Why a Startup Needs Good Analyst Relations and How a Non-Exec ...

You?re an innovative and growing software vendor, I get that. You?ve got a fab new product that?s going drive dramatic benefits for enterprise customers, I get that.You?ve even got a blog to push out great customer stories now and then, I get that too.

But how do you accelerate growth without piling on expensive sales guys? And how do you make it easier for the large corporates to find you and get comfortable placing big orders with you?

ANSWER: You create relationships with the analyst community. And here?s why.

Analysts are important

Analysts have the ear of people with the purse strings. When they speak, the C-Suite listens. When a company goes out to tender for a third party product invariably an analyst will be involved in the decision making process, whether directly as a result of a consultation or indirectly through a research paper. They are able to influence not only potential customers, but they also coach and advise your potential acquirer on their product strategy including which vendors to buy.

Being included in an analyst research note is worth more than 100 blog posts, column inches in the FT/ WSJ or exhibiting at the next xyz conference. You need the analysts, whether you like it or not, to survive in both the short-term and thrive in the long term because their word carries weight. If a customer refers to ananalyst for a product shortlist and you?ve never engaged with the analyst you can guarantee you?ll never make that list no matter how mind-blowingly awesome your product is.

Analyst Relations (AR) can deliver far greater short term and long term tangible benefits than any PR campaigns. Yet many vendors start engaging PR before they even consider AR.

It?s never too early

It takes time to build a relationship with the right analysts that cover your product?s area. Let?s not confuse a relationship with meeting the analyst once or twice and fire-hosing them with your product pitch. You are aiming for a relationship of mutual respect, and that takes time to develop which is why engagingas early as possible is critical for survival for a startup. Done well it can position a vendor ahead of the short list in product selections and gain the attention of the leaders of industry, the media, and the competition. Poor (or no) analyst relations can result in your product being ignored by potential clients and it may limit your penetration in your existing clients

Being spotted by an analyst early on is major kudos for a small company but also for the analyst because they love to be the one who discovered a cool new vendors and write about them. And it?s also their opportunity to help you out and form part of your success. Analysts are no different from anyone else, they love being part of the action and have an ego to fuel. And again, it can?t be stressed enough, if they don?t know you neither will their clients when they ask about the market.

But they are expensive and we don?t have the time!

Certainly there are costs with engaging with analysts. Most charge an annual fee to be a client and have access to the analysts and research. But don?t think that you can buy your way to the top of a Magic Quadrant or Wave, or into the minds of the analysts. Or that paying for one or two consulting engagements with the anlaysts will do it. Think relationship, not prostitution.

Often it is the amount of money that vendors perceive they have to spend which stops them building a relationship with the analysts. The issue is most vendors spend too much money in the wrong places. It doesn?t have to be that way.

And apart from the hefty fees they ask you to sign up for there?s also the potential overhead of someone in an Analyst Relations role. Traditionally this is a new, fairly junior hire or it is outsourced to a PR/AR agency. Both of these lead to the wrong relationship being developed with the analysts, but it is a very common mistake.

Analysts need to be briefed on product functionality, but they are far more interested in customer stories. However, meeting or calls with analysts, understanding their needs and providing the information they need in the format that they want can be time consuming. They often feel like they are more difficult to deal with than clients. But they can afford to be as their influence and value is so much greater than even your best client.

What is required is a carefully crafted strategy and deep understanding of what drives analysts and how they operate. It also needs someone who has theability and gravitas to engage them as peers andforge that professional relationship your company and product deserves. It?s not about booking appointments or grovelling for time. It is the role of a senior exec or founder who inevitably has other priorities ? company operation, client sales or product strategy.

So how do I make this work?

Few senior executives have engaged with analysts or developed an effective analyst strategy. And with conflicting priorities they do not have the time or luxury to learn. But companies readily hire a Non Exec Director to add an external perspective, exercising their ancient Rolodex and to sit on a board. Their brief is often financial or governance and theyoffer pithy advice like ?if you sell more and spend less?.

A more cost effective approach is to hire a Non-Exec Director or Advisor who understands Analyst Relations and can help shape the analyst strategy, coach the senior team on the best way to engage with analysts, and act as a sounding board for decisions. They will add more value to the business as your go to market plans are meaningless without the visibility in the market that strong analyst relationships will bring.

