It’s been a few weeks since I’ve joined Opus Research. In that time, I’ve received a fair number of questions from former colleagues, customers, partners and other analysts on why I decided to join a leading market analyst firm. Some think it’s heresy shifting from a vendor to an analysis/consulting firm!

We all come to points in our careers when we really have to decide what path to take. Here are a few key reasons why I’ve chosen this path:

1. Join a great team of smart people – I’ve been a client of Opus Research for more than 15 years. The brainpower represented by the team has always been meaningful and important. Their insight has guided many strategic decisions I’ve lead, whether technology trends, market positioning, pricing or competitive analysis. This team is very in touch with the market, whether it’s “Conversational Commerce” focusing on human-machine interaction and multimodal customer care, or to lead efforts in rapidly emerging areas such as voice biometrics, indoor location-based marketing or intelligent, automated assistants. I hope to contribute to these team efforts.

2. Intellectual challenge on both business and technology fronts – Being an analyst/consultant is already exposing me to a wide variety of our clients’ business challenges such as product introductions, competitive positioning, growth and profitably issues, and M&A activities. I’m confident to assist our clients in this wide variety of challenges based on my experience. On the technology front, Opus has taken a leadership role around certain areas, such as the voice biometrics and multifactor authentication marketplace. I attended the first Voice Biometrics Conference London a few years back. And while impressive at the time, I’ve observed the growth in this market segment thanks in no small part to Opus Research’s leadership. I expect to be challenged and deliver on new business and technology fronts.

3. Provide additional value of Opus through operational marketing activities – Most successful research/consulting firms can do any manner of research and market positioning, and deliver really great presentations on what to do next. Very few, in my experience, can take the next step: To identify key pathways to success and help in the execution of reaching desired goals. Opus has recognized a need in the marketplace and offers this logical extension in our client services portfolio. I know firsthand how marketing departments are under extreme budget scrutiny, and supporting our clients through credible, meaningful and recent experience will go a long way in helping them achieve their goals. I am happy to be a leader in these efforts at Opus.

Above all, it’s all about having fun. And the three points above are my definition of fun.

Needless to say, it’s certainly not heresy to be joining Opus!

Tim Moynihan, senior analyst and project leader with Opus Research, has more than 25 years of experience in marketing strategy for leading communications, speech and computing technology companies, including Intel, Envox and, most recently, Empirix.

Categories: Conversational Intelligence, Intelligent Assistants, Mobile + Location, Articles

Tags: conversational commerce, mobile services