Analyst Photo
Bob Parker

Group Vice President

Analyst Profile

As group vice president, Bob Parker is responsible for the research direction at both IDC Manufacturing Insights and IDC Retail Insights, two of IDC’s industry business units that provide global, fact-based research and analysis on best practices and the use of information technology that assists clients in improving their capabilities in key process areas.

Mr. Parker blogs regularly in the IDC Manufacturing Insights Community (http://idc-insights-community.com/manufacturing). His Twitter handle is roberteparker.

Before joining to IDC to oversee the launch of these business units, Mr. Parker spent six years with AMR Research as a research vice president covering emerging technology, enterprise software, and industry IT strategies. While there, he launched the e-commerce research program, the most successful new program in the company's history.

Before entering the research field, Mr. Parker spent more than fifteen years in technology and operations management. He was Managing Director at TDI, a technology based company that included distribution, systems integration, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) business units. He was also corporate CIO at Eastern Technologies, a manufacturer serving the defense and commercial vehicle industries and division CIO at the Acoustic Research business unit of International Jensen, a publicly traded consumer electronics company. Mr. Parker began his career with Sanders Associates, a Fortune 500 defense electronics company, and also held a management post with publicly traded firearms manufacturer, Sturm, Ruger.

Mr. Parker holds an M.B.A., with a concentration in decision support systems, from New Hampshire College. His undergraduate work was done at Rivier College where he received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Accounting.

Mr. Parker is a frequent speaker at industry conferences including NASSCOM, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), and various technology vendor events. He is frequently quoted in business, technology, and industry publications.

Research Authored by Bob Parker

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Sterling Shines the Light on Applications
Bob Parker
April, 2010 - Doc # MI223203 Perspective
This IDC Manufacturing Insights Perspective provides a summary of the activities and announcements made by Sterling Commerce at its 2010 user conference.

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Perspective: SAP Wins 3M Deal — Time to Party Like It's 1999?
Bob Parker
April, 2010 - Doc # MI223195 Perspective
This IDC Manufacturing Insights Perspective examines the recent SAP win at 3M and the implications for the manufacturing ERP market.

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Perspective: The IT Productivity Challenge for Manufacturers in the Coming Decade
Bob Parker
April, 2010 - Doc # MI223196 Perspective
This IDC Manufacturing Insights Perspective analyzes IT productivity performance over the past decade and the technology investments that delivered improvements. The document then looks at key investm...