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Forrester analyst comments on Gartner research

icon-social-media-blue.jpgWhile single practitioner analysts or analysts at boutiques will occasionally comment on the research done at the major firms (often in a snide tone), it is rare for an analyst at a major firm to acknowledge something from a major competitor. Forrester’s Jeremiah Owyang (Twitter handle, poster child for tech analysts using social media) does just that in Understanding Gartner’s “Generation Virtual”. Jeremiah – fairly, in a professional tone – highlights the research and points out where he agrees or disagrees with Gartner’s conclusions. My only quibble is that rather than focusing on just the Gartner research, Jeremiah might have also contrasted the Gartnerian model with Forrester’s Social Technographics Ladder.

Bottom Line: One way for major analyst firms to cut through the clutter of the competing voices on the Web could be to engage each other in reasonable debate on hot topics. Of course, this would require firms like AMR, Gartner, IDC, Ovum and Yankee to follow Forrester Research’s lead in adopting social media and to tackle the profound cultural changes it would require.

Question: Clients (end user or vendor) of analysts – Would you like to see more inter-firm commentary? Analysts at major firms – Would you like to comment on other analysts’ research but are discouraged by your management?

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6 comments

  1. I mentioned lightly the social technographics model, but I wasn’t hear to do a direct comparison, instead, focus on what was strong and where we could consider other factors.

    The last thing I want to do is offend other analysts, instead, we should share, discuss, and grow together as an industry where appropriate.

    When we see two or more analysts pointing similar directions, this only bodes well for the market –providing they follow.

    Many of my savvy readers are familiar with Forrester’s Social Technographics ladder, so they can draw their own conclusions.

    Thanks again Carter.

  2. Hi Jeremiah, Thanks for the comment.

    I see you point. One of the great attributes of your post was the professional tone, you commented without sniping. I just assumed that you could pull off a compare/contrast with seeming snide.

  4. As a client of several firms, Gartner, Forrester, AMR, etc, I have seen many reports where conclusions are very similar, which is nice validation. But if we all agree on everything, why do we need so many research firms??

    Not saying that we need a Jerry Springer show with research analysts breaking chairs over each other…The analysts no longer present at neutral industry conferences – instead appearing at their company’s events, which I appreciate BUT..used to be that round-tables and panels at these shows were the place to hear good-natured (for the most part) debate on the topics that many of us track. (for the record, I never walked to school up hill both ways in snow….) Enjoy the end-user case studies these days..and gotta really love those vendor sales pitches.

    With the onslaught of research available – even on sites like http://www.technorati.com/ – I have been surprised that some firms are not following their own web 2.0 evangelism and posting excerpts of research online in blog forums to further promote their work and generate discussion.

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