Netscout and Gartner have scheduled their trial for next July. The case stands little chance of improving Netscout’s value. It does, however, risk harming the reputation of both analyst firms and analyst relations professionals. Over the last weeks, pressure has mounted on Netscout’s lawyers. Netscout claims Gartner’s Magic Quadrant harmed its enterprise sales and that the truth of Gartner’s statements […]
Gartner’s Magic Quadrant is the most influential non-financial business research document. In the late 1980s, it was a quick and dirty stalking horse to provoke discussions. Today it is an extensive and yet highly limited process, based on the quantification of opinions which are highly qualitative. The early evolution of the MQ tells us a lot about the challenge of industry […]
A funeral and celebration for David Bradshaw (shown left in this 2000 Ovum awayday photo, arm raised, with me and other colleagues) is to take place at West Norwood Crematorium, London SE27 at 2.45pm on Tuesday 23rd August and after at the Amba Hotel above London’s Charing Cross Station, on the Strand. David considered that that Ovum in that incarnation was […]
David Bradshaw, one of the colleagues I worked with during my time as an analyst at Ovum, died on August 11. He led Cloud research in Europe for IDC, whose statement is below. David played a unique role at Ovum, bridging its telecoms and IT groups in the late 1990s by looking at computer-telecoms integration areas like CRM, which I […]
Reflecting the paradoxical position of many clients, Kea’s Analyst Attitude Survey also goes to a wide range of consultants who play similar roles to analysts and are often employed by analyst firms. The responses to the current survey show that consultants are generally much less happy with their relationships with AR teams than analysts are. The paradox is that as […]
[…] there have several approaches to representing the ways that buyers and influencers interact (see The IT industry analysts’ role: evolution of perception). This post introduces the latest SageCircle update, the Fog of Influence (left, click to enlarge). […]
Good reminder Carter. I have had two conversations recently with analyst watchers who seem to define the influence of analysts in the much narrower sense of direct involvement in the sales/procurement cycle. Your broader and more holistic perspective is a better representation of what is going on out there. I particularly like the ‘Fog of Influence’ concept – would be interested in hearing you talk through that sometime.
Good reminder Carter. I have had two conversations recently with other analyst watchers who seemed to focus almost completely on direct involvement of analysts in the sales/procurement cycle as a measure of influence. Your more holistic view is a better representation of what’s really going on out there. I particularly like the ‘Fog of Influence’ as it works on two levels – both as a metaphore for the activity, and as a descriptor for how hard it is to see through it all to the dynamics underlying it.
Whoops – sorry for the two posts – that’ll teach me to work on the Web over an unstable 3G connection from the train. Thought the first one had gone into the big cellular black hole in the sky🙂
HI Dale, Thanks for the comments. I know how unstable the connection to the Web can be at times. >>grin<<
Glad you got both levels of the Fog of Influence. While cluttered I needed to show the completxity facing folks in the communications and IT industry. I expect to be writting to this for quite the while.
I would love to chat with you on this and your post on Open Reasoning.