Thank You Asia’s Analysts

So I had some pretty amazing news late Friday night. Apparently the industry analysts in Asia have told the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR) that I’m doing a good job for them, which resulted in an equal 3rd place in the Annual Analyst Relations Professional of the Year awards. How’s that hey?

Mind-blowing to say the least. Humbling too.

When I agreed to come back into AR just over a year ago (after a 15 year break) it was actually quite a big decision for me. I had been focusing on content and communications strategy, content marketing, business storytelling, etc… – all of which I enjoy immensely – however, the opportunity was hard to ignore. Microsoft is going through such an amazing transformation right now, so to be part of that was a very exciting proposition, especially as the analysts are a big part of Microsoft succeeding in this new world.

But the bottom line reason for saying yes was a genuine love of working with analysts. This is a great group of people who spend their time looking at the entire IT industry and predicting how IT will transform our world. That means I get to have the most fascinating conversations with experts about the direction our industry is taking and I greatly value understanding how they see the future playing out and why they come to those conclusions. I also know, fundamentally, how important analysts are for the success of the entire IT community, so from a professional satisfaction and intellectual curiosity point-of-view, it was a no-brainer. Not to mention they’re a nice bunch of people tool.

I’m definitely only just getting started back in this area, so for the analysts to say – hey, you’re doing a good job – well, it feels terrific. But I know I can do more. I know I can create more opportunities for engagement between Microsoft and the analysts across Asia. I also know there are so many areas where I need to go deeper with the analysts. I know and I’m working on it I promise, but AR is definitely a marathon not a sprint.

So thank you to all of the analysts who said darn nice things about me. I just want you to know I really appreciate it and I’ll always work hard for you.

I’d also like to thank the IIAR for running these awards. The only people who know how hard analyst relations is are the people who actually do it – and it is hard! So I wanted to say I appreciate you bringing our industry together and ensuring there is a platform for us to collaborate with peers across the world. Bravo.

And of course, congrats to the top 10 from all over the world, namely:

• Clare Loxely, HP
• Signe Loenberg, Loenberg AR
• Caroline Dennington, Symantec
• Huey Miin Leong, Cisco
• Britta Glade, RSA (EMC)
• Shyam Mundhada, Infosys
• Geoff Dorrington, CA
• Jan Daley, AR Advisors
• Yvonne Kaupp, T-Systems International

I have to say an extra big congrats to my Asian colleagues, including my dear friend Miin at Cisco, and Shyam from Infosys – who I’ve heard great things about as well.

I suppose we can all bask in the glow for a few days and then get back to work huh?

Cheers
Andrea