 All right, okay. I think we're live now everybody And it looks like I've got a few people on on the hangout who managed to get the right place and Hopefully we've got some folks on on YouTube if I can get my mouse to work here. We go. I'm gonna Share my screen so today guy Yeah, you want to meet yourselves there folks Oh All right Everybody what we're gonna do today is we're gonna talk about analyst relations at Get labs. So this is kind of a Primer what we're doing how we're doing it what's kind of going on and then we'll be happy to take Questions you might have about this. So what I'm gonna show you here is this is the handbook page we've started a handbook page for analyst relations and Some of you have probably had experience with AR as it's called in the past others of you might not Analyst relations is generally a combination of corporate strategy Communications and marketing activity, right? But what makes it fun at get lab is everybody contributes so we consider the analyst community to be participants as well And product marketing is the primary relationship owner for analyst relations at get lab Because we're really in product marketing the conduit between Gathering all the product information and knowing who the subject matter experts are and being able to share that with the analyst community Now one of the other things I wanted to address here Because get lab has traditionally focused on the developer community, right industry analysts usually focus on Corporate or organizational buyers and their needs Rather than those of individual developers So if you're talking to an individual developer and analyst relations Or an analyst presentation may not be as useful to them because the analyst Audience is usually looking at the buyer who's trying to figure out, you know So this would be maybe a sale to an ultimate or a premium Buyer that would want to understand the higher level value They don't focus as much on the day-to-day activities of somebody using that, right? So it's a little bit different amplification of the message and use So how does one interact with the analyst community if you can see I got a whole bunch of bullets through you're welcome to read them out There's generally a couple of things that happen one is they produce research and they come to us to make sure they have a good understanding of our product and what we do and Pardon me. I have a hat of course because this is get lab pets are coworkers so The first thing I was saying is is they will write reports. They will come to us. They will look for information They will try and and find out all kinds of things about our product and has it work We do that through regularly scheduled briefings with them, but we also do that Through through very particular projects two of the more popular ones You might have heard of are the Gartner magic quadrants or the Forrester waves Where they will focus on a specific topic area, right? The other thing that we will do is we will engage them They usually have a market research arm where we can go and test out a hypothesis We can go dig deeper into some information and sometimes that stuff is is More particular to an entire market rather than an individual product or company So they can help us understand the trends of where the market is going What's the latest? Information how popular is kubernetes? For example, what is the deployment rate those kinds of things? They'll be able to tell us so those are some of the ways we interact then some analysts Get most of their revenue from customers. So the same customers we have so the IT buyers and they're trying to find out more about products and and Movements and strategies and what to do with things Other analysts the vendors so companies like GitLab are more of their customers And so that would be more like on the market research side because we're paying them to do research for us to help understand a market segment Or a technology trend better The next thing I want to talk about is using analyst reports because this is really really probably the most important thing for people to know so When an analyst produces a report If the market research analysts will frequently make their reports available for free on their website The vendor the analysts who sell to the customers. So the gardeners and the foresters You have to pay to get access to their reports Or as a vendor you can pay for reprint rights and make that report available To anybody for a period of time So if get lab purchase those as reprints then there will be a link on this page here Or in a subsection there will be a link on the analyst relations web page, which I'll show you in a minute and Then there will be a link to that report on the relevant product page And as an example for a stir just released their VSM wave this week. We purchased the reprint rights We wrote a blog piece. We sent out a press release and we put the link to that report on the VSM page It's not here yet because this is under construction But if you went to the VSM page you would see access to that report When we have those reports in those links, that's the right thing to share because it'll help us keep track of who's going to look at them But it also is completely acceptable to give them those reports, right and that's that's okay Now there are other companies that we work with that we don't or they do reports that we don't necessarily purchase access rights to To share but we purchase the access rights just for internal company use only and Sometimes that's very limited to a specific named individual But a lot of those times those reports can be shared within GitLab But not outside and so those reports you will find I will keep a folder link here And as a GitLab or you have access to that folder and you have access to the reports that can be shared with GitLab those reports cannot be shared outside of the company and We need to be careful with that because the analyst companies get very grumpy if they find out somebody has a report without paying for it So that's just the highlight there Final area I wanted to share with you is we're always looking at newer areas as we expand the capabilities of GitLab and All the different parts of end-to-end DevOps there become areas of focus Within the entire GitLab area that the analysts will look at so VSM for example, we're part of we're part of CI We're working on CDRA right now. So some of those you'll see them coming out Other ones we're keeping a list. These are some of the forester areas of Reports that we're going to keep an eye on and then here we have some of