James McGovern on Transparency

James makes a good point – how transparent are you?

http://duckdown.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-come-redmonk-is-only-analyst-firm.html

No matter how many times you tell me how much a client pays you doesn’t affect your opinion, I’m still going to feel like what you say is a little ‘dirty’…

Lovely piece of bitching

Vendors are biting back, and Gartner have the answers – an interesting little debate…

http://blogs.gartner.com/andreas_bitterer/2008/12/28/setting-the-record-straight/

Irrelevance doesn’t pay

So, now they are feeling the pinch.

Gartner (amongst others) are cancelling conferences, summits, symposia, you name it.

Why?

Times are tough, people are looking to save money and your ROI is incredibly obtuse.  You have become irrelevent to core business.

If you are/want to be a successful analyst, cut through the crap and start telling people how to save money and jobs, NOW.

Start talking about the techniques and technologies that will make a difference, and do it now, in clear, plain English.

I’m not interested in cool, sexy new technology that will pay back over the next 3-5 years.

Running a paid conference in 2009 is tough, very tough.  Budgets are tighter than they have been for a long time, and fripperies such as conferences are right out I’m afraid.

If however, you turn up on my doorstep to tell me about some really cool stuff I can do to become more efficient, fast – then I’m more than happy to listen.

P.S. – Cloud is NOT the answer to everything…