up in all areas. In this episode, we look at three major changes taking place in the B2C, B2B, and enterprise application spaces and tap our analysts for their guidance on how to manage these changes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Changing buying dynamics and generative AI are bringing already strained B2B buying processes to a breaking point. This week on What It Means, VP and Research Director Steven Casey and VP and Principal Analyst Barry Vasudevan discuss these forces and introduce the concept of buying networks as they preview new research debuting at Forrester’s B2B Summit North America.

As generative AI changes how buyers search for information, what should marketers do to adapt their content strategies? This week on What It Means, Principal Analyst Lisa Gately shares her advice and previews her session on the topic at Forrester’s B2B Summit North America.

What are the latest trends in the semiconductor industry, and what does it mean for your technology plans? Senior Analyst Alvin Nguyen discusses the latest semiconductor advancements and market dynamics in this episode of What It Means.

What’s the difference between AI agents and agentic AI? In this episode VP and Principal Analyst Craig Le Clair and Senior Analyst Christina McAllister discuss the nuances of the two and use cases for both.

What distinguishes a manager from a coach-like leader? This week, Principal Analyst Betsy Summers and VP and Principal Analyst Peter Ostrow explore the evolving role of managers and how adopting coaching behaviors can empower teams for long-term success. They also preview their session on the topic at Forrester’s upcoming B2B Summit North America.