In an effort to benchmark progress (or lack thereof) in the areas of open innovation (and crowdsourcing) beyond some early anecdotes and cases, we have brought back the team that first discussed this phenomenon back in a 2007 issue of CBR (Vol. 7, No. 12). While the topic of open innovation first burst onto the scene in the earlier part of the 2000s, it only began to gather momentum toward the end of the decade with the addition of the crowdsourcing concept. Given the staying power of the open innovation trend, we thought it would be useful to revisit this topic with a new survey for CBR.

We're in the midst of another tough economic year. That's clear across the board for anyone who doesn't have his or her head in the sand, or in the clouds. Pick your metaphor here, but in either case it's a reality that almost all IT professionals and business managers are battling a continued tough slog through rough fiscal terrain. This issue of Cutter Benchmark Review is thus an especially important one in its relevance to the very real challenges that we all face these days.

Our goal with this issue is to provide some benchmarking data on the state of the adoption and use of post-PC devices in an attempt to understand whether they have become pervasive and how organizations are approaching their integration in the firm's overall infrastructure. If you need ammunition to spur your action into better action when it comes to a tablet strategy, you can find it here — we have done our job!

There's a lot to think about when contemplating the value and use of the mass of data that is undoubtedly accumulating every day within your firm. In this issue of CBR, we provide you with a solid footing for understanding and moving forward with your own deliberations. In a manner of speaking, your data is the "bird in your hand" that you may not even know you hold — or have not yet developed the skills to hold. Reading what our experts have to say on the subject will provide a mental framework for approaching the decisions necessary to take advantage of the wealth of information at your fingertips.