On 17 December, 2008, I published a blog post to announce that I was leaving Talis and setting out as an independent Analyst and Consultant. Today, everything changes once more: I am in London, about to start my first day as Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, opining on all things cloudy within Forrester’s CIO-serving team.
The years at Cloud of Data have sometimes been a bit scary, sometimes utterly amazing, but always something I have never regretted. I have seen a lot, I have been a lot of great places, I have met some amazing people, I have learned a lot, and I have hopefully contributed something to the companies, organisations and individuals with which I have worked over the years.
But it feels like it’s time for a change. It feels like it’s time to spend more time talking to the organisations that use this stuff, and less time talking to or working with the organisations that make it. And that is the proposition that Forrester offers me.
I am sure I’ll still go many of the same places, and attend many of the same events. Indeed, I may get to go to more of the places I want to go. Although linked to Forrester’s London office and often working from home in East Yorkshire, the role is very definitely global in scope.
But it’s time to let Cloud of Data have a rest. This blog, my daily Tumblr feed, and my Forbes channel will probably become more-or-less dormant. I’ll be blogging for Forrester, I’m sure. I’ll also still be tweeting, and opinions over on Twitter remain real, personal, honest… and mine. Forrester, I am sure, expects nothing less.
And now to leave this hotel room and walk along the Strand to the start of my first day. There’s a lot to look forward to, and a lot to learn.
Quite what this 13-year Mac user will do when handed the company (Windows) laptop remains to be seen… Politely say thank you and just keep using the Macbook Pro I’m writing this on, I suspect…
