- Image by mkrigsman via Flickr
There’s been quite a lot of chatter lately about whether vendors and services providers should renew separately with both Gartner and AMR Research now that the two firms are one. However, perhaps the more important question to ponder first is how practitioners should approach the same issue. I find this point — while certainly not without merit as it applies to the procurement and supply chain world — one that won’t come up at the functional level all that often. This is because most analyst and research decisions and budgets rest outside of the business in most organizations, either with the office of the CIO or under an independent research group. That’s not to say, however, that our voice should not be heeded — or at least factored into the renewal equation. It’s worth offering up a few quick points to help business (vs. IT) practitioners better assess the value they’re getting from Gartner and AMR.
First and foremost, it’s important to measure the usefulness of each firm by the actual number of analysts/consultants you’ve employed, the discussions you’ve had with them, and the particular importance of each. As most folks who read Spend Matters should know by now, the written analyst word is usually not worth the paper it’s printed on. Analyst firms — including Gartner and AMR — are careful about what they say in print vs. what they really think, which is why it’s critical to speak with a researchers directly. This allows you to gain not only a more accurate picture of things, but also the color behind their thinking. If you’re not talking with them, but are just reading their research, it’s probably not worth working with both firms unless you’re planning a particularly large technology decision…
