Enterprise Advocates: a little announcement

We’ve lots to do and we need to get much more content ready but after a relatively short period of gestation I’m pleased to announce the formation of Enterprise Advocates. From the blurbs we’re putting out:

R “Ray” Wang (Altimeter Group), Oliver Marks (Dachis Group), Vinnie Mirchandani (dealarchitect), Frank Scavo (Strativa) and Dennis Howlett (Irregular Enterprise/AccMan) are creating Enterprise Advocates, a new group that talks to the issues that matter to the enterprise buyer community. Individually, the founding partners have been sharply critical of certain sections of the tech industry and it made logical sense for them to pool resources for the greater benefit of all their constituencies. “The buy side has never had a strong voice in the IT community or in the media. We plan to change that by surfacing and advising on issues that some technology vendors might find uncomfortable but which are essential if the promise of value from technology is to be realized. More importantly, we want to help both the client and the vendor build more durable relationships,” says Wang.

Ray, Vinnie, Frank, Oliver and I have been running mates, riffing off one another for some considerable time. While individually we command reasonable attention, we felt that collectively we can do so much more. Given the pressures we see on companies to do more with less on the one hand and the almost constant flow of innovations on the other, often coming from smaller vendors who would otherwise be passed over, it makes sense to present a case to both buyers and sellers that rewards those who drive genuine value.

Our first set of projects are free to attend seminars that talk to the issue of driving value in software maintenance. The inaugural webinar takes place 22nd October at 9am PDT/noon ET/4pm UK time/5pmCET. It focuses on SAP. A second is planned for 5th November addressing Oracle customers with a third later in the year addressing Infor customers. We won’t be pulling many punches.

One of the main reasons we formed this group is because we believe there is a need for agile, flexible teams capable of rapidly responding to client needs. The big analyst/consulting firms struggle with that. We also see the problems companies face as global albeit with local nuance. That means as opportunities emerge, some or all of us will be involved with projects, drafting in appropriate specialists on an as needed basis from our extensive network of contacts. Our offer is based on solid practical help backed by more than 100 years combined experience with companies both large and small.

In keeping with modern trends, we are showing our collective Tweets, pointing to events we are attending, organizing or speaking and giving away a lot of what we know.

Nothing changes for us as individuals. This is a natural extension of what we all do within our respective businesses. If anything it should signal a new era of collaboration that has substance between like minded people and which helps drive forward more value for buy side organizations.

Our model will develop over time as circumstances and need demand so be prepared to see changes, often small but sometimes substantial.

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