Craig Burton

As the creator of breakthrough concepts like NetWare Open Systems, The Network Services Model, metadirectory, and The Internet Services Model, Craig Burton is one of the leading visionaries and analysts in the computing industry. He is a frequently consulted expert on new technologies and the process of making software infrastructure ubiquitous.

Craig’s visionary understanding of new technologies and his familiarity with the needs of technology users led him to identify the market for a metadirectory product and allowed him to articulate the essential attributes of such a product. Craig invented the conceptual basis for metadirectory over 20 years ago while leading Novell, Inc. to success.

Craig was one of the founding members of Novell, where he served as senior vice president of corporate marketing and development. During his eight years with Novell, Craig’s unique market strategies (which included the development of concepts such as file server technology, hardware independence, fault tolerance, Universal NetWare Architecture and NetWare Open Systems) resulted not only in market leadership for Novell, but also served to accelerate the movement toward transparent multivendor computing.

When he co-founded The Burton Group (TBG) in 1989, Craig began to study the concept of metadirectory in earnest. As CEO, president and principal analyst of TBG, Craig provided independent market analysis on network computing technology and industry trends.

At Prognosys, The Burton Group’s 1996 Conference on Network Computing, Craig presented the criteria for measuring whether a technology meets the metadirectory requirements set forth by The Burton Group.

Craig’s contributions to computing have earned him recognition as one of the industry’s most influential analysts.

Since 1997, Craig Burton has been an independent analyst consulting with many industry vendors and concentrating on the Internet Services Model and the paradox of selling software infrastructure.

Craig Burton recently joined KuppingerCole as a Distinguished Analyst.