Shortly before the IT Service Management Forum's annual Fusion conference in 2009, Forrester and the US chapter of IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) put the finishing touches on a partnership agreement between the two entities. There are many aspects of this partnership, including Forrester analysts speaking at numerous itSMF events throughout the year. (I had the pleasure of speaking to and spending the day with the Washington, DC area's National Capital LIG just today!) The truly exciting aspect of the partnership, however, is our intent to perform some joint research on the ITSM movement. By combining Forrester's venerable research and analysis capabilities with the wide and diverse membership of itSMF our hope is to gain unprecedented insight into ITSM trends and sentiments. The beneficiaries will be everyone in the broad ITSM community! What a concept!

Sound the trumpets!

It took us a while to get everything lined up, but I'm delighted to announce that the research study is now live!

The study is open to all itSMF USA members, so we expect a large sample size for the research. That said, we encourage everyone to participate. The results will be tabulated by Forrester, who will perform the analysis and produce the research report on the findings. This report will be free to all itSMF USA members and Forrester clients. If you are neither, that's no problem. If you participate, you are eligible for a free copy, regardless of your affiliation. This is our way of thanking you for your help! Naturally, you will have to provide some contact information so we can send you your copy when it is ready.

We plan to make this an annual study so we can track trends over time and emerging patterns. We are very excited by the potential with this and the value that all of us in the ITSM community can gain from it. While this study is currently a joint effort between Forrester and itSMF USA, we hope to expand it to a global study very soon. Of course, anyone, anywhere in the world can participate in this current study, but the formal relationships between Forrester and other itSMF bodies are still being finalized. Until then, the results will not be available to other itSMF national chapters and their members, unless they are Forrester clients or participants in this study. Stay tuned for more on this global partnership expansion.

We look forward to completing this groundbreaking research and offering it to you. Please help yourself and your peers around the world by taking the survey. If you have any questions, please contact me via normal Forrester channels or via Twitter (@glennodonnell).

Thank you!

— Glenn —