MarketSphere is pleased to announce Ian Michiels has joined its Enterprise Marketing practice as a director. He comes to MarketSphere from Aberdeen Group, where he was the Research Director of the Customer Management research group.

At Aberdeen Group, his research focus included CRM, sales and marketing automation and emerging marketing technologies and practices.

Lonnie Janecek and Thomas Manders, Enterprise Marketing co-managing partners, said, “We welcome Ian, and are excited to bring aboard someone with Ian’s experience and fresh insights about how marketers can improve efficiency and effectiveness. Our clients will benefit from Ian’s firsthand experience uncovering best practices that help organizations outperform competitors through automation and faster, leaner marketing practices.”

As practice leader, Ian was instrumental in growing the Aberdeen Customer Management group into a premier source of thought leadership in marketing and sales; establishing exactly how marketing must improve processes to remain competitive and adopt new technologies to better serve customers in this highly mobile and engaged economy. In addition to his research on marketing automation technologies, Michiels is an accomplished expert of customer engagement strategies and lead management.

Michiels has a rich background in creative and analytical marketing at Fortune 500 organizations including Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Applied Materials and Oracle/Hyperion. He earned an MBA from Santa Clara University with concentrations in marketing management, ecommerce and managing innovation.

Michiels responded, “This is a natural transition for me, from pure research to a more ‘hands on’ role with MarketSphere, a firm at the forefront of implementing new marketing technology solutions for complex, global companies. I look forward to working with MarketSphere clients to improve their overall competitiveness through highly optimized marketing operations.”

Michiels lives in California with his family and will be based there. He will provide support to the firm’s growing list of clients headquartered on the west coast.

MarketSphere is among the few consultancies with a practice focused specifically on marketing operations, the function within marketing responsible for governance, project management, marketing finance, shared services and technology support. When the “business of marketing” is highly optimized, the marketing function creates a strong competitive advantage for a company through its ability to respond more quickly to market changes, and deliver better results at the same or lower level of investment.

About MarketSphere

MarketSphere’s vision is to be a sustainable professional services firm dedicated to achieving mutual, long-term success with our clients, people and business partners. Its partners and associates provide solutions that address a broad range of process, technology, and organizational needs within the finance, human resources, supply chain, and sales and marketing functions, with specialization in strategic business performance, technology integration, and enterprise transformation initiatives. The Enterprise Marketing practice is the leading consultancy dedicated to marketing operations and helping companies improve the “business of marketing.”

The Gilbane Group, a division of Outsell, Inc., and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) today announced a strategic partnership to help members of the book industry community succeed through innovative uses of technology.

Together, Gilbane and BISG will provide market-centric research and actionable guidance for book industry professionals—from publishers to wholesalers—seeking to profit from the “digital revolution.”

“XML, search technology, and e-readers are among the numerous innovations that have challenged the book industry while increasing business opportunities for the most agile,” said Bill Trippe, Vice President Content Strategies and Lead Analyst, Gilbane. “Industry executives need clear guidance on how to distinguish between hype and substance, and apply the right technological strategies to stay competitive.”

“BISG and Gilbane share a vital interest in the future of the book industry. By providing an objective, research-based perspective, we will be able to add enormous value for BISG’s members and the industry at large,” said Scott Lubeck, Executive Director, BISG.

The new partnership includes:

• Full-length research reports, starting with joint planning and development of Gilbane’s current study, “A Blueprint for Book Publishing Transformation.”
• An annual series of white papers on topics of interest to the book publishing industry.
• Events to share research results. For example, Gilbane will participate in a session of BISG’s Making Information Pay conference on May 6, 2010, presenting key findings from the Blueprint study.

About The Gilbane Group

The Gilbane Group has been writing and consulting about the strategic use of information technologies since 1987. Our analysts have helped organizations of all sizes from a wide variety of industries and governments. We work with the entire community of stakeholders including investors, enterprise buyers of IT, and technology suppliers. We have organized over 60 educational conferences in North America and Europe. Our next event is Gilbane San Francisco, May 18-20, 2010 - gilbanesf.com/. Information about our widely read newsletter, reports, white papers, case studies and analyst blogs is available at http://gilbane.com. The Gilbane Group is a division of Outsell, Inc. (www.outsellinc.com), the only research and advisory firm focused on advancing the publishing and information industries.