the Gartner reports that we're looking at If there's a report you see that you think might be interesting that you think GitLab should play in If there's an analyst company that one of your customers is is referring to that you want to know a little bit more about Please send it to me reach out to me Joyce Thompson and I will absolutely or really anyone in product marketing You can get anyone in product marketing and they'll get the information and we'll take a look and see what we can find And the other thing this is again the handbook page under product marketing there's analyst relations The other thing we're working on is the web page. So this is about gitlab.com analysts This is we're just starting to build it We're going to talk about on this one. Where does GitLab engage? So some of the areas that we're actively participating in We'll put some of the links to the recent reports here so people can go look at that And then there's another interesting thing we're going to do So let's take BSM for example in the BSM report that was just done by Forester They didn't name anyone a leader because they didn't think that anyone in this space met all of the capabilities They did however see six companies and GitLab was one of them that's a strong performer and so We have some areas where they talk about what we do really well and areas where we need to work So what GitLab is going to do as an open company where everyone participates We're going to take that report and use that as a launching pad To talk about ways in which we can improve the product So there will be links to open issues that we're working on in that area We'll have product management and product marketing involved there and it will be a way that you can show customers Here's how we're working on it. These are the things we're doing Here's what we do well and here's where we're improving and if a customer wants to see something specific in that area This would be a way that could come and look at that too. And as I said, this is this is under construction But that's where we are headed with the program So I'm going to stop sharing my screen for a minute so I can see everybody again Hopefully that will work soon There we go and what I would love to do is open it up for questions But do take yourself off me before you speak Joyce, this is John. I'm also tracking what's on YouTube. I'll let you know if we have any questions on the YouTube chat. Thank you Well, we're waiting for questions. I'm really curious So I have a question for you All of you is have any of you ever used analyst reports to talk to your customers before and have you used for example on the CI Wave that we have many of you use that stuff yet. Okay, I see one thumbs up. Thank you Hi, I mentioned it almost in every presentation that I make to customers and prospects Excellent excellent well then make sure you check back, you know every now and then to see if there's a new one out there We try we're gonna try and do enablements when we get a big one Like the VSM will try and do a sales enablement with the the product marketing people to really talk about it a little more So you guys are really equipped to know how to position the report what to highlight and what to what to focus on Thank you a quick question actually how how do we on our website? How do we point? Visitors to the website so that they can you know, they are quickly made aware that We are top of them For us the wave report and then anything new that comes out Gartner, etc Apart from maybe, you know flashing up as and when it happens Just something to make it really obvious to these large enterprises and so on they will often look for affirmation, you know that that It's it's good to go with GitLab and the analysts say so as well so one of the things we're trying to do is Create a Marketing plan for when we get one of those new reports out what will we do? So for example with BSM, we wrote a blog post on it we released a press release and We've also put it in a couple of different places on the web page ironically. It's not on the analyst web page Yet, but it is on the product Let's see if I go to Let me see I Can pull it up here So, let me see here Let me share my screen with you Here's the the BSM value stream management web page, right right here at the very top of it is That we got a strong performer in the Forrester new wave in Q3 2018 right there download the report And then we get back into the all the other parts So one of the goals of the product Marketing team is to make sure that as soon as one of those reports Is available that we're putting it out in several different channels if you have suggestions or ideas on ways? We could make that More readily available Let us know right We'll be happy to think of some other things Excellent Thank you Joyce question on YouTube from Paul Duffy yet. Do the analysts let us know if a company is looking at new SCM CI or security tools? So I guess the question is what sort of information do the analysts tell us about what customers are looking for right? That's a really good question. So They field Thousands of inquiries hundreds of inquiries a day So we're not going to hear about everything they do We do get contacted sometimes by analysts if they're working with the company We just got contacted by an analyst company the other day who was working with the company who? Was doing some advanced things and she wanted to make sure she understood From us how to do if she was helping the customer the right way if she had the right understanding of our product And how we work so we'll find out information that way There are some tools I have that can sometimes give me insight into mentions of us if if there's anything done publicly But one of the things by it when we talked to the Gartner and Forester sales rep So I have an account relationship with them Sometimes they are able to dig that information up and show What what people are asking? But that's generally sort of under client attorney privilege, right? We don't part of you know The customers being able to speak to the analysts is is that they're having a neutral conversation But the analysts will tell us in general if we ask are you you know, are you hearing us? What are you hearing about us? We can certainly ask those questions and get some answers back But they don't for example publish how many times customers ask about different companies now now something specific might be If there's something stirring in the market that will frequently lead analysts So as background I was an industry analyst for 15 years in in the