For the price of a junior in your AR/PR firm you can bag a NED or Advisor who knows how to tango with the analysts.

In summary: Brains, not budget. And leverage the skills of others.

This post was co-authored with Ian Gotts, author and serial technology CEO.

Author: Theo Priestley???? Theo Priestley on the Web

Theo provides independent analysis, strategy and thought leadership in the field of Business Process Management (BPM) and Social BPM.

He is regarded as ?one of the thought-leaders in BPM?? and frequently praised for his efforts and vision in the field.

??I can hardly imagine navigating the treacherous waters of the BPM? View?full?profile

Source: http://www.business2community.com/startups/why-a-startup-needs-good-analyst-relations-and-how-a-non-exec-can-help-0377308

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Mindless Behavior Start A 'Teen Revolution' In 'On The Low' Video

'We want to show off the dancing aspect and what we can do,' Prodigy tells MTV News on the 'Keep Her on the Low' video set.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Kelly Marino

Mindless Behavior on the set of "Keep Her On The Low"
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700635/mindless-behavior-keep-her-on-the-low-set-visit.jhtml

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Google's 4Q earnings rise 7 pct to top Street view

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google says its fourth-quarter earnings rose 7 percent as online advertisers spent more money in pursuit of holiday shoppers.

The results announced Tuesday were slightly above analyst estimates.

It wasn't an apples-to-apples comparison because the most recent quarter included Motorola Mobility, which Google Inc. didn't own in the previous year.

Things were further complicated by Google's recent agreement to sell a part of its Motorola Mobility division that makes cable TV boxes. That division is now accounted for as a discontinued operation.

Google earned nearly $2.9 billion, or $8.62 cents per share during the final three months of last year. That compared to net income of $2.7 billion, or $8.22 per share, at the same time last year.

Revenue surged 36 percent from the previous year to $14.4 billion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/googles-4q-earnings-rise-7-pct-top-street-212242332--finance.html

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Avast! Israel's Pirate Party aims for electoral booty

By Jim Maceda, NBC News foreign correspondent

Two rakish young men with ponytails order drinks at a bar.

?What'll it be?? asks the barman in Hebrew. He, too, is thin, with shoulder-length gray hair. One of the two men leans forward and says, ?Make it two chasers ? freedom and democracy ? please!'

They all laugh heartily.

---

Thus begins a?paid political ad for the Pirate Party, one of a range of fringe parties competing for votes in Israel's parliamentary elections, to be held Tuesday.

If you've ever been tempted, as I have, to write-in ?Mickey Mouse? on your ballot, you'll understand why I jumped at the chance to meet up with the people ordering ? and purporting to serve ? shots of freedom and democracy. They could be found at a Pirate Party media event at the heart of Jerusalem.

I expected to see semi-stoned, loony twenty-somethings wielding cutlasses and sporting 18^th-century tricorne hats, playing ?Walking the Plank.? Instead, it felt more like a family get-together in a country cottage. I spied no pirates but did see Israeli parents who had brought their kids to play on an open patio.

A middle-aged man greeted me in a stone-walled alcove turned into a quaint art gallery. Roni Jacobowitz, an academic from Berlin now living in Israel, smiled when I asked if he was a pirate. ?Indeed,? he replied. ?In Germany we've had a Pirate Party for some time, so I've come to help get it started here in Israel.?

Jacobowitz explained that there are currently about 40 Pirate Parties around the world. Germany has at least 30,000 members. In fact, he said, several German state parliaments have Pirate party members. So does the Czech Republic. A mayor in Finland is a Pirate. The Tunisian Culture Minister is a Pirate.

So what is a pirate?

As if on cue, the young man in the television ad entered the room. He wore a pirate hat and a cutlass stenciled onto his T-shirt like a dress tie.

?Hey, I'm Noam, how's it goin'?? he asked in a perfect American accent. ?I'm sorry there's not much of a turnout tonight. The other two party leaders are being interviewed on Israeli TV, so most of the press is following them. Here, we can stream it on the internet.'

A documentary producer, Noam Kuzar (he prefers the spelling Kuzarrr) is 31 and was born and raised in Jerusalem. His mother is American, thus the accent. As I watched Noam navigate effortlessly on his laptop through live and taped TV ads, appearances, and tutorials about his party, I looked around and noticed that other Pirate Party members were doing the same.

