The 451 Group Grows Its Analyst Bench with New Talent

Business Wire, March 20, 2007

New Team Members Expand Research Coverage of Key Enterprise IT Subsectors, Especially Within Enterprise Software, and Specifically within Software Development and Open Source

The 451 Group Appoints former META Group Executive as Vice President, Research Operations

NEW YORK -- The 451 Group - a privately held, New York-based technology-industry analyst company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation - welcomes three technology-industry veterans to its ranks. With these latest additions, The 451 Group continues to grow at a rapid pace and brings its analyst team up to 35 members.

David Yockelson, formerly a Research Director at META Group (now Gartner) and then a Managing Director and head of strategic research at Berkery, Noyes & Co., has been appointed to the position of Vice President, Research Operations. Vishwanath Venugopalan, previously a software developer in the financial services industry, joins The 451 Group as an analyst covering software development and software project management. Jay Lyman, former commentator and journalist with LinuxInsider and TechNewsWorld, joins the company as an open source analyst.

"These new team members will help us continue to strengthen our coverage of key innovation sectors within the enterprise IT arena and enhance the insight we deliver to our clients," said Martin V. McCarthy, chief executive officer of The 451 Group. "The 451 Group saw another year of record growth in 2006 - with the introduction of new services, a growing client base and many new employees throughout the company. All of these activities help to enhance our position as one of the leading independent voices on growth and innovation in the technology business."

As Vice President, Research Operations, David Yockelson is responsible for the research, analysis and content delivery processes and programs for The 451 Group. Additionally, David contributes research to the enterprise software technology sector, commensurate with his experience in enterprise content management, collaboration, application software, integration and other areas. Prior to joining The 451 Group, David was a Managing Director and head of strategic research at Berkery, Noyes & Co., an M&A-focused boutique investment bank. Preceding that, he held various analyst and management positions, including that of Research Director, over the course of 12 years at META Group, and then moved briefly to Gartner in 2005 after it acquired META.

Vishwanath Venugopalan focuses on software development and software project management as part of The 451 Group's coverage of application lifecycle management. His prior professional experience as a software developer gives him intimate knowledge of the software tools and platforms he covers. Prior to joining The 451 Group, Vishwanath worked as a software developer in the financial services industry in infrastructure and application development capacities, most recently at DB Zwirn & Co, and prior to that within Morgan Stanley's Institutional Securities Group. He has written desktop, Web-based and mobile applications.

Jay Lyman joins the company to support its coverage of open source software, focusing on Linux operating systems and distributors, virtualization, databases and other free and open source software created by communities and used by enterprise organizations. His coverage includes the software itself, the communities and the emerging business and licensing models. Prior to joining The 451 Group, Jay wrote for LinuxInsider and TechNewsWorld, where he covered open source and a range of other IT topics.

About The 451 Group

The 451 Group is an independent technology-industry analyst company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation. The company's analysts provide critical and timely insight into the market and competitive dynamics of innovation in emerging technology segments. Clients of the company - at vendor, investor, service-provider and end-user organizations - rely on 451 insight to support both strategic and tactical decision-making for competitive advantage.

The 451 Group is headquartered in New York, with offices in key locations, including San Francisco, London and Boston. The company also operates Tier 1 Research - an independent division of The 451 Group, headquartered in Minneapolis - which analyzes the financial and industry implications of developments impacting public and private companies within the IT, communications and Internet sectors.

For additional information on The 451 Group or to apply for trial access to its services, go to: www.the451group.com