About the Authors

As research director for AMR Research, Dana Stiffler is part of a team dedicated to detailed studies on business software, service providers, and the vendor community. Dana has led the coverage of Tier One IT services companies for the firm. This research includes IT services and trends that affect corporate technology implementation and operations. Dana is responsible for the development of AMR Research’s vendor ranking methodology—The Risk Assessment Profile.

Prior to joining AMR Research, Dana spent three years at Meridien Research (now IDC’s Financial Insights), where she was responsible for launching their Emerging Trading Technologies practice in 1999. Earlier in her career, she served as policy analyst at Stuart N. Brotman Communications, where she researched the satellite telecommunications market for leading telecom firms and investment banks.

Dana has been quoted in several leading business and technology publications. She is currently a member of Women in Technology International.

Dana received her M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and holds a B.A. in International Relations from Claremont McKenna College.

Debra Hofman brings over 20 years of experience in the research and advisory business to her position as service director for AMR Research. She launched and currently leads AMR Research’s Benchmarking Analytix service. This practice provides company-specific performance assessments tied to the use of technology and best practices. Debra has completed in-depth research studies with hundreds of executives investigating IT value realization. Her work supported the development of a benefits realization database to understand what differentiates those organizations that achieve benefits and those that don’t. She also helped to define a new model for change management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining AMR Research, Debra was a partner at Benchmarking Partners, Inc. At Benchmarking Partners, she led primary research studies focused on realizing value from information technology investments. Results of these studies identified key industry trends, best practices, and critical success factors. Debra also worked as a senior member of the Center for Information Systems Research at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She has authored many articles and reports, has spoken at industry conferences, and lectured at leading business schools, including Harvard and MIT. Debra holds a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, as well as an M.B.A. from New York University.

John Hagerty brings more than 25 years of experience across enterprise applications, performance management, and compliance to his role as vice president of research. He is responsible for leading AMR Research's analysis on strategies, practices, and trends driving governance, compliance, and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) initiatives in corporations worldwide.

John joined AMR Research in 1998 to cover financial and administrative applications before taking over the SAP practice in 1999. He spent the last several years covering performance management and compliance. John helped create the term "Active Compliance Framework," which defines a methodology for organizations supporting governance initiatives.

Prior to joining AMR Research, John held several management positions within the software industry, including a term as vice president of marketing for Pilot Software. Previously, John worked for Cognos Corporation and Dun & Bradstreet Software.

John is often quoted in the business press and he has appeared on Bloomberg TV for his knowledge on compliance initiatives. He has authored many articles on governance, compliance, performance management, and the impact of technology on these key business initiatives.

John received a B.A. from Suffolk University and an M.B.A. from Babson College.

About AMR Research

AMR Research is a strategic advisory firm that provides critical analysis and actionable advice to business and technology executives to help them manage resources, assess and mitigate risk, and increase business value.