Research Team


Dale Vile
CEO / Managing Director



Dale is a co-founder of the business, who today looks after Freeform Dynamics’ overall direction and performance, as well as overseeing the company’s research agenda.

Also an active industry analyst, Dale has a strong reputation for original thinking and alternative perspectives on the latest technology trends and developments. His general immunity to hype and a keen ability to identify what really matters when evaluating emerging technologies and ideas is key to this, as is a comprehensive insight into how the IT industry hangs together overall from more than 25 years of experience.

Dale is also one of the few analysts in the industry with a strong and practical understanding of IT sales and procurement from both sides of the fence. He has worked in enterprise IT management with companies such as Heineken and Glaxo, and in various sales, channel management and international market development roles with major IT vendors such as SAP, Oracle, Sybase and Nortel networks. He even spent a couple of years managing an IT reseller business for Admiral Software.

Having been an industry analyst since the year 2000, Dale is a widely published author of books, reports and articles, and is an authoritative and provocative speaker.

Current areas of focus:

• Cloud computing: Strategy, sourcing and integration
• Dynamic data centre: Application architecture and delivery
• Big data: Integration with current systems and processes
• Consumerisation: Policy, productivity and platforms
• Social media: CRM and workforce collaboration


Helen Vile
VP, Head of Operations



As VP, Head of Operations, Helen is responsible for the general management of the business on a day to day level, which includes all commercial, financial and legal matters, as well as research operations and delivery. As part of this, Helen manages the core project delivery team, oversees our project portfolio, and is ultimately responsible for quality and client satisfaction. In addition to her higher level responsibilities, Helen is a specialist in primary research execution, and directly manages critical market and account profiling projects used by our major clients for planning and business optimisation purposes. Trust, integrity and the highest standards of quality are paramount when providing this kind of input to Tier 1 IT vendors, and Freeform Dynamics’ strong reputation in this space is largely down to Helen’s influence.

In terms of experience and expertise, Helen has a strong background in business administration and customer services, as well as market research. She has been involved in IT industry research and analysis since 2003, and co-founded Freeform Dynamics in 2005.

Areas of responsibility:

• Commercial and operational management
• Critical project execution


Martha Bennett
VP, Head of Strategy



Martha is a specialist in IT strategy and the effective exploitation of technology to generate strategic business value. At Freeform Dynamics, she is part of the executive management team as well as an active industry analyst.

What makes Martha special is her first-hand knowledge of the IT and business leader view of the world. While many analysts like to talk about the ‘CIO agenda’ and what’s important when setting direction or implementing business critical systems, Martha has actually worked in and with senior management teams on the big stuff. She therefore has a genuine feel for what really matters from a business perspective, as well as the realities of politics, funding, expectation management and other real world complexities when working at that level.

In line with her strategic focus, Martha’s current main areas of coverage include ‘big data’ and the consumerisation of IT. However, she has a watching brief across all major industry trends from dynamic data centre, through cloud computing to social media, and maintains an active interest in the financial services sector. Her work in these and other areas has made her a sought after speaker, as well as a widely published author.

From a career perspective, following time working in various technology related management roles in blue chip organisations such as Prudential Corporation and Price Waterhouse, Martha became an analyst in 1997, initially with the Giga Information Group. Since then, she has held management positions at Forrester Research and Ovum, before joining Freeform Dynamics in May 2011.

Current areas of focus:

• Big data: Strategy, BI, analytics and CEP
• Consumerisation: Policy, productivity and platforms
• Social media: BI and analytics
• Cloud computing: Hosted business applications
• Dynamic data centre: Business service impact


Tony Lock
Programme Director



Tony is an IT operations guru. As an ex-IT manager with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, his extensive vendor briefing agenda makes him one of the most well informed analysts in the industry, particularly on the diversity of solutions and approaches available to tackle key operational requirements. If you are a vendor talking about a new offering, be very careful about describing it to Tony as ‘unique’, because if it isn’t, he’ll probably know.

To keep everything balanced and grounded, Tony is intimately involved in Freeform Dynamics’ Community Research Programme, through which he stays in close touch with how needs are evolving within the IT and business community around IT service delivery. This includes all aspects of systems infrastructure and management, from desktop, through servers, storage and network, to mainframe, with particular attention paid to alternative delivery models – cloud computing, managed services, IT financing, etc.

From an advisory perspective, Tony’s comprehensive knowledge of the solution and best practice landscape makes him ideal for those who want help in understanding their options rather than having a canned set of recommendations thrust at them. His focus on core principles and his forthright but open-minded views on technology also make Tony one of the most sought after speakers in the industry for keynotes, roundtables, webinars, and so on.

Tony has a strong IT practitioner background, having held IT management positions at companies such as BP and BT, and has also worked on the vendor side of equation at Amdahl. He became an industry analyst in 2000, has been with Freeform Dynamics since 2007, and is currently based in Germany, but also spends significant time in London and other locations around the world.

Current areas of focus:

• Cloud computing: Service level management
• Dynamic data centre: Service level management
• Big data: Storage and information management
• Consumerisation: End point management and security
• Social media: Monitoring, security and compliance


Andrew Buss
Service Director



Andrew is an expert in IT infrastructure evaluation, selection, deployment, security and management. From datacentre to handheld device, he specialises in understanding how new types of technology can deliver value against the backdrop of typically very complex existing enterprise IT landscapes. If you are a vendor briefing Andrew, no matter how much you believe you have your story straight on migration, co-existence, and other aspects of delivery, his questions are still likely to make you think.

From a research and advisory perspective, Andrew’s extensive knowledge of technology and best practice, coupled with clear and objective thinking about real-world practicalities and constraints, underpins many of Freeform Dynamic’s IT practitioner surveys. His work in this area forms a solid foundation for some of the most compelling and insightful research reports that really get under the skin of how emerging technologies fit into the market as a whole.

Andrew frequently delivers go-to-market consulting for IT vendors off the back of this research. Another key element here is Andrew’s in-depth knowledge of IT channels and distribution. Whether looked at from a seller or buyer perspective, understanding this piece is critical to making sure the right products and services reach the right customers in the right way. Andrew has been an industry analyst since 2001, holding a variety of senior positions within Canalys before joining Freeform Dynamics in 2009. Prior to this he worked as an IT service management consultant across a number of industries.

Current areas of focus:

• Dynamic data centre: Unified infrastructure management
• Cloud computing: Security, resilience and provider management
• Consumerisation: Devices, mobile operating systems and security
• Big data: Server and storage technical architecture
• Social media: Monitoring, security and compliance


Linsey Berry
Data Analyst and Publications Manager



Linsey is Freeform Dynamics’ data analyst. She also manages the updating of content on the Freeform web site, and looks after day-to-day dealings with Freeform’s media partners.

One of the top data analysts in the industry, Linsey specialises in the preparation and exploration of primary research data to identify correlations and trends. Working closely with the analysts who provide the domain expertise, and with a keen eye for data visualisation, she helps maximise the insights to be gained from Freeform’s community research and other studies. Linsey has a strong background in primary research execution within and beyond the technology sector. Having worked as a team leader in more traditional market research organisations such as the GfK Group, Linsey has extensive direct experience of both business-to-business and consumer research techniques, as well as data quality management.

In her role as publications manager, Linsey liaises with the editors of our media partners, coordinating publication schedules. As well as being responsible for the release and publication process for contributions to third party sites, Linsey manages the content of the Freeform Dynamics’ website, collects and analyses clickstream stats, and so on. She also drives the company’s social media outreach on Twitter.

Areas of responsibility:

• Data analysis
• Project support
• Publications