Forrester Market Update

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August 26, 2009
by Gene Leganza, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research
with Alex Cullen, Mimi An, and Matt Czarnecki

Forrester last reviewed enterprise software offerings in human and social services in 2006 — what’s changed? The shift to installing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software rather than engaging in mammoth custom development projects has gained significant momentum.

Forrester interviewed vendors, system integrators, and US state and federal health and human services executives for this report and has worked with government organizations around the world through ongoing client inquiry and advisory engagements.

Excerpt from the Forrester Market Update: Human and Social Services Enterprise Software:

CÚRAM, SOLE LEADER IN THE 2006 FORRESTER WAVE, MAINTAINED STRONG MOMENTUM

Dublin-based Cúram Software has continued on its course to provide a comprehensive solution for social enterprise management with a strong emphasis on the enterprise. (See endnote 4) What's happened since 2006? 

  • Still more program-specific out-of-the-box functionality. Cúram delivered on its 2006 commitment to fully support unemployment insurance benefits and subsequently also added modules for out-of-the-box support for such programs as youth services (juvenile justice in the US), child care, and child and adult protective services. Cúram further extended its child welfare offering by partnering with Children's Research Center (CRC) to integrate CRC's research-based methodologies and decision support tools, the Structured Decision Making (SDM) model, into its existing solution. (See endnote 5) Cúram has also formally announced development of support for child support enforcement.
  • A continuing stream of new enterprise customers. With more than 50 customers in North America, Cúram has continued to win significant new customers looking for enterprise-level modernization solutions each year. Recent wins include the state of North Carolina for a full-replacement multiprogram human and social services solution. In August 2009, the state of New Jersey awarded Cúram the contract for a complete replacement of its social services systems. Additionally, Cúram has focused activity in Louisiana to provide online self-service preregistration for disaster food stamps in preparation for 2009's hurricane season.  Other recent customer activity includes Cúram being named the human and social services enterprise case management standard in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Cúram was also selected by Hamburg, Germany, the largest city/state in the country, to run all social programs as a part of its modernization project for youth and social welfare services.
  • An enduring commitment to the enterprise approach. Cúram's key differentiator is its long-standing commitment to the enterprise approach. It provides a robust and flexible platform plus program-specific functionality for the most common social programs. Cúram boasted the most program-specific out-of-the-box functionality in the 2006 Forrester Wave evaluation, and it has continued to add detailed support for different types of programs.  Cúram has also maintained its focus on technical architecture and strategic partnerships. Already service-oriented architecture (SOA) certified by IBM, Cúram Software was invited in April 2008 to participate in IBM's Customer Acceleration Program (CAP) for the IBM WebSphere Business Process Management portfolio. The two companies announced the integration of their software in June 2009. (See endnote 6)

Endnotes:

4. Social enterprise management is Cúram's term for "a business and technology blueprint for outcome-based, client-centered, integrated delivery of services across needs-based and contribution-based programs." Source: Cúram Software.

5. CRC was established to help federal, state, and local child welfare agencies reduce child abuse and neglect by developing case management systems and conducting research that improves service delivery to children and families. Source: Children's Research Center.

6. IBM's CAP program's focus "is to provide additional assistance to leading edge customers and business partners who have made a commitment to the WebSphere Business Process Management family of products, have an aggressive implementation plan, and who will agree to provide references in 2008." Source: IBM and Cúram Software.

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