?Do you have to be a computer nerd to be a Pirate?? I asked, still unclear about the Pirate Party?s platform. ?It helps,? Kuzar said.

?Well I'm no computer nerd!? Roni Jacobowitz interjected. ?I'd say to be a Pirate, you have to be an artist, or a writer, a free-thinker.?

?Or a nerd!? Kuzar fired back. ?In a sentence: Human beings are here for a limited amount of time and should be free as much as we can ? we have the technology, we have the means, we have the infrastructure. So why not??

In Israel, fringe parties are, taken as a whole, politically significant. Many Israeli voters are tired of back-door coalitions between mainstream parties, so they've turned increasingly to minority parties such as the Pirates ? not just out of protest, but because, behind the humor and disguise,? they promote? popular policies. Although no fringe party has yet received the two percent needed to win a seat in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), the latest polls indicate that as many as eight percent of voters will vote for a fringe party this year. That means fewer seats for established parties.

The Pirate Party grew out of the digital revolution. ?Think of us as a political Wikipedia,? Kuzar said. ?We share a digital culture. The paradigm is no longer the kibbutz in Israel. It's YouTube.?

They called themselves 'pirates' to spoof one of their main ?planks? ? that information should be free and shared by all. When pressed, they do believe in paying for creative work online, but only if that money goes to the artist and not middlemen.

Kuzar was most passionate about the inalienable right to surf the internet. ?When we are elected there will be free high speed Internet for everyone, with equal uploading and downloading speed, so that the internet can be a means of expression,? he said.

If the party had its way, the Knesset would be a hall of computer servers handling discussions, filibusters and votes. No lobbyists. No horse-trading. The Pirates call it ?liquid feedback? ? ?transparent, grass-roots democracy. ?The Internet is a powerful tool,? Kuzar said. ?You can meet people one on one, or you can have hundreds of thousands talking to each other simultaneously about a certain issue and make decisions and follow up on them afterwards.?

So what is the Pirate Party's position on Iran's nuclear program?

Without missing a beat, Kuzar replied: ?We will sit down and talk to anyone who has the Internet. There isn't a Pirate Party in Iran yet but once there is we'll contact them.?

And what about Israeli-Palestinian peace talks??

?Same thing ? we have neighbors and we need to find creative solutions to our problems. Just being on the Internet will not suddenly bring peace. But if people fight over the internet rather than over tanks and buses and explosions, that's good enough for now.?

I was beginning to like these Pirates. Before leaving, I turned to Kuzar and asked how he thought the Pirates would fare on Election Day.

?We've got 300 registered members,? he said. ?We should get at least that.?

Jim Maceda is an NBC News foreign correspondent based in London, currently on assignment in Tel Aviv.

Related: Charismatic ex-commander pressures Netanyahu from the right as Israel prepares to vote?

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/21/16629872-avast-israels-pirate-party-aims-for-2-percent-of-electoral-booty?lite

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Human-tiger conflict: Are the risks overestimated?

Jan. 21, 2013 ? A new study finds a complex web of factors increases perceived risk of tiger attack in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh.

Wildlife conservationists are well aware of the potential conflicts that exist between the endangered species they seek to protect and the human populations which inhabit areas where the animals live. Carnivores, such as tigers, pose a risk to humans and their livestock and can be killed because of this potential risk. Previous research has found that killing of animals can be motivated as much by social and psychological factors, such as perception of danger, as by any actual real risk posed by a species.

A new study published in the Springer journal Human Ecology has identified several key factors which may contribute to perceptions of risk from tigers in a conservation area in Bangladesh. The study, by Chloe Inskip and her colleagues from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology in Kent, UK, and WildTeam, Bangladesh, is the first to use participatory risk mapping (PRM) and in-depth interviews to explore the wider socio-economic context of human-tiger conflict.

The survey was carried out around the Sundarbans mangrove forests of south-western Bangladesh, home to one of the world's largest remaining tiger populations. Although there are no human inhabitants of the Sundarbans, eight sub-districts with a total population of around 1.7 million people lie directly adjacent to the forest boundary. Records indicate that approximately 30-50 people are killed annually by tigers in the area.

