From Analyst to Evangelist… Let’s get it started!

After working as an industry analyst for more than decade, I’m leaving JupiterResearch to join Microsoft as an enthusiast evangelist. What is an enthusiast evangelist? Our job is to find, engage and work with enthusiasts and other influencers and show them all the cool stuff that Microsoft is doing. In short, it’s our job to act as the bridge between Microsoft and end users. I’ll be based in NY but will have close ties to folks like Jeff Sandquist in Redmond.

It seems career changes for me are tied to major OS releases. When I first joined Gartner in 1995, Windows 95 was on the verge of launching. When I left, it was Windows 2000 that had been recently released. When I first joined Jupiter, XP was the new operating system on the block and Mac OS X had just done the 10.1 release that brought it to the masses. It seems only fitting that the launch of Vista marks the beginning of the next stage in my career.

Why am I doing this? My current job is great, my boss is wonderful and I was compensated OK. Jupiter is a premier analyst firm and is still the first firm I would recommend anyone use who is engaged in the areas they cover.

The difference lies in what I have done in the past and what I will be doing. That is the difference between being a baby sitter and a parent. They both take of children. The difference is the sitter plays with child, gets paid for it and then at the end of the day, they hand the child back and go on to the next one. Parenting is a little different. An observer might think that being the sitter is the better job. As a parent, I know better.

Why Microsoft? There’s a revolution going on. A battle for the hearts and minds of consumers in terms of their digital lives. I firmly believe that Microsoft is the only company that will enable the seamless transition for users to move in and out of the different aspects of their lives. In short, no one else comes close to presenting a complete, unified and integrated view of the digital home of the 21st century.

Whether it’s work, school or home, Microsoft has the potential to change lives even more than they already have. Who else could deliver mission critical technology to the business world, create the best Smartphone operating system, build a successful platform for console games (and pioneer online and connected play) and take on the iPod. All at the same time.

The key to all that, is software and I feel privileged to be a part of that and help get the word out.

One important aspect of the new role is going to be blogging. You’re going to see a different blog here. For starters, I’ve opened up comments. Look for some podcasts to follow soon over on Channel 10.

The last five years at Jupiter have been amazing. I indeed had the time of my life and I hope you’ll join me on the next part of my journey.

And, if you’re on the east coast, drop me a line, would love to get together!

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