BT Footnote

Of course, Ben Verwaayen wasn't the only 'BT-related' departure this month. My ex-colleague Mike Cansfield is one of the (too) many senior analysts to leave Ovum in the last period. Mike (and I..) covered BT for many years. So it came as quite a shock not to read his words of wisdom on BT's full year results as an Ovum analyst but now with the tag line Michael Cansfield - Principal Analyst Forrester.

You can read Mike's comment in the Times report - Threat of industrial action at BT hangs over Verwaayen' departure or I quote the last paragraphs:

But there are detractors. In a recent research note Robin Bienenstock, of Bernstein Research, said: “We believe that BT is in a strategic checkmate, with a fundamentally flawed core business, a heavy balance sheet and onerous capex obligations.”

Mike Cansfield, principal analyst at Forrester, said: “The issue for BT is how much its top line can grow. Two per cent growth is not significant. The challenge for Ian Livingston is how to get top line revenue to grow.”

Good to see he hasn't succumbed to Forrester's normal style...yet!