infrastructure space And so what would happen is you'd start to hear people asking more and more questions about things We as analysts would then go to that company to make sure we were learning more and to kind of say hey We want to know more about you or you're starting to appear in this space when we want to know more so We're seeing a little bit of that at GitLab part of that was when GitHub got purchased people got excited about this space They saw us and they started to look at that right not just people who are on yet But maybe people who wanted to know what is this technology? I'm not familiar with it And then as we've started to move into spaces Our name shows up as as somebody that people are considering for a buy and so analysts are are asking us questions We just did a series of 11 dot o briefings for the analysts where we you know explained the significant release For several of those analysts they immediately turned around and required a second briefing that was a deeper dive Into some particular feature or aspect of the product So for example, we had a couple analysts in the security space who want to just sit down and discuss just our security We've had an analyst request to understand understand how we do scanning better for example So what happens is it really is a relationship the more you talk to them the more you interact with them the more you engage with them The more they begin to know you the more they begin to talk about you to their customers and the more they become Sensitive to your name showing up right? It's kind of like you know how it is you buy a new car and suddenly you notice that car everywhere Right, because everyone else who has one or if you're thinking about buying one It's the same kind of thing when you start to think about something and focus on it You begin to become more aware of where it is everywhere. So that's part of how you build that brand awareness Joyce a question from from Mark You know Joyce a question from Mark about the use of Analyst reports and campaigns. What do you see as normally best practices of Organizations using like a full marketing campaign around around analyst reports so That's a good question because we're in the middle of exploring that for a couple of reports right now The analyst companies themselves have gotten very good and the question becomes how much do you want to spend? Right, and they also give you ideas of things that you can do so a lot of them now are starting to create Infographics that you can use to place and there's no get it at scorecards and and cheat sheets and and things like that that really Can take the report and focus to the next level so the question is really going to be per report because For example in BSM We didn't get leader, but nobody did but it's a new space the question becomes hey in sales Are you seeing this? Is this something you need? Would this be something helpful for you? On the other hand with the last CI wave we came out number one We've got over four thousand hits to that through Forrester to download that report They tracked those numbers for us that would be something where I think we would absolutely want to spend a little bit more Money to create some of those graphics to pass them out the question I would put it back to all of you is Would you use those tools if you had them? Do you find them helpful? Is the report itself enough? Or are there other things that that you like? Analysts will also for example do a webinar so we could do a webinar to partners We could do a webinar to customers We're an analyst, you know kind of spoke about things now keep in mind No analyst is ever going to get up and say I love get lab They're the greatest thing that ever happens by get lab today You're not going to get that thing what they're going to do is they're going to support the messages that you are trying to achieve That and they're going to be most comfortable when you're using them as a proof point that what you're saying is the right thing Right, they're not going to pat you on the head and tell you they're your favorite student, right? So That's kind of the way you want to use it But when they show Statistics or information that backs up what we're saying that shows that we're on the right track. That's the best use of it So we've got some opportunities to do some of those things if you feel very strongly about something Please let us know because that's how we start to develop the tools that we can share with you That do help you really leverage that report Choice another question from YouTube David asked What would be the intent of your quote internal reports that you mentioned earlier that we couldn't share out? Is that solely for us to gather intelligence and understanding? Yeah, so Analysts write reports like waves and magic quadrants But they might write a lot of other reports that are talking about what the industry is doing For example, what percentage of people are using Kubernetes is Istio really taking off You know those kinds of questions what's happening? with Continuous CI CD right any of those kinds of things There are a lot of reports we use that we share with product management with product marketing With the executive staff that kind of give information on what's happening in the market because you need to understand The landscape that you're selling in and not just you know what features and functions people want There's some competitive information. They'll write a report about another company That's helpful for our competitive team to get information on the direction of Where everyone else in the market is going and where are the gaps that we might be feeling filling really well that? We're not messaging enough right so there's a lot of different bits of information They may not be useful. You might not want to present them in a sales situation They might not have that kind of information, but they're very helpful for people and trying to understand The overall marketplace that we're playing in and how it's shifting and where it's shifting and where opportunity might be That's a great question. Thank you Any other questions in YouTube land John? No, not now No, good There is a an analyst relations Channel in slack, you know feel I will every time we get something published I put it up there. Sometimes I put it in the sales slack channel But a lot of times there's stuff going on an analyst relations If you're curious feel free to check that channel out every now and then as well any questions You know where to find me. All right. Thanks everybody. Take care and have a good day