About Book Industry Study Group, Inc.

The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) is the U.S. book industry's leading trade association for policy, standards and research. The mission of BISG is to create a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry supply chain for both physical and digital products. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For over 30 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community. Learn more about BISG at www.bisg.org.

Denise Garcia, a new media veteran and former Gartner industry analyst, will join ICR as a senior vice-president in the Internet and e-Commerce practice team.

ICR is a leading financial communications consulting firm specializing in investor relations. The company is continuing its commitment to attracting and retaining individuals with deep industry expertise and relationships, a superior understanding of the capital markets and the ability to develop and execute financial communications programs for clients.

Denise brings extensive advertising, new media and equity research experience to ICR. She joins from Next New Networks, a leading independent online video producer and distributor, where she was SVP, Sales. Prior to Next New Networks she was senior vice president of corporate strategy and research at Vibrant Media. Before her most recent industry experience, Garcia served as vice president, Internet equity research at A.G. Edwards & Sons and Internet analyst at W.R. Hambrecht + Co. Additionally, she specialized in researching advertising innovations and trends as vice president of advertising and media with notable research and consulting firm Gartner, Inc.

As an early new media innovator, Garcia developed advertising and revenue strategies for International Data Group (IDG) and CMP Media's print and online media properties. She also launched the Industry Standard magazine as the publication's first online advertising salesperson and was part of the Red Herring magazine's print advertising sales team.

Tom Ryan, Co-Ceo of ICR stated, "Our internet and e-commerce practice continues to expand and the addition of Denise to our team positions ICR for further market share gains. As companies in these sectors continue to evolve in a rapidly changing market, her understanding of both the industry and the capital markets will help clients maximize their equity value and preserve their brand reputations."

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT), the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, hosted its annual Investor Day for institutional investors and sell-side analysts in Greenwich, Connecticut, at 9:00 a.m. eastern time today. Free webcast.

At the Investor Day, members of the Company’s senior leadership team reviewed Gartner’s business portfolio, strategy for growth and financial performance. The Investor Day was webcast live via the Internet. A replay is available on the Company’s web site at http://investor.gartner.com.

In addition, the Company reiterated its financial outlook for 2010, which was previously announced in its fourth quarter and full year 2009 earnings press release dated February 9, 2010.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. We deliver the technology-related insight necessary for our clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, we are the valuable partner to approximately 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, we work with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has approximately 4,300 associates, including approximately 1,200 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

Global services advisory firm Horses for Sources will provide select members of the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON) with complimentary access to research reports and private roundtable discussions. This marks the first formal association alliance for the newly formed industry analyst firm.

As part of the new alliance, senior operations executives in SSON’s premium community can benefit from research being provided by Horses for Sources, including all aspects of Business Process Outsourcing, shared services and governance strategy. Under the terms of the agreement, the “Horses” expert analyst team are available to support SSON’s members with their outsourcing and shared services decisions.

In addition to the research analyst support, SSON’s buy-side executives can benefit from C-level discussion groups, which will be facilitated by Horses for Sources analysts on-site at SSON’s premium events. Upcoming groups will be featured at the forthcoming Shared Services and Outsourcing Week events in Orlando and Edinburgh.

Phil Fersht, Founder and CEO of Horses for Sources, explained in an email to Tekrati, "Premium buy-side members will get access to our premium research reports.  C-levels will be invited to a series of private roundtable discussions at SSON events where we will present and discuss key findings from new studies and facilitate discussion." Access to research includes all standard Horses research deliverables, including webinars.

Just as with Horses for Sources clients, SSON operations executives will pay standard fees for access to additional analyst time outside of SSON events.

Founding members of Horses for Sources have been working informally with SSON for the last two years. The success of previous buy-side discussion forums served as the impetus for the formation of a more formal partnership.

Fersht commented on the selection of SSON as his company's first formal association alliance: “Our goal at Horses is to deliver unbiased insight, research and advice to senior BPO and shared services decision-makers. We have found the community at SSON great to work with, and are excited to engage with their executives on a regular basis. Based on our long-standing relationship, we feel that SSON has the broadest and most comprehensive network of senior operations executives in the sourcing industry, and we are excited to be supporting them with some of the toughest - and most complex - decisions of their careers.”