The researchers held 54 semi-structured interviews in six villages which border the Sundarbans forest, followed by 385 questionnaires in a further ten border villages. Of all the issues related to lives and livelihood, tigers were the most commonly reported problem. Other issues recorded were largely poverty-related including low incomes, dependence on natural resources, poor infrastructure and services and a lack of clean water together with soil erosion and weather. Inskip and her colleagues identified the fact that these issues had a direct impact on villagers' perceptions of risk from tigers. The respondents' perceived susceptibility to and their ability to mitigate human-tiger conflict was influenced largely by their poverty related-problems.

The authors suggest that any actions taken to improve these socio-economic issues will also reduce the perceived level of risk from tigers and help to reduce the rate at which tigers are killed. For conservationists, this would mean a shift from traditional models of conflict reduction to holistic models which also incorporate situation-specific actions to reduce risk perceptions. In many poor, rural communities in conservation areas such as the Sundarbans, risk perception reduction is likely to be tied strongly to poverty alleviation.

The authors believe that the abatement of killing endangered species will only be achieved if the human dimensions and social context of human-wildlife conflict situations are well understood and appropriately managed. They conclude that "participatory risk mapping (PRM) and qualitative research are valuable tools for enhancing understanding of and identifying actions to address the wildlife-related risk perceptions which can influence killing behavior." Addressing risk perceptions will require long-term commitment and funding.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Chloe Inskip, Martin Ridout, Zubair Fahad, Rowan Tully, Adam Barlow, Christina Greenwood Barlow, Md. Anwar Islam, Thomas Roberts, Douglas MacMillan. Human?Tiger Conflict in Context: Risks to Lives and Livelihoods in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. Human Ecology, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s10745-012-9556-6

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/ekNjCiSRqug/130121103331.htm

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Aviation technology advances, FAA tries to keep up

22 hrs.

David Koenig , The Associated Press

After two separate and serious battery problems aboard Boeing 787s, it wasn't U.S. authorities who acted first to ground the plane. It was Japanese airlines.

The unfolding saga of Boeing's highest-profile plane has raised new questions about federal oversight of aircraft makers and airlines.

Some aviation experts question the ability of the Federal Aviation Administration to keep up with changes in the way planes are being made today ? both the technological advances and the use of multiple suppliers from around the globe. Others question whether regulators are too cozy with aircraft manufacturers.

Even as they announced a broad review of the 787 earlier this month, top U.S. transportation regulators stood side-by-side with a Boeing executive and declared the plane safe ? saying that they would gladly fly in one. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood repeated his endorsement Wednesday.

A few hours later, the FAA issued an emergency order grounding the planes.

Despite their concerns, many safety experts still believe that the current regulatory process works ? the 787s were grounded before any accidents occurred.

The Dreamliner is the first airliner whose structure is made mostly from composite materials rather than aluminum. The plane relies more than previous airliners on electrical systems rather than hydraulic or mechanical ones, and it's the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries to power cabin-pressurization and other key functions.

Such technological advances may force the FAA to re-examine the way it does its job.

"We've gone from aviation to aerospace products that are much more complex," said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst with the Teal Group. "The FAA is equipped for aviation. Aerospace is another matter."

Former National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins said the FAA must consider whether changes in its certification process would have turned up the problems in the Dreamliner battery systems.

"They need to make sure the certification process stays current with the industry and the new technology," she said.

An FAA spokeswoman declined to comment for this article, referring instead to statements made during a news conference last week. Officials said then that the review of the 787 wouldn't be limited to the Dreamliner's batteries. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said that the agency would "make sure that the approved quality control procedures are in place and that all of the necessary oversight is done."

The FAA has said that its technical experts logged 200,000 hours testing and reviewing the plane's design before certifying the plane in August 2011. Boeing defended the process and the plane.

"We are confident in the regulatory process that has been applied to the 787 since its design inception," said Boeing Co. spokesman Marc Birtel. "With this airplane, the FAA conducted its most robust certification process ever."

A week ago, FAA's Huerta and Transportation Secretary LaHood endorsed the Dreamliner's safety even as they ordered a new review of its design and construction following a fire in a lithium-ion battery on a 787 that had landed in Boston. Then, this past Wednesday, after a battery malfunction on a second plane resulted in an emergency landing, they grounded Dreamliner flights in the U.S.

In certifying new planes, the FAA relies heavily on information from the manufacturers. That system has worked ? the U.S. commercial airline fleet is safer than ever ? but it is coming under renewed scrutiny after the 787 incidents.

