It’s been 44 years since I started my first job as a technology analyst, and 39 years since I founded Opus Research. During that time I’ve had the privilege to work with entrepreneurs, executives and developers who have brought us Home Computers, Videogames, IP-Telephony, Direct Broadcast Satellites, Personal Communications Services, smartphones, Speech-enabled IVRs, chatbots, voicebots and now Generative AI. I have a lot of people to thank.

My first job as an analyst was at Link Resources which was bought by IDC in 1980. My area of focus at the time was called “new electronic media”, and included phones, cable and satellite TV, home computers, and videogames. My advisory service at the time was charged with answering questions like, “Once we’ve run optical fiber into every home and business in France, what should we do with it?”; “Which applications will be most popular on home computers?” or my favorite “Are videogames a fad?”

Remarkable that the answer to those questions, then and now, is that the fate of technologies is in the hands of end-users… that is “us humans”. As I enter my “emeritus” phase, my focus hasn’t changed; the technologies sure have. More noticeably, the refresh cycle for technologies is accelerating. New frontier models for Generative AI come out daily. Tools for building domain-specific, intelligent agents are now conversational. You can just tell them what you want. Speak and you will receive.

So now that technology is harnessed, conversational, and democratized, my work is done. Except for the thanking you part. I’m going to offend people if I start naming names, so here are the broad-brush descriptions of the people who’ve made me who I am today. Start with my colleagues at Opus Research, who have cemented our reputation as experts in Conversational Commerce, Intelligent Assistance, and (almost) Recombinant Communications. Here’s to our clients, who have asked tough questions, shared insights, and collectively defined successful approaches to serving customers and supporting employees.

I’m also grateful to the thought leaders and innovators who defined high concepts like “Vendor Relationship Management”, the “Continuous Information Environment”, “Telco Mashups” and the API economy. There are a lot more where those came from. They capture the Gestalt of fast-changing ecosystems.

As Emeritus I will continue to contribute occasional posts here and on LinkedIn. And I want to continue the long-standing, synchronous, and asynchronous conversations I’ve been having with all of you that are reading this.

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