Sarah Clayton, Global Head of Strategy at SSON added, “The proven depth of insight provided by the Horses for Sources team is exactly what our members demand, and their ongoing popularity and influence with many of our senior executives has driven us to formalize our partnership with Phil and his team. Our goal is not only to provide our community with great knowledge and networking opportunities, but also to help them benefit from the best and brightest minds in the industry. We believe Horses provides that for us, and are delighted to have them with us on this journey.”

Both Phil Fersht and Lee Coulter, Research Fellow and Distinguished Analyst, will present sessions at SSON’s 14th Annual North American Shared Services Week, Orlando March 22nd-25th 2010 and SSON’s 10th Annual European Shared Services Week, Edinburgh May 24th-27th 2010.

About Horses for Sources

Horses for Sources is the foremost social networking community and advisory analyst firm, focused on helping enterprises make complex decisions with their global outsourcing strategies. Horsesprovides the most impactful and frequently-visited collaborative community platform in the global services industry, providing rapid and insightful commentary, analysis and debate of enterprise outsourcing dynamics. The organization is unique in the fact that it integrates personable social networking with market research and advisory services. Horses’ mission provide a unique environment for collective research, opinion, experience and knowledge across the global outsourcing industry to help enterprises explore new performance thresholds. Led by industry expert Phil Fersht, the Horses for Sources team is a multi-disciplinary group of analysts and experts with deep domain knowledge in Business Process Outsourcing, Industry Specific Process Outsourcing and Cloud Computing.

About The Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON)

SSON is the largest and most established community of shared services and outsourcing professionals, with over 18,500 members and more than 350,000 visitors to the community portal per year. SSON provides the roof under which key industry experts and organizations share their experience, knowledge and tools, and practitioner peers connect with other all over the world, both face to face and online. SSON focuses on developing its members through providing training, tools, and networking opportunities. Its staff works from international offices in New York, London, Singapore, Sydney, Berlin and Dubai to research current trends and developments in shared services.

AuraPortal, a global provider of Business Process Management (BPM) software, announced it will sponsor the Gartner Business Process Management Summit 2010 in Las Vegas, from 22nd to 24th March, at Caesar's Palace.

AuraPortal will be exhibiting the AuraPortal BPMS product during the conference, highlighting their “next generation”, business-resource-focused capabilities. Gartner has selected the AuraPortal BPMS as one of the best BPMS packages in the world, among hundreds of candidates, in its ‘Magic Quadrant’ report published, Feb. 2009, in which AuraPortal has been defined as 'an example of next-generation BPMS', and categorized as a “Visionary” vendor.

One of the key issues in the BPM market today is the ability for business people to create and maintain business processes without the need to utilize IT resources. The AuraPortal solution is unique in its ability to support the creation of the most complex business processes and rules without the need of programming, allowing IT users to focus on the integration of other applications and systems maintenance.

AuraPortal‘s solution, which supports CRM Process automation with BPM, implies a true revolution which will change the future of CRM, as CRM features are solved and improved with processes built with a BPMS. Those attending the Gartner event are invited to schedule an interview with AuraPortal experts through the Gartner BPM Summit website.

About AuraPortal

AuraPortal is a global BPMS (Business Process Management System) provider, delivering a solution that creates Business Process Workflow Execution Models without the need for IT programming. AuraPortal is 100% Microsoft based, 100% Web-based, and is complementary to existing ERP and CRM systems. AuraPortal has more than 350 customers across 40 countries, including: Coca-Cola, Pepsico Group, Frito-Lay, Toyota, Yamaha, Pemex, Carrefour, ArcelorMittal, Eletrobras, Saras, Royal KPN, Bristol-Myers Squibb, etc. Several customers are included in Fortune 500 Global Report. For more information, visit: www.auraportal.com.

About the Gartner Business Process Management Summit

The Gartner BPM Summit 2010 offers the latest insight on creating and sustaining an agile process-powered organization. This Summit will deliver actionable insights to help companies through today's economic pressures and will showcase the latest process management strategies, implementation tactics and leading technologies.

Yankee Group today announced that industry veteran Christopher Nicoll has joined the firm as a distinguished research fellow. In addition to Nicoll, Yankee Group added three analysts to its research team.

