Digital Equipment Corporation got me into data warehousing, with a 150-Gb warehouse, one of the largest nongovernment data warehouses in the world at the time—now it would fit on my smartphone. The consulting I have done since then, including with CONNECT: The Knowledge Network (Maureen Clarry), PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting and through Athena IT Solutions has given me the privilege of working with customers and fellow consultants who have taught me so much. I have been fortunate to work with people who would later become thought leaders in industry research firms.

The people who have published my articles, podcasts, webinars, and videos over the years have been a great source of encouragement. Mary Jo Nott was the first, way back when DM Review was a thick, printed monthly magazine. Eric Kavanaugh, Hannah Smalltree, and Craig Stedman have been and continue to be strong supporters and I appreciate their enthusiasm.

The team at Morgan Kaufmann had great patience with my loose interpretation of deadlines. Steve Elliot and Lindsay Lawrence, particularly, somehow managed to keep the book on track despite me.

A special thanks to my editor and marketing communications expert, Andrea Harris, who has transformed this book, and all my other writing, from the prose of an engineering term paper to a more readable form for people who are not nerds (like me!). Andrea also deserves far more thanks from me, as she has been married to me for quite some time.

And thanks to my sons, Jake and Josh, for humoring me and pretending that they are interested in what I do.