Just heard tonight Semphonic, an analytics agency co-founded by Gary Angel (who I know fairly well) is opening up a NYC office headed by Greg Dowling (who  must of just left Nokia).   Here’s the press release which will be announced in a few hours.

I don’t need to say much more, the Press Release explains the situation pretty well.  It seems to me that in order to thrive and continue to grow, Semphonic needs to follow the market (raising the bar) which is largly moving to mobile devices; which aren’t well tracked by Web Analytics, but the stats are quickly improving.

SEMPHONIC ANNOUNCES NEW VICE PRESIDENT

Leading Mobile Measurement Expert Greg Dowling to Head New York Office

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 11, 2010 – Semphonic, the world’s largest independent Web analytics consultancy, announced today the hiring of Greg Dowling as Vice President. A leading expert in mobile measurement and enterprise analytics with fifteen years in the industry, Greg will head up Semphonic’s New York office and lead their mobile strategy and measurement practice.

Dowling comes to Semphonic from Nokia, where he served as the company’s Head of Analysis. At Nokia, he built an enterprise wide online measurement team that integrated customer and online data from mobile and fixed web for all of Nokia’s services. Prior to joining Nokia, Greg was Vice President of Strategy & Analysis for Digitas where he led their Web analytics capability supporting clients such as Delta, Kraft, Heineken, and Time Warner Cable. Previously, Greg was a senior analyst with JupiterResearch, focusing on the best practices for Web site operations, from staffing and budgeting to vendor selection. His areas of specialization included Web site analytics, site search, content management and usability.
According to Gary Angel, Semphonic’s President, “Greg has deep, hands-on real-world expertise in enterprise analytics from the client perspective. He has the broad knowledge and practice experience that come from working with a variety of cutting edge clients in the agency environment. And he has the strategic chops to be a senior research analyst. That’s a unique, compelling combination. He’s the perfect fit for us and the ideal person to head up our New York office.”

Based in San Francisco, Semphonic already has offices in Portland, Boston, and Washington D.C. Semphonic focuses on enterprise measurement strategy and sophisticated analytics, a unique combination that enticed Dowling. “I’m thrilled to join Semphonic,” said Dowling, “this is an exciting time in the Web analytics industry and I am anxious to support Semphonic clients and solve the measurement challenges inherent in expanding their digital presence through the fixed and mobile Web.”

“In addition to the natural growth of our practice in New York, Semphonic is committed to being the leader in mobile measurement consulting. Many of our clients are still struggling with what to do about mobile and Greg’s deep knowledge in this area will create a significant advantage for all Semphonic clients,” adds Angel.

In addition to his hands on measurement experience, Dowling brings the necessary strategic experience from working with companies of all sizes. “Having advised a variety of Fortune 500 clients in the past, I know that companies want to have the same level of confidence in their online presence as they do in their brick and mortar operations,” Dowling said. “Semphonic is able to provide data-driven recommendations that can turn uncertainty to competitive advantage.”

Dowling has over fifteen years of executive level experience in Web analytics, usability, site optimization, e-commerce and product management. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences such as eMetrics, Shop.org, Omniture Summit, Internet Retailer and X Change and has been quoted widely in the media, including The Wall Street Journal, ClickZ, and MediaPost.

About Semphonic

Semphonic is the world’s largest independent Web analytics consultancy, with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in Boston, New York, Washington, DC and Portland, OR.  Founded in 1997, the company has helped leading corporations, government agencies and non-profits achieve measurable improvement in the performance of their web channel.  Clients include American Express, Charles Schwab, National Cancer Institute, Nokia, Genentech and Intuit.