About Forrester
Forrester Research, Inc. is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology.

Vikram leads the forecast team, which is responsible for producing all forecasts within M&S research. He is focused on the consumer commerce areas including retail, travel, and financial services. He is keenly involved in understanding the evolution of consumers' online behavior and technology adoption.
Vikram came to Forrester Research through its acquisition of Jupiter Research, where he started in July 2000. Prior to Jupiter, Vikram worked at IRI, a leading market research company, where he worked closely with some of the leading CPG companies.
Vikram often appears on TV, radio, and comments in the press on the US online retail and travel industry. He has been quoted in The L.A. Times, Business Week, The New York Times, CNN Money, and American Banker. He has also appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Radio, NPR, Fox Business News, and ABC.
Vikram earned an M.B.A. from Virginia Tech and a B.Com from N.M College in Mumbai, India.
Product launches often have a reputation for being constrained by tightly managed internal processes, cross-organizational misalignment, and closed communication loops. So how does a tech...
Those Who Plan Carefully Before Investing Will Achieve Optimal Results
As tech marketers begin to embrace discussion forums and online communities as effective ways to engage with BT customers, they increasingly seek guidance on best practices and recommended...
I am writing this blog from a country club in beautiful (albeit rainy) Virginia. It seems like yesterday when I was in warm LA for the Forrester Marketing Leadership Forum. What a difference a...

2012 Investment In Social Media And Communities Remains Strong
Benchmarks: The B2B Online Community Playbook
As a B2B social marketer in charge of either owner or sponsor strategy communities, meaning communities that you operate — and fund — on your domain, you need to be able to set...
[Co-authored by Zachary Reiss-Davis] Welcome to the kick-off for the third annual Forrester B2B Groundswell Awards! We’re excited to again read all of your great submissions and examples...
I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived in the California Bay Area for 18 years and have yet to venture outside of the Los Angeles airport. Some have told me that I "am not missing much," yet...
Over the past 2 weeks, we have seen a lot of buzz from a HBR blog post written by Bill Lee. The title, "Marketing Is Dead" continues to get Bill's blog post quite a bit of mileage and even...
Today, at the Forrester eBusiness Forum in Chicago, Nate Elliott announced our 2012 B2C and B2B Groundswell Awards winners and finalists! One of my most enjoyable tasks as a Forrester...
Road Map: The B2B Online Community Playbook
In this report, we provide you with a comprehensive road map to guide you through each essential step to build a strategy to revive your current online community or to launch a new one. Follow this...

Join me for an interactive webinar on Tuesday, March 27 at 10am PT/1pm ET on a new Forrester framework for building an online community called "CLICK." CLICK is a new approach tech marketers can use...
Organization: The B2B Online Community Playbook
For B2B marketers, when it comes to planning, designing, and implementing a successful online community, the rubber meets the road at organizational effectiveness. In order to sustain a healthy...
The 2011 Forrester Groundswell Awards is in full swing and the deadline for entries is August 3. This is right around the corner, so I am posting a "shout out" to all of you fellow B2B tech marketers...
Landscape: The B2B Online Community Playbook
B2B marketers have the difficult task of reaching multiple individuals at different seniority levels and roles across a company in order to influence a technology purchase decision. In addition,...

For the first time since I started my analyst role at Forrester in 2011, community conversations have surpassed social media conversations during my client meetings. Online communities and...
Executive Overview: The B2B Online Community Playbook
This playbook provides you with a strategy framework, road map, and the tools to establish a healthy and active online B2B community that delivers value to prospects, customers, and peers at each...

B2B Marketers Can Influence Buyers' Adoption Stages With Social Media
Technology marketers face the ongoing challenge of how to align content touches with their customers' preferences for information sources. Social media heightens this challenge because poorly aligned...
Incorporate Social Media Intelligence To Influence The Perception Of Your Tech Brand
In today's digital and social age, your customers' perception of your brand is shaped by their total personal experience as well as the experiences of others. Social media amplifies these experiences...

For the first time since I started my analyst role at Forrester in 2011, community conversations have surpassed social media conversations during my client meetings. Online communities and...
Last January, I kicked off 2012 with a report titled “The New Year Of Social Marketing”. The theme of that report was that B2B marketers would begin to emphasize the “social”...
"It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen" - Oliver Wendell Holmes I had the privilege of wisdom to listen to many individuals from various B2B and B2C...
I am back from a very relaxing vacation on the Oregon coast and cannot believe all that has happened during that short time. Google purchases Motorola, HP gets out of the PC business, an...
I am absolutely thrilled to publish my very first blog as a Senior Analyst here at Forrester and am looking forward to providing you with a lot of exciting research and...
Today we officially launched Forrester's 6th annual Groundswell Awards! Since I cover B2B tech social media/online community research, I am always looking for interesting examples of how B2B...