Around Barry Wilderman from Wilderman Associates in 10 questions

Today’s star analyst in our reasonably Barry Wilderman (blog),ex-META Group and Lawson, now running an  independent firm, Wilderman Associates.

1. What are your coverage areas?
   I am interested in how customers derive value from enterprise applications: breaks down into package selection, managing consulting teams, post implementation success, cost management, support. Customers have a hard time demanding a value-centered project, which then leads to a strong ROI. Also cover business intelligence as a sub-specialty.
2. What are your opinions of the IT Analysis Marketplace and where do you see it going?
   I think it remains uneven. You can only form strong, useful opinions by getting background from the vendor, and then testing your assumptions with customers’ experiences.
3. Now, c’mon, tell me an AR horror story?
   I have a wonderful analyst story, so please forgive the license here (it is an “A” story, not an “AR” story). And, I must disguise it. Our hero, the CIO, was facing a $20M call center automation disaster, and asked me to find other similar disasters, so he wouldn’t look so bad. I found a $10M disaster, but it turned out to be the same guy at his last job!
4. How do you position your firm? What is your business model?
   We are a new firm, but our objective is 70% user, 30% vendor
5. What is your research methodology?
   Phone: vendor briefings, discussions with vendors’ customers, ongoing discussions with my prospects, customers.
6. Tell us about one good AR practice you’ve experienced or one good AR event you’ve atttended.
   After a briefing, analysts tend to ask for far more than they need. A good AR practice is for AR and the analyst to come to a written agreement within 24 hours as to what is practical.
7. What are your offerings and key deliverables?
   For end users: package selection, integrator selection, team building, project audits, benefit management, building the post implementation organization.
   Vendors: Audit of current value delivery approaches – analysis and approach for improvement. Audit of marketing materials around value – critique and improvement, development of marketing collateral as required
8. Any hobbies or favourite restaurant / food that you’d like to share?
   I have been playing competitive bridge for many years, and find new and creative ways to make mistakes every day. Long distance running/walking is less error prone, but has its own challenges.
9. What is your biggest challenges for the upcoming 6 months? And for the next 30 mn?
   Continue to focus on blatant self-promotion.
10. Is there another analyst (a peer in your firm or with another firm) whose work  you rate highly?
    I will stick to the smaller firms and one-man shops: Ray Wang, Dennis Howlett, Brian Sommer – sorry, couldn’t manage with one.