Analyst Profile Detailed
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Frederick W. Broussard
Research Director, Enterprise System Infrastructure Software
Team:
Client Computing
Infrastructure
Mobile and Wireless
Support Technologies
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Fred Broussard is a Research Director in the System Infrastructure Software group, specifically focusing on PC device management software and enterprise system management. In this position he is responsible for covering all aspects of problem management software (e.g., IT help desk software) and , change and configuration management software (e.g., asset management, system configuration, software distribution, and software licensing).
Prior to joining the group, Mr. Broussard was a research analyst in IDC's IT Advisor Group, serving the needs of IT professionals. Mr. Broussard focused on the management of the help desk and customer relationship management (CRM) function within the IT Department. He specialized in the ways that help desks and CRM solutions relate to the entire enterprise and the financial impact of IT on client organizations.
Prior to joining IDC, Mr. Broussard spent eight years in the U.S. Air Force in various capacities: program manager for the integration of electronic systems on the F-16 fighter aircraft; test director for a breakthrough capability in land-based radar systems; and test director for software upgrade to the mainframe systems that hosted the Air Force's main command and control facility in Colorado Springs. On the latter test program, Mr. Broussard also served as a civilian software test engineer for four years. In his roles as engineer, test director, and program manager, Mr. Broussard introduced a range of innovative business practices in hardware/software testing, acquisition, and systems management, saving millions of dollars and greatly increasing efficiency. In recognition of his efforts, he received three high-level Air Force awards.
Mr. Broussard has a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California, a Master's degree in Systems Management from Western New England College, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Frequently Asked Questions
| What factors drive the support needs of organizations? |
a) help desk turnover within the organization
b) the internet is driving requirements for support to be more timely
c) customers within the organization and working closely with business units
d) slow movement towards centralized client server
e) various levels of experience with technology within the organization of individual customers
f) multiple applications for use within an organization
g) multiple devices that need support within the organization, such as laptops, desktops, PDAs, cell phones, pagers, and the needs of remote users that use these devices
| | What is the current status of Windows 2000 migrations? |
a) Windows 2000 Professional moving more quickly than Windows 2000 Server, for obvious reasons
b) majority of organizations have not started or are in the early stages of migration
c) majority of migrations will end later this year or into 2nd quarter of next year
d) help desk improvements such as reliability/maintainability will not occur until the migrations are complete and custoemrs have worked with the new OS
| | What are the technologies that are being considered for support within the enterprise? |
PDAs such as Palm Pilots or PocketPCs. In addition, pagers and cell phones are also being adopted. Long standing devices such as laptops are being supported with more technology to perform remote access. Interestingly, not as many organizations are moving towards providing backup and recovery support for the desktop as initially estimated.
| | What are the trends for technology adoption within the enterprise? |
With the US economy showing signs of weakness, technologies that directly assist in increasing revenues or decreasing costs are going to be the focus of IT organizations. For example, wireless communication for smart handheld devices used by sales people, or running a more efficient network operation that uses less people to administer are technology implementations that can help address the bottom line.
| | What are software vendors doing to provide software solutions for enterprise support, and how are the products evolving? |
For desktop management, there are 4 major areas of support: software deployment, backup and recovery, asset/inventory management and settings and configuration management. Vendors have started to provide support for devices resident within an organizations walls, and to devices outside those walls. Vendors are also providing support for remote devices such as PDAs to provide this level of support as well.
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IDC’s 2001 Support Study shows that 39% of IT organizations in general, and 53% of organizations adopting Windows 2000 are moving to support smart handheld devices within the next twelve months. While it is no surprise that Palm Pilots and PocketPCs are making their way into the organization, it is surprising that so many organizations are making the move at the same time that they are migrating to Windows 2000. Further, the increase in the number of organizations purchasing the devices for use within the company, and finding a business use behind it, are leading to the conclusion that the devices are going to be used in the vast majority of organizations by the end of the decade.
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