Ironically, Gartner’s announced plans to buy supply chain mavens AMR Research can be seen as basically an elaborate Yankee Group reunion, of sorts – echoes of one I attended just under a month ago, as Yankee Group employee #5. After all, Gartner Senior VP and Director of Research Dale Kutnick was my boss at Yankee. AMR Chief Research Officer Bruce Richardson and CEO Tony Friscia are both Yankee alumni as well. (Bruce and Dale were both at the reunion I attended, as was Howard Anderson, Yankee Group founder and current member of the faculty at my alma mater, M.I.T. A good, nostalgia-imbued time was had by all, near as I could tell.)
And while I’m sure the acquisition will be good for AMR and Gartner, and at least neutral if not positive for current AMR clients, I believe its effects on the future of IT analyst/research industry will be mixed at best, at least in the short term. As some have already opined in their own blogs, as reported in Computerworld, taking competitors out of this market reduces reputable corporate sources of trusted, actionable information. And given that many users and at least some vendors already look askance at the entire traditional market, fewer such sources is not a promising prospect.
But there may be some good to come out of such consolidation, albeit not necessarily immediately. As we’re finding at Focus and elsewhere, users and at least some vendors are eschewing relationships with analyst firms. They are instead forging more direct relationships with knowledgeable, credible analysts, users and other individuals with relevant opinions and experience.
This is a trend that will continue and accelerate. It will likely result in significant and sustained benefit for users seeking guidance and vendors seeking alternatives to competing with larger, better-known companies for attention from traditional analyst firms.
(Imagine that you were an analyst or business development person at Analyst Firm X, and two calls came in simultaneously – one from, Big Vendor That’s Already a Client and one from Unknown Start-Up Vendor Y. Which call would you take first?)
If you look at Focus, RedMonk and some other non-traditional sources of IT market analysis and opinion, you see levels of interactivity and connection traditional analyst firms simply cannot match. At least not without wrenching changes to their fundamental business models. And these new levels of interactivity and connection are enabled by analysts who have chosen to pursue alternative ways to ply their trade – and new technologies that make new connections possible.
Consolidation can only go so much further – how many more firms can the big boys buy? (Forrester Research was also started by another Yankee Group alumnus, George Colony, who was also at that reunion I attended. I’m just sayin’.) But opportunities abound for analysts and others seeking to communicate and interact directly with users, vendors and other analysts. Focus, for example, offers numerous online communities, as well as complementary research created by users, consultants, analysts and even vendors.
The future of market analysis is not about analyst firms pontificating to users or vendors. It’s about those who know and those who do sharing what they know and do with others who want or have to know or do similar things. It’s about those seeking information and knowledge vetting and commenting upon the information and knowledge of others. And it’s about using modern technologies to make such knowledge and information accessible to those who need and want it most – the users whose purchases make entire markets possible.
And that future is already happening right now. At Focus and elsewhere. Come participate, and help make that future bright, for you and your company and for others in situations like your own.
And while I’m sure the acquisition will be good for AMR and Gartner, and at least neutral if not positive for current AMR clients, I believe its effects on the future of IT analyst/research industry will be mixed at best, at least in the short term. As some have already opined in their own blogs, as reported in Computerworld, taking competitors out of this market reduces reputable corporate sources of trusted, actionable information. And given that many users and at least some vendors already look askance at the entire traditional market, fewer such sources is not a promising prospect.
But there may be some good to come out of such consolidation, albeit not necessarily immediately. As we’re finding at Focus and elsewhere, users and at least some vendors are eschewing relationships with analyst firms. They are instead forging more direct relationships with knowledgeable, credible analysts, users and other individuals with relevant opinions and experience.
This is a trend that will continue and accelerate. It will likely result in significant and sustained benefit for users seeking guidance and vendors seeking alternatives to competing with larger, better-known companies for attention from traditional analyst firms.
(Imagine that you were an analyst or business development person at Analyst Firm X, and two calls came in simultaneously – one from, Big Vendor That’s Already a Client and one from Unknown Start-Up Vendor Y. Which call would you take first?)
If you look at Focus, RedMonk and some other non-traditional sources of IT market analysis and opinion, you see levels of interactivity and connection traditional analyst firms simply cannot match. At least not without wrenching changes to their fundamental business models. And these new levels of interactivity and connection are enabled by analysts who have chosen to pursue alternative ways to ply their trade – and new technologies that make new connections possible.
Consolidation can only go so much further – how many more firms can the big boys buy? (Forrester Research was also started by another Yankee Group alumnus, George Colony, who was also at that reunion I attended. I’m just sayin’.) But opportunities abound for analysts and others seeking to communicate and interact directly with users, vendors and other analysts. Focus, for example, offers numerous online communities, as well as complementary research created by users, consultants, analysts and even vendors.
The future of market analysis is not about analyst firms pontificating to users or vendors. It’s about those who know and those who do sharing what they know and do with others who want or have to know or do similar things. It’s about those seeking information and knowledge vetting and commenting upon the information and knowledge of others. And it’s about using modern technologies to make such knowledge and information accessible to those who need and want it most – the users whose purchases make entire markets possible.
And that future is already happening right now. At Focus and elsewhere. Come participate, and help make that future bright, for you and your company and for others in situations like your own.
This is cool, I would love to see more and a link back to your blog of course.
Keep up this good work of helping others. Two thumbs for you.
Posted by: Term Papers | December 15, 2009 at 03:25 AM
Nice post. Keep it up.
Posted by: Term Papers | December 21, 2009 at 11:22 PM