Experts say that FAA officials have no choice but to rely on information from aircraft manufacturers as key systems of the plane are designed and built.

"As a practical matter, they can't do the testing," said longtime aviation consultant Daniel Kasper of Compass Lexecon. "They don't have the expertise in aircraft design, and they don't have the budget ? it would be too costly. They would have to be involved in every step."

Thomas Anthony, director of the aviation-safety program at the University of Southern California, said many new planes have flaws that are only discovered once they go into service, and that the regulatory process worked the way it was supposed to with the Dreamliner.

"The FAA used to be accused of 'blood priority'" ? acting only after a disaster, Anthony said. "In this case, it's not true. The regulators are taking their job seriously. There were no accidents, there were no injuries, there were no fatalities."

That has not always been the case. In 1979, authorities grounded the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 for five weeks after an engine tore loose from the wing of an American Airlines plane, causing a crash that killed 273 in Chicago. And there were other incidents that occurred after the DC-10 was introduced in 1971, including cargo-door problems that forced one emergency landing and caused a Turkish Airlines crash that killed 346 in 1974.

Boeing, based in Chicago, is racing to find a fix to the Dreamliner's battery systems and get the planes back in the air. It is still producing 787s but has stopped delivering them to customers.

Bloomberg News reported that Boeing has tried to persuade FAA to end the groundings by proposing a variety of inspections and having pilots monitor electronic signals from the batteries to prevent fires. The FAA has been reluctant to approve those steps without a clear idea of what caused the defects and how they can be prevented.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement issued Sunday that its own investigation continues into the Jan. 7 fire aboard the Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Boston's Logan International Airport. An NTSB statement said the lithium-ion battery that powered the auxiliary power unit had been disassembled and examined at an agency laboratory. It added that the battery was X-rayed and CT scans were generated and certain components would undergo further scrutiny.

It also said investigators have examined several other components taken from the plane, including wire bundles and battery management circuit boards, adding test plans were being developed for those and other components removed from the aircraft. According to the statement, several other components were sent for further examination at Boeing's facility in Seattle and the manufacture's facilities in Japan.

AP Airlines Writer Joshua Freed contributed to this story from Minneapolis.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/aviation-technology-advances-faa-tries-keep-1B8038212

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Why Is IT Planning Important | Tecnolandia reloaded

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All successful companies should articulate their goals, visions and objectives as the function of their company mission. IT planning is critical to make sure that the infrastructure and the systems of a company are supportive of the company objectives. A company has to face lots of problems in today?s world. Planning helps a company to predict the risks and opportunities that the company might face later on.

Strategic planning is a joint process that involves the company?s stakeholders and technology specialists in sessions designed to understand the future direction of the company and how the technology can allow the company to achieve success. Every company is different. Therefore every strategic plan has to be different to cater to the requirements of the company?s specific mission.

Why Do IT Planning?
Whether small, medium or large company, IT strategic planning serves several purposes and is important if you want to make your business successful. A great plan not only reduces the operational costs of the company but also improves the customer service without requiring any substantially large investment.

What Does IT Planning Include?
An IT strategic plan includes the mission and vision statements, stakeholders analysis, identification of performance indicators, organizational values, identification of critical goals, strategies as well as associated action plans.

Focusing On The Business
In a technology strategy, a company should mention all the requirements that are critical for the company and how they are relevant to the company functions. These requirements typically include the information needs of workers and the need for IT, software as well as the machines needed in the company.

Project Planning
Project management factors are also critical in IT strategic budgeting. The company may include a large-scale plan development of new software that can automate company activities. IT consultants of the organization have an important function here. IT development project involves phases, for example design, implementation, as well as development. All the resources needed on different phases are also projected. Proper scheduling is critical to make sure each project stage is finished in time and to prevent costs from exceeding the budget.

Supervising The Infrastructure
A company acquires technologies based on its strategic plan. For example a staffing plan must be able to show how the resources will be managed, upgraded and maintained to keep supporting the activities of the company. A company may not be able to take advantage of each new technology out there, but can make great use of the technology it already has. It should also outline the ideas and the abilities of the workers so that the can be utilized in the best way to achieve the goals.

In today?s computer dominated world, information technology planning is important to assist businesses in achieving both short term as well as long term goals.

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Source: http://tecnolandia.info/2013/01/21/why-is-it-planning-important/

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