Cal Braunstein: Chairman/CEO and Executive Director of Research

Calvin Braunstein is Chairman/CEO and Executive Director of Research for Robert Frances Group (RFG). RFG provides actionable, timely advice, consulting, and research about the IT marketplace to Global 2000 executives. Mr. Braunstein has held a variety of management and non-management positions in IBM. Prior to joining RFG, he was a Certified Senior Consultant in the IBM Consulting Group, where he specialized in business strategy management, process reengineering, and customer relationship issues. He has provided IT consulting and advisory services for enterprises in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and the US.

Mr. Braunstein is experienced in business strategy management, enterprise systems architecture, mission-critical transaction processing systems, process reengineering, and project management. He has been responsible for marketing, architecting, designing, implementing, and supporting mission-critical transaction-processing systems in the securities and transportation industries.

He had responsibility for major airline reservation systems worldwide, global distribution systems, and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and CTS ticker tape systems used by the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quote system (NASDAQ), the NYSE, and other exchanges.

Today, Mr. Braunstein, as chief executive of RFG, deals with many of the same strategic and operational issues IT executives face daily. He brings his understanding of the business, financial, legal, organizational, political, and process tradeoffs to bear as he wrestles with client business issues. In the past few years he has worked extensively with RFG client executives with their regulatory compliance and governance concerns. Additionally, he frequently assists clients with the procurement process, with an emphasis on contract negotiation, service level agreements (SLAs), and terms and conditions.

His background enables him to examine the impact of IT change on user communities, with a focus on enterprise systems within the financial services, insurance, and travel industries. His knowledge of 24x7 mission-critical systems gives him the uncommon ability to look at enterprise architectures and operations holistically, from mainframe systems to client devices, with a business-focused perspective.

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Ronald Exler is Vice President and Research Fellow for Robert Frances Group.

Mr. Exler has been with RFG for the past seven years, working closely with clients advising them on software application development, information technology asset management, geographic information systems (GIS), and a variety of other areas. He was most recently Director of Research Operations and has also served continuously in a senior analyst capacity.

Immediately before RFG, Mr. Exler was Vice President of Product Management for NetBalance, a vendor of technology asset management software. Mr. Exler oversaw and managed product life cycles; defined market strategies and tactics; and developed and managed partnerships with external vendors including Oracle, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft.

Formerly, Mr. Exler was with Landmark Systems in Virginia, a company focused on systems management software. Exler was responsible for Landmark's Unix performance offerings; and for leading product conception of applications and Internet application response measurement.

Prior to Landmark, extensive knowledge serving the needs of IT was gained through diverse positions at Merant (recently acquired by Serena Software and formerly known as INTERSOLV), a vendor of software for client-server and object-oriented development. Mr. Exler served as Manager of Market Analysis, Product Manager and Marketing Manager, respectively. He became responsible for tracking and providing internal consulting for technology trends related to seven product lines; evaluated competition including financial data and product functionality. Exler also managed the product life cycle for the PVCS product line for software configuration management; and positioned product and planned direction for Unix, Windows NT, and mainframe connectivity solutions.

Finally, working for Synercom Technology (now part of Logica) Exler spent many years providing automated mapping and facilities management applications for VAX VMS and Unix as well as becoming an authority in software, hardware and services for (GIS).

Before branching out into the vendor arena, Mr. Exler began his career as a Research Scientist for the Battelle Memorial Institute, a private research institute that provides technology and scientific research services for government and the private sector. While at Battelle, Exler developed innovative statistical and GIS applications for the Environmental Protection Agency and a private navigation technology firm.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Geography from Oregon State University, he went on to receive his Master of Science in Cartography from the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Exler has been widely quoted and published articles in periodicals including CIO Magazine, Computerworld, CSO Magazine, DM Review, ebizQ Insider, Fast Company, Intelligence Enterprise Magazine, and Internet World.

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Jerald Murphy is Director of Research Operations for Robert Frances Group.

Mr. Murphy is one of the industry's leading authorities on enterprise IT infrastructure design and management. He has spent more than 20 years doing engineering research and helping to develop infrastructure and management strategies for many of the largest global companies and service providers. Mr. Murphy's areas of primary coverage for RFG include databases, end-user compute platforms, network design, servers, and storage. Additional focus areas include quality of service (QoS), security, and service provider outsourcing.

