Analyst's Photo Name and Title Contact information
Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D.

Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D.
Principal Analyst

Research Coverage

Customer Experience, Global, Globalization & Emerging Markets, Go-To-Market Strategies, IT Adoption, IT Spending & Budgeting, Innovation Networks, Marketing & Sales Strategies, Pricing Strategies, Product & Solutions Strategies, Sales, Marketing, & Product Strategy, Social Computing & Web 2.0, Tech Marketing Channel Strategies, Tech Marketing Tools & Best Practices, Telecommunications Services

Research Focus

Jennifer advises tech industry Vendor Strategy Professionals, predicting and quantifying growth and disruption in the technology industry. Her research focuses on changing patterns of technology adoption and deployment, particularly in emerging markets and in the public sector. She advises clients on market opportunity assessments for investment and go-to-market best practices in emerging markets, balancing demand-side research with understanding of the policy and competitive environments. Jennifer's recent research has focused on "smart city" initiatives as a way of managing the complexity of demographic changes and leveraging technology solutions in response to the demands of an increasingly urban population. These initiatives apply equally to cities, universities, and even company towns as they are stretched by growing populations and shrinking resources.

Previous Work Experience

Before joining Forrester, Jennifer spent more than eight years in sales and marketing roles at Sun Microsystems, including roles software product marketing, software sales enablement and development, and industry marketing and partner strategy for telecommunications and media.

Jennifer's extensive international experience includes more than 20 years in sales and marketing, research, consulting, and education in developing and transitioning countries. As a public policy analyst and consultant in Russia and Eastern Europe, she designed post-communist housing reforms and advised governments on housing privatization, mortgage finance policies, and income-based assistance programs. As an educator in the Peace Corps in Central Africa, Jennifer taught high school math, designed national math curricula and exams, and conducted marketing workshops with local entrepreneurs. Jennifer has published in numerous academic journals and spoken widely at academic and business events.

Education

Jennifer earned a Ph.D. and an M.A. in political science from Stanford University and a B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia. Her doctoral research focused on the fiscal and political relationships between regional governments and the central administration, combining quantitative analysis of regional budget data with extensive fieldwork in Moscow and three Russian regions — Udmurtiya, Novgorod, and Ulyanovsk.

Latest Research

Planned Research

Sizing The Smart City Opportunity April 2012
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Smart City Services April 2012
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Did You Know?

Jennifer is an avid hiker, camper, gardener, a lover of languages, and most of all an intrepid world traveler.

Languages Spoken

English, French


Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D. serves Vendor Strategy professionals.

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Recent Media Citations
IP News Brazil, "Forrester Brasscom approaches to expose companies globally," August 30, 2011
TI Inside (Brazil), "Smart Cities Should Open New Opportunities For IT Industry," August 25, 2011
IIAR Blog, "Around Jennifer Belissent (Forrester) in 10 Questions," July 19, 2011
Bloomberg, "Smart-Building Drive Targets 50 Worst Energy Hogs For Retrofit," June 9, 2011
Forbes (India), "Cisco's India Solution," February 15, 2011
CIO (UK), "Forrester: School Tech Spending A 'Bright Spot' In 2011," February 4, 2011