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Microsoft Evangelist Returns to Analysis Firm

A leading analyst, who recently joined Microsoft to become a technology evangelist, quietly went back to his old job last week.

Michael Gartenberg, long a fixture of the industry analyst corps, took many observers by surprise in mid-February when he announced on his blog that he was trading in his objectivity and moving to Microsoft as an "enthusiast evangelist."

"Our job is to find, engage and work with enthusiasts and other influencers and show them all the cool stuff that Microsoft is doing [and] act as the bridge between Microsoft and end users," Gartenberg described his new job in a blog post at the time.

A much different announcement greeted readers of Gartenberg's blog last week.

"This is a difficult post to write. But after much thought, I have decided not to remain with Microsoft and I am returning to JupiterResearch as of Monday 3/12," Gartenberg's post said, adding, "At my core, I am an analyst. It's what I do and I do it well and after much thought, I realize I'm just not ready to stop doing that job just yet."

Michael Gartenberg has spent more than a decade as an analyst -- first at Gartner and most recently as a research director and vice president at JupiterResearch.

Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

About the Author

Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.

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