Technology media was further disrupted this morning when a seemingly minor announcement rocked the media world. The minor part is this – a new analyst firm was launched today. The disruptive part is that the assemblage of key influencers into one organization that is not advertiser driven. The new firm is consulting and engagement oriented and unlike most other firms these guys will crank out content that focuses on enterprise information technology, particular, cloud, social, and mobile.
The announcement is this: R Wang split off from fledgling but highly visible and popular analyst firm Altimeter Group to form Constellation Research, aptly named because of the way it assembles various disciplines and personalities and forms a unique cohesive identity.
I asked R why he thought the world needed a new analyst firm, and he wrote back in traditional conservative analyst fashion: “We wanted to bring a constellation of smart minds, great customer networks, and vendor ecosystems together. It starts with independent analysis, leading edge research, and a passion to share with our clients. We’re focused on being Independent. Pragmatic. Disruptive.”
OK, R, you can always get a job writing for Obama if this doesn’t work out. Change is good!
Every analyst group besides Gartner has a similar message or aspiration, so if R is going down that path, it’s going to be about execution more than about the vision. But he’s also undercutting himself and his firm. He has assembled an unbelievable team so far. It’s a company not of strangers. From the get go, he’s got himself, Frank Scavo, Sameer Patel, Vinnie Mirchandani, Oliver Marks, the infamous Zoli Erdos, and others. His advisers are Paul Greenberg, Dennis Howlett, Esteban Kolsky, Brian Solis, and others. Talk about an A Team.
It will be hard for many vendors not to suck up to Constellation, giving the new firm more clout, and wreaking analyst havoc everywhere. But the real question can this assemblage be objective? Objectivity is one of the first words on Constellation’s values statement. Can it be objective by taking money from a vendor who pays for advice and then in turn resells that advice back to the same vendor and its competitors in addition to non-vendor clients. This is the issue that gives analyst firms an interesting (as in cursed) reputation. Some call it extortion. That’s analyst firm 1.0. But business 1.0 says that that model can’t survive.
It is clear that objectivity can be created through transparency. That is afterall the major goal of CloudBlog. We work for a company that happens to host our blog. But we are completely transparent about it. We also have a code of ethics and while we pick and grin we’re also part of a movement that happens to be disrupting the technology media – a place where each of our key bloggers came from.
What’s interesting is the backstory on why R split from Altimeter, a firm that was also disrupting technology media in a different way. Disclosure: we have had a paid relationship with Altimeter in the past. R probably most likely still has some ownership there, but I can’t speculate on what I already know. What I don’t need to speculate on is why. It’s clear that Constellation will more or less a 2.0 version of a traditional analyst firm and R wants to conduct research. But Constellation will do webinars, conduct research, have a source of revenue that comes from vendors, and have prices that reflect going rates to support the level of analysts that Constellation has hired. (Disclosure: we do not have a paid relationship with Constellation, although details are murky – it’s like a mini custody battle).
Does the world need another analyst firm?
The quick answer is no. You might as well try to sell a new IT magazine. There is absolutely no way we would want to support a new firm. That is, if it were a traditional firm. What is different is that Constellation is an analyst firm of influencers and influencer relations is in most ways far more important than the run of the mill stuff I see every day (disclosure: analyst relations is part of the group I run at salesforce.com). To be convinced for sure, I need the metrics – who does Constellation reach and in what areas of coverage? Everyone needs this data. No one supplies it. Constellation has the power to change that concept and provide the data to help us decide.
I’m on Twitter and not afraid to say it.
John,
Love your post. I agree with you, there’s clearly a dual emphasis on providing marketing support services and tech decision making advisory services. That mix may be unappealing to some. After all, Aberdeen Group tried this strategy and its reputation went down in flames. Those joining this network will need to understand, simply by association, they will be seen as vendor marketing advisors in addition to whatever tech decision support roles they fulfill. That alone should drive them to be objective, fair, etc every day.
Marketing services aside, Constellation is building an expert network anchored in the industry analyst space. I think that’s a good thing and therein lies what’s new and different.
There’s a practical need for independent analysts, consultants and subject matter experts to attach to a peer network. The Constellation model can help them grow revenues, share expensive resources, work as part of a stable collective, and improve their own marketing & sales performance. This begs the question of how well will Constellation scale? And will it support fledgling analysts, consultants and subject matter experts — or stick to A-listers?
Flipping to the other side of the table, IT decision makers and vendor marketing folks alike need a simpler way to contract multiple self-employed analysts. Constellation addresses this need. It’s a significant difference between Constellation and, for example, IDC or Accenture.
Influence. Hmm. Influence is an individual attribute, and I know talking to you about this is talking to the choir. For the moment, I’d say the Constellation brand is the big winner — it’s sucking influence from its members and advisors. We’ll see how quickly that changes.
But seriously, would you believe influence metrics that Constellation — or any other firm of influencers — gives you? Really?
Barbara –
Thanks for the reply. You bring up a great point – Constellation can present itself as one throat to choke — or a single a access point to the individual star analysts.
As for metrics – it would be hard to digest any metrics from any firm. But if they are transparent about it and that transparency is coupled with reach analytical measurements that are becoming a burgeoning business, I think it’s a step in the right direction.
John
Hi John,
Your blog post on Constellation Research is brilliant!
I think Constellation Research, such a power house is going to crush conventional research firms such as Gartner and Forrester.
These guys will win!!!
[…] Are Analysts the New Media? […]
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First, no, they are not the new media. Period. If they are, no reason to hire them. Will they be relatively expressive analysts in the public domain, say, like, oh, Rob Enderle? Likely yes. But I don’t see them bouncing the NY Times or WSJ tech sections any time soon. Do they carry more media impact perhaps than Gartner who has restrictive rules on media engagement? In terms of numbers, yes, but when Gartner does say something in the press it typically causes pretty big waves.
On Constellation as disruptor and perhaps being the next big firm: There are some strong analysts in Constellation for sure. But any new firm will go through some growing pains. And Constellation is, no matter how you look at it, a relatively loose amalgamation of “stars,” some with a strong apparent magnitude, some with a strong absolute magnitude. I would argue that those with strong absolute magnitude have staying power regardless whether they are perceived as part of Constellation or not.
Jumping over the hype, it still comes down to who adds value? Analysts like Ray and Maribel Lopez are stars because they add real value in a private advisory setting, and they possess world-class consultancy skills and manners. Ray being one of the fastest Tweeters in the analyst community is not a reason to hire Ray. His abilities to think, to challenge others to think, to service, to apply his deep knowledge of the industry are reasons to hire him.
Will Constellation disrupt Gartner, IDC, Forrester, etc.? I think that has already happened – Dana Gardner, Altimeter, HfS, V3 and the strong independent movement of Enderle, Pund-IT, Lopez, Kay and several No Jitter related analysts etc. have shaken though not entirely stirred the large branded analyst firms. The Big Three seem to be holding together fine, thank you, even given that the previous disruptions, and Constellation, may continue to make holding onto the discretionary spending pie slices – whether IT, LOB, Vendor or Investor – more difficult.
An early mentor of mine once opined “the normal curve applies everywhere.” I believe at some point the sheer weight of statistics will prevent Constellation from including only strong “absolute magnitude” stars. Ray’s challenge and opportunity will be to create a balance of stars, of star-makers, of star-supporters – in order to offer the most compelling value to customers.
[…] Are Analysts the New Media? […]