I have spent more than three decades translating what technical people say and do into language that non-technical businesspeople and consumers can understand and upon which they can act. Before joining Focus as Director of Research, I was most recently Principal Analyst and Managing Editor of DortchOnIT.com, 'an independent voice for technology-dependent people.' I've also been a senior analyst at Aberdeen Group, Robert Frances Group (RFG), and Yankee Group. I've helped established and emerging vendors to craft go-to-market messages and strategies aligned with users' goals and needs, and companies of all sizes and types to choose and deploy IT solutions more successfully. In 1990, I wrote "The ABCs of Local-Area Networks" (remember those?), a book published internationally in three languages by Sybex, Inc. A transplanted "Noo Yawker," I work in San Francisco, live about 50 miles north in beautiful Santa Rosa and can be reached directly at mdortch@focus.com.

Information Technology, CRM, ERP, Hosting and Bandwidth, IT Security, Marketing Automation, Servers and Storage, Nonprofit & Social Services, Technology, Telecommunications, software as a service, SaaS, cloud computing