In this role, Nicoll will leverage his more than 20 years of telecommunications industry expertise to provide thought leadership to Yankee Group clients, and will serve as a key member of the company’s Research Council, leading the exploration of service provider strategies and advanced radio access network technologies, including 4G. Previously with Alcatel-Lucent and his own Nicoll Consulting, Nicoll's expertise involves working with service providers and network builders to establish competitive positioning and achieve market leadership.

“Chris’ vast expertise in the key technologies and business strategies driving ubiquitous connectivity—what Yankee Group calls Anywhere—will make him a trusted advisor to Yankee Group clients,” said Emily Nagle Green, Yankee Group president and CEO.

In addition to Nicoll, Yankee Group announced three new members of its research team—analysts Terry Cudmore, Dmitriy Molchanov and Kuba Stolarski.

Cudmore is part of Yankee Group’s Anywhere Network team. Formerly with FX and Fox Reality Channel, he specializes in network-based media/content delivery systems and Anywhere media business models.

Molchanov is a member of the Anywhere Consumer team. Formerly with Marketing and Planning Systems (MaPS), he specializes in connected devices and contributes his expertise to Yankee Group’s consumer surveys and forecasts.

Stolarski is a member of the Anywhere Network team. Formerly with IDC, he specializes in the OSS/BSS space, including service management, network intelligence and deep packet inspection (DPI).

“Yankee Group’s mission is to help clients navigate the Anywhere global revolution—from the transformations of the communications network, to drivers of service demand, to the business models that must evolve to keep pace. These four newest additions to our research team will help serve our clients in defining, analyzing and supporting this dynamic marketplace,” said Green.

About Yankee Group

Yankee Group is the leading source of insight and counsel trusted by builders, operators and users of global connectivity solutions for 40 years. Uniquely focused on the evolution of Anywhere, we chart the pace of technology change and its effect on networks, consumers and enterprises.

BIA/Kelsey today introduces 'Digital Strategies for Broadcasting,' an advisory service for media and technology companies engaged in local broadcasting's transition to multiplatform strategies. In the debut report, BIA/Kelsey forecasts local advertising revenues for television and radio to reach $34.3 billion in 2014, up from $29.9 billion in 2009, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8 percent. Free webinar.

Digital revenues for these media are expected to grow at a 17.8 percent CAGR during the same period, illustrating the continued shift toward digital media. The five-year outlook for local broadcast media is detailed in BIA/Kelsey's 2010 U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast (2009-2014), which is available to clients of the firm's new advisory service.

Digital Strategies for Broadcasting (DSB) provides research and analysis on how the changing local media landscape will affect the broadcaster community and its supporting network of vendors and technology providers. A conference will take place in May 2010.

“Broadcasters must evolve to participate in more areas of the media ecosystem,” said Rick Ducey, BIA/Kelsey’s chief strategy officer and program director, Digital Strategies for Broadcasting. “This means developing the right multiplatform and multiple revenue stream strategies, which in turn requires new workflow, partnerships, business models and resources. The mission of DSB is to provide the strategic guidance and market intelligence to the media and technology companies that can help broadcasters successfully transform.”

DSB clients are companies with a stake in the future of the local broadcast business, including broadcast groups, local TV and radio stations, digital advertising technology and service providers, broadcast sector-focused financial institutions and investment firms, suppliers and advisors, advertising agencies, and trade associations.

“We already provide the most complete view available of local media through our research and forecasts, included in ‘Investing in Television™,’ ‘Investing in Radio™’ and Media Access Pro™, as well as our existing advisory services focused on interactive local media, Yellow Pages and directories, mobile local media and online marketplaces,” said Neal Polachek, president, BIA/Kelsey. “The addition of the DSB advisory service, which offers access to the top broadcast and digital media analysts in the business, is a natural extension of our coverage and a powerful resource for our clients.”

In addition to BIA/Kelsey’s annual forecast, clients of Digital Strategies for Broadcasting have access to the firm’s team of knowledgeable analysts, as well as informative and timely reports covering the subjects that are pertinent to the local broadcast community. Upcoming report topics include:

• Over The Top (OTT) Video
• Building Cross-Platform Audiences and Revenues
• Broadcasters Finding Success in Hyperlocal
• Radio on Mobile Devices: What Are the Business Models?

