Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management

    As Gartner Buys Rival, IT Loses a Voice

    By
    Stan Gibson
    -
    January 10, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      While you were away for your holiday vacation, Meta Group was acquired by Gartner. Sure, it wasnt Oracle-PeopleSoft, but it was a significant acquisition that could end up touching more IT decisions than some of the more vaunted industry megamergers.

      Gartner sits atop the pile of analyst/market research companies made up of the likes of IDC, Forrester Research, Aberdeen Group and others. Its the go-to group when IT pros have doubts about a vendor or a deployment strategy. A “.5” probability from Gartner rather than a “.8” probability has no doubt changed many IT decisions over the years.

      On the whole, IT people I talk to are pleased with the services they receive from Gartner. Many of them look forward to Gartners annual Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Fla., where they get their fill of PowerPoint presentations, Venn diagrams, and charts showing whos in and whos out of the coveted “Magic Quadrant.”

      In 2003, Gartner generated $858 million in revenue, dwarfing Metas $122 million. Going up against its giant Stamford, Conn., neighbor, Meta played the part of feisty upstart. As recently as the spring of 2003, Meta launched a major marketing campaign directed against Gartner, under the headline: “Meta vs. Mega.”

      Its rare for consultancies to directly target each other in that way, and it was indicative of a shrinking demand for their services and the apparent belief on the part of Meta that it would have to increase its market share at Gartners expense, rather than by attracting new clients.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifClick here to read about Gartners take on Linux in the enterprise.

      At that time, companies were cutting back on the number of consultants they were using, and theres no sign that theyll start adding them back any time soon. Meta had been seeking a buyer since last summer, and the fact that its acquirer turned out to be its hometown rival and nemesis can be seen only as a surrender. Gartner will pay approximately $162 million for Meta.

      Meta was not the first significant IT market research company to disappear in recent memory. Forrester acquired Giga Information Group a couple of years ago, in the midst of the dot-com bust. All the major analyst companies had layoffs during that time and deservedly so if you consider that many of them were driving the dot-com hysteria, and few of them predicted the depth and duration of the subsequent bust.

      Gartner has acquired 29 companies since 1993, but until the Meta deal, none since August 2002. With IT having emerged from the nuclear winter of 2001 to 2003, one might have thought it was time for more analyst companies, not fewer. I guess not. The Motley Fool reports that consolidation is the order of the day in consulting and suggests that Forrester and JupiterResearch also could be active on the acquisitions front this year.

      With both companies sharing the same hometown, presumably, Meta analysts who work in the Stamford area wont have to relocate. Press releases from both companies