David Menninger's Analyst Perspectives

Here’s a big shout-out to the Ventana Research community. I’m happy to be here. I think it would be appropriate to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about why I’m here and what I hope to accomplish as a member of the Ventana Research team. For more than 20 years I’ve been analyzing end-user requirements, competitive landscapes and new trends in the IT industry for some of the world’s leading enterprise software companies. During that time, I’ve served as VP of product management and marketing for Vertica, Oracle, Applix, IRI Software and others. These companies provide analytics, BI tools, data warehousing technology, OLAP, performance management, data mining, workflow and content management products. They created products to support IT organizations including database and enterprise architects, CFOs, sales & marketing analysts, life science researchers, Wall Street and information analysts in general. Most of them used proprietary, perpetual, on-premises licensing schemes, but some used open source, subscription-based and/or software-as-a-service schemes. I’ve worked for publicly traded and privately held companies from large companies with tens of thousands of employees and small companies with less than 20 employees and at acquirers and targets of acquisitions. Many successes and a few that were not as successful as the constituents would have liked, but each provided additional insights and experience. The successes produced over half a billion dollars of shareholder value as measured by the market capitalization or acquisition price of those companies. I enjoy the process of dissecting the markets and translating that information into actionable recommendations; in the past I did this for individual software vendors that employed me. Becoming part of Ventana Research gives me an opportunity to share my experiences with a broader set of both end-user and IT organizations. After all, variety is the spice of life. In my roles I have interacted with many in the analyst community including all the usual suspects. Viewing the recent consolidation of larger IT analyst firms, as well as the consolidation driven by the largest technology vendors (See: “It’s Alive!: A Look at the Software Ecosystem”), I think the market needs more independent voices. I’ve watched Ventana Research establish its place in the market and build its reputation based on performing objective primary quantitative research called benchmark research, market education on use of information and technology and create a strong distribution channel from media partners to social media for its research. My colleague the head of research wrote about Why Research Matters as the market is plagued with surveys and other methods that are not based on a research methodology and process that Ventana Research utilizes. I also admire the firm’s staying power in weathering two of the worst market downturns I’ve experienced. I saw firsthand what the severe budget restrictions of those economic swings did to market research budgets, and it is a real vote of confidence that Ventana Research was among the firms that companies continued to spend their precious resources on. So whether you are part of an end-user group or an IT organization, are a software vendor or a software purchaser, I look forward to helping you navigate the constantly changing software market with fact-based research, insights and creativity that help you succeed in meeting your business goals. Let me know your thoughts or come and collaborate with me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter . Regards, David Menninger VP & Research Director

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