This spring, BIA/Kelsey will host a companion conference to the advisory service -- Digital Strategies for Broadcasting 2010 (www.kelseygroup.com/dsb2010) -- which takes place May 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency on the Hudson, in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan. The conference will focus on the theme “New Platforms, New Revenues” and will offer access to the top digital media executives from across the local media ecosystem.

About the Webinar, Report

BIA/Kelsey will present additional findings from its broadcast forecast in a free webinar on Tuesday, March 16 titled, “Capitalizing on the Shift to Local and Digital Media.” For details and online registration, go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/200234297.

Additional findings from BIA/Kelsey’s 2010 U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast can be viewed online at http://www.kelseygroup.com/press/pr220210.asp.

About BIA/Kelsey

BIA/Kelsey advises companies in the local media space through consulting and valuation services, research, Continuous Advisory Services, and conferences. Since 1983 BIA/Kelsey has been a resource to the media, mobile advertising, telecommunications, Yellow Pages and electronic directory markets, as well as to government agencies, law firms and investment companies looking to understand trends and revenue drivers. BIA/Kelsey’s annual conferences draw executives from across industries seeking expert guidance on how companies are finding innovative ways to grow. Additional information is available at www.bia.com and www.kelseygroup.com. The company’s blogs are located at http://blog.bia.com/bia/ and http://blog.kelseygroup.com/, and it can be found on Twitter through http://twitter.com/BIAKelsey.

Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm, has recruited Craig Beattie and Karen Monks as insurance analysts. Jim Pelis also joined, as a senior account manager for the insurance group.

Craig Beattie

Craig Beattie joins as an analyst in Celent’s insurance practice, based in the firm’s London office. Prior to joining Celent, Mr. Beattie was an applications architect with Royal Bank of Scotland Group's Strategy and Architecture team, working extensively with RBS Insurance. He held roles in strategy and architecture during mergers within the division and consulted on a number of internal divestment opportunities. Mr. Beattie was actively involved in defining the roadmaps for the core systems, including vendor selection and defining programs of work to achieve strategic change.

Mr. Beattie’s earlier work with RBS Insurance and Direct Line Group involved deployed e-commerce solutions in multiple territories around Europe. He won the BCS Software Architect of the year award in 2007 for his work with RBS Insurance and is a TOGAF certified Enterprise Architect.

Karen Monks

Karen Monks will work as an analyst in Celent's insurance practice. Ms. Monks’s areas of expertise were developed through 12 years of consulting in the financial services industry. Most recently, Ms. Monks was an analyst for a financial valuation company in Virginia. Prior positions included three years of consulting for a leading financial services research and advisory group and seven years in John Hancock’s internal management consulting practice.

Ms. Monks began her consulting career with the Financial Services Consulting group at Coopers & Lybrand. She also completed General Electric Company’s Financial Management Program. Ms. Monks has a wide spectrum of consulting expertise including operations in life, annuity, and long-term care insurance, business process redesign, strategic planning, business case development, communication and training, new product and market assessment, competitive analyses, benchmarking, and process measurement/customer satisfaction.

Jim Pelis

Jim Pelis joins the firm as a senior account manager in Celent’s insurance practice and is based in the Boston office. Jim has been in the research, advisory, and consulting industry for 10 years. His expertise is in growing relationships with senior IT leaders at Fortune 500 enterprises and large technology providers.

Mr. Pelis began his career in the industry as an account executive with Forrester Research’s strategic account team, where he spent six years building relationships with multinational enterprises. He later moved on to the IANS, a boutique advisory firm in the information security space where he built a community of over 40 C-level executives. Most recently, Mr. Pelis was with Collective Next and Datamonitor, where his success building an enterprise account base continued.

“We’re delighted to welcome Craig, Karen, and Jim to the team,” says Craig Weber, Senior Vice President of Celent’s insurance practice. “We’re looking forward to deepening our relationships with our clients, and all three new hires bring direct experience that will help our clients address critical issues.”

About Celent

Celent is a research and advisory firm dedicated to helping financial institutions formulate comprehensive business and technology strategies. Celent publishes reports identifying trends and best practices in financial services technology and conducts consulting engagements for financial institutions looking to use technology to enhance existing business processes or launch new business strategies. With a team of internationally experienced analysts, Celent is uniquely positioned to offer strategic advice and market insights on a global basis. Celent is a member of the Oliver Wyman Group, which is part of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE: MMC].

Springboard Research, a leading innovator in the IT market research and analyst industry, has announced its acquisition of Hydrasight, a very well respected independent IT industry analyst firm based in Australia.

The acquisition is effective immediately, with integration expected to be completed by midyear 2010. The Hydrasight business will continue to operate as normal until the integration is complete.

The acquisition of Hydrasight is expected to both expand Springboard’s coverage areas in the Asia Pacific region and to provide services specifically targeted at enterprise-class consumers of technology. Hydrasight’s Research Director, John Brand, will drive a new end-user focused capability for Springboard that will draw upon both company’s strengths.

“Springboard Research has continued to grow exponentially since its inception and we believe the global financial crisis strengthened our company rather than weakened it. The acquisition of Hydrasight enables us to deliver new research services tailored to the unique end user needs of commercial enterprises and public sector organisations in the Asia Pacific region” said Dane Anderson, CEO and EVP of Research for Springboard.

The acquisition signals the inevitable merging of independent IT industry research firms in the face of increasing market consolidation driven primarily by North American-centric analyst firms. Enterprise technology consumers have previously had to accept global IT research or utilise niche analysts from a variety of local or specialist firms. This acquisition will provide a significant Asia Pacific based and focused alternative for the provision of IT industry research services relevant to geography, industries and organisations of various sizes with specific technology environments.

“The way organisations generate and consume information about IT trends and technologies has changed considerably over the last decade” said Hydrasight’s John Brand. “No longer are the trends being dictated by industry analyst ‘thought-leaders’. Now, they’re being driven by the consumers of technology themselves.”

As a result, Hydrasight provided access to much of its published research free-of-charge in recognition of its clients own contribution to relevant IT industry research. Rather than generic mass-published research or consulting services, Hydrasight’s business model has always focused on providing an independent oversight role, advising steering committees and project teams, and helping to bridge the expectation gaps between business users, technology vendors and internal IT organisations. Now, with the combined resources of Springboard and Hydrasight, end users will further benefit by being able to access a wealth of high quality, timely and localised industry research.

“Enterprise consumers of technology previously utilised consultants to provide independent advice. However, most organisations now have plenty of service providers with ‘skin in the game’. What they ultimately lack is truly independent, objective advice that provides analysis of both IT products and IT service providers. In this regard, IT industry research analysts must be less thought-leaders and more thought-movers” says Brand.

Springboard Research already has a reputation for providing valuable IT industry research and analysis, and high quality advice to clients in the Asia Pacific region. Hydrasight has a reputation for strong client relationships and the ability to provide pragmatic, accessible and actionable advice. By bringing together the strengths of the two organisations, enterprise consumers of technology – particularly those with substantial investments in IT – will now be able to access more relevant, valuable and tailored analysis for the Asia Pacific region.

About Springboard Research

With visionaries others pursue, methods others neglect and ideas others don’t consider, Springboard Research not only seeks to lead an industry – we seek to transform it. Leveraging our pioneering research model and industry thought leaders, Springboard provides greater insight, analysis, and innovation specific to global emerging markets. Working with leading technology vendors, IT professionals, and local channels, Springboard helps our clients lead, rather than follow, market trends. Springboard has a global presence with research centers in Singapore, Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the UAE, and the US. We have been acknowledged as an emerging leader and for the last three years been named a “Rising Star” in the global IT market research industry by Outsell, the leading research and advisory firm for the information industry. For more information and access to Springboard’s research, please visit www.springboardresearch.com

About Hydrasight

Hydrasight is an Asia Pacific focused, independent IT industry research and advisory firm that helps enterprise consumers of IT optimise their investments in technology. Hydrasight differs from other research and advisory firms by offering ongoing subscription services and independent oversight of IT projects. The company advises some of the biggest and most complex organisations both regionally (Asia Pacific) and globally. Hydrasight’s unique research and advisory services helps organisations to lower IT project risks, optimise IT budgets, communicate more effectively with key business sponsors and break deadlocks on internal decision making. Hydrasight was launched in October 2005 and is headquartered in Sydney Australia. It serves the strategic information needs of private enterprises, government departments, and technology vendors in the Asia Pacific region by coaching and advising organisations to make better decisions faster. Hydrasight provides independent, objective, futuristic, and pragmatic advice to navigate real-world business and technology needs.