Evangelist Gartenberg back to being analyst

After only three weeks at Microsoft as an "evangelist," Michael Gartenberg is returning to his old job as vice president and research director at JupiterResearch.

"At my core, I am an analyst. It's what I do and I do it well and after much thought, I realize I'm just not ready to stop doing that job just yet," Gartenberg wrote on his blog Wednesday. "I look forward to returning to deliver my unbiased perspectives on the industry."

Gartenberg started at Microsoft on February 19, working out of the software giant's New York offices. Friday will be his last day. He starts back at his old job on Monday.

"I ended up missing the analyst role more than I thought I would," Gartenberg said via telephone. "I think I make a better analyst than evangelist, and Jupiter wanted me back and I am glad that they're taking me back." He declined to say whether his job hopping has brought him any benefits in terms of compensation.

JupiterResearch head David Schatsky on his company's blog welcomed Gartenberg back. "I'm delighted that Michael Gartenberg has succumbed to my blandishments and decided to return to his rightful position as a star analyst at Jupiter," he wrote.

Gartenberg talked up Microsoft just before starting at the software giant and compared his "evangelist" role to that of a parent, while the analyst job was more like a babysitter.

"The difference is the sitter plays with child, gets paid for it and then at the end of the day, they hand the child back and go on to the next one. Parenting is a little different. An observer might think that being the sitter is the better job. As a parent, I know better," he wrote.

Three weeks as a parent at Microsoft changed that view, apparently.