Before joining RFG, Mr. Murphy was Senior Vice President and Service Director for Meta Group's infrastructure strategies service. Prior to that, he was director of network management services for RPM Consulting. At that firm, he was responsible for defining the network management architecture process and advising network management vendors on product architectural enhancements. Before RPM Consulting, Mr. Murphy was manager of MCI's Systems Integration Group, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of MCI's data network management operations centers. He also redesigned MCI's customer data network management systems to be one of the largest integrated management platforms of its kind.

Mr. Murphy has a B.S.E.E. from the United States Military Academy and an M.S.E.E. from Princeton University. Mr. Murphy has published peer-reviewed research with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in VLSI signal processing, and is currently chair for the Princeton alumni school selection committee for New Jersey. He has spoken at numerous conferences, including the Enterprise Management Forum, the OpenView Forum, and The Telemanagement Forum, and at Syracuse University.

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Adam Braunstein is Director of End-User Computing Strategies for Robert Frances Group.

Mr. Braunstein has been with Robert Frances Group since its inception in May 1997, and developed the company's business plan. Since joining RFG, Mr. Braunstein has authored reports, conducted research, and consulted with Global 2000 companies and startups. His focus areas include application service providers (ASPs), business organizational and strategic issues, contracts and negotiations, handheld devices, PC life cycle strategies, and outsourcing.

Mr. Braunstein has assisted RFG's vendor clients in the development of business plans, strategic development, and target market definition and approach. Mr. Braunstein also heads up RFG's marketing and outreach efforts, and is primarily responsible for production of the company's Weekly IT News Snapshots.

Prior to joining RFG, Mr. Braunstein assumed various roles in the areas of online presence development strategies, marketing, and system setup and administration. At Prodigy Network, he was influential in the company's decision to take its proprietary Computing discussion area onto the Internet. He also assisted in the design and implementation of that company's Living Digital online magazine. Mr. Braunstein has hands-on experience with HTML and graphics development, and with the administration, setup, and maintenance of Linux and Microsoft Windows NT/2000 systems.

Before Prodigy, Mr. Braunstein was an independent consultant to various corporations on marketing strategies and business development. His clients were executives of both mid-tier and Fortune 1000 companies. For one such client, Mr. Braunstein assisted in the development of the corporate go-to-market strategy, and developed the marketing presentation the company's vice presidents used in their sales presentations to major corporate executives. The company's CEO attributed a significant increase in sales closure rates directly to Mr. Braunstein's work.

Mr. Braunstein has been quoted frequently in international business and technology publications, including CIO Magazine, Computing Canada, Forbes, InfoWorld, and the Wall Street Technology Association's WSTA Ticker. He holds a B.S. degree in economics, marketing, and entrepreneurial studies from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

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Mimi Ho is a Senior Research Analyst for Robert Frances Group.

Ms. Ho has extensive experience in improving help desk strategies and identifying the metrics most valuable to improving overall support. She is also very knowledgeable about evaluation, testing, and training software, learning management system (LMS) vendors and trends, and training programs.

Prior to joining RFG, Ms. Ho worked for Virgin Atlantic Airways as a Year 2000 (Y2K) consultant, overseeing the progress toward Y2K compliance of major airport hubs around the world. She developed and produced reports for tracking and forecasting Y2K readiness of major airports and airlines, and for presentation to the company's senior management at its London, England headquarters. She also worked with the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) to improve Y2K preparation practices.

Before her work at Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ms. Ho held various positions related to Y2K compliance and help desk management. She also helped run several enterprise help desks and supervised help desk personnel. While a consultant with Bisys Networking Services, she worked with Fortune 2000 companies on strategic planning for Y2K compliance, and on testing and upgrading desktop and laptop computers. Ms. Ho also ran the system and software repair facility and assigned support calls to first-level, second-level, and field repair staff.

Ms. Ho has hands-on experience with C++, HTML, Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic, and Web site development and design. She designed, developed, and oversees maintenance and updates for the Robert Frances Group Web sites. Ms. Ho holds a B.S. degree in marketing and entrepreneurial studies, with a concentration in information systems from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

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