The Rise of the Independent I.T. Analyst
Posted by Jeff Papows on Tue, Mar 09, 2010 @ 12:44 PM
Sure, we've been hearing for a while how citizen journalism has transformed the traditional role of the reporter. What I don't quite understand is why the IT analyst community has not been turned on its head in a similar way.
Don't get me wrong, IT analysts have historically provided great feedback, helped to avert potentially bad product introductions and have been known to provide valuable, third-party feedback, especially when it comes to big purchasing decisions. Please note that is an historical view.
I know I'm not the first to complain about the hired guns business model employed by the traditional analyst firms and I'm sure I won't be the last. What I have noticed lately is the non-committal tone of every interaction with the analysts that require retainers in order to dial their switchboard.
As part of an extensive research project that I worked on this winter, I contacted a few analyst firms to gather their opinions on a particular subject. It was a simple, ‘what do you think about XYZ' type of dialogue. Even when I couched the question with a disclaimer that I was merely seeking their professional opinion and understood that it didn't necessarily reflect the views of their employer, the analysts that I contacted wouldn't or couldn't respond.
And those that did provide a bit more than name, rank and serial number were so averse to taking a stand or expressing an opinion that I pondered whether or not they were victims of a recent invasion by body snatchers.
In an effort to continue my research, I decided to steer away from the Stepford analysts and happily discovered the world of the independent analysts. Folks who really know what they're talking about, aren't afraid to share an opinion, and let me know exactly where I was right and more importantly, where I was wrong in my hypothesis.
These are the analysts who have either worked in the big machines and/or have gained an in-depth knowledge of the industry by working side-by-side with clients -- not from pontificating from ivory towers.
Folks like Dana Gardner at Interarbor Solutions, Joe McKendrick from Unisphere Research and ZDNet. I gotta say, ZDNet and eBizQ give these independent spirits a good amount of air time via their blogs, events and news reporting. There should be more venues for them beyond traditional blogs and you should consider them before you write another one of those big checks as part of your protection fees.
It's time for all of us to really re-think our approach to IT analyst relations.