Thursday's Thanks: It's Been A Great 5 Years!

August 6, 2009


Yes, it's true...

It's been almost 5 years since I first joined Forrester.  I still remember my first day. I even blogged about how it was so cool to be around all those star analysts I had been following.   A few of them have left but I've also met a whole cast of new star analysts who have also been great to work and hang out with.   Frankly, I'm still in awe when I think about the people that are here and the clients that we work with on a regular basis.
It's been very hard to make that decision to leave.  Forrester has given me many opportunities to push the envelope in advocating for the end users and I am grateful for the backing and support of my management team and fellow colleagues who share that entrepreneurial spirit.  Some examples of what we've accomplished together as clients, users, the media, and fellow employees in the past 5 years include:

  • Delivering the industry's first end to end business process solution evaluation on Order Management Hubs;
  • Crafting an Enterprise Software Licensee's Bill of Rights;
  • Providing inquiry, advisory, and project consulting input to >1000 enterprise software contract negotiations;
  • Pioneering research in Project Based Solutions (PBS);
  • Evangelizing the Master Data Management (MDM) and Customer Data Integration (CDI) market;
  • Creating the solution centric ecosystem model for evaluating the Stack Wars and for analyzing software partnerships;
  • Designing a long term apps strategy framework and 10 part series on helping customers with a framework to get there;
  • Developing a partner solution evaluation framework for end users and partners as the world of ecosystems take off';
  • Launching Forrester's Mid-market ERP coverage; and
  • Introducing the industry's first policy evaluation in the Forrester Wave on Enterprise Software Licensing and Pricing

Innovations in packaged apps coverage and contract negotiations strategy will continue to live on at Forrester.  I know my colleagues will push the envelope and continue to do so with a deep role perspective.
So why now Ray?
But before I say my farewells let me address the issue that's top of mind - why leave now?   Well in true analyst form, I'll leave you with 2 bullet points. (Honestly, I couldn't come up with a third one):

  • Create more personal time. My young and growing family has seen very little of me for the past 5 years.  I've had a blast putting in 120 hour weeks chatting with clients and meeting so many people in the industry.  It's really been a pleasure and a privilege.  But, I owe it to my loved ones to be around a bit more and quite frankly, this is the best time before they become teenagers.  I've also got a lot frequent flier miles and hotel points I need to consume before these companies all go bankrupt!
  • Focus on strategy consulting and thought leadership in emerging technologies. I've joined the tail end of almost every boom. It started with health care administration, management consulting, SAP implementations, CRM, product management, and e Commerce start ups.  I don't plan to miss this next wave of emerging technologies that bridge the stodgy and staid world of enterprise apps with the social world of consumer tech and Web 2.0.   This time I hope to be a few years ahead instead of behind.

Thank you for your support and friendship

Now, when you are at a place this long (keep in mind I live in the SF Bay Area), it becomes your family and those relationships take on greater meaning. Forrester is more than the research and sales people you see every day.  There's a cadre of behind the scenes stars in editing, sales, client resource center, IT, consulting, marketing/PR, SG (HR), and finance that really bring the responsiveness of a start up to a 1000 person firm... which is what I'll miss most - the relationships.
Let's stay in touch.  There are many ways to stay social and I will continue to value your feedback, input, and suggestions as I enter my next endeavor. In the meantime, you can follow my adventures on this blog or reach out to me at:

Email Rwang0 at gmail dot com
Linked in
Twitter

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analyst relations departure farewell Forrester Research R "Ray" Wang; thanks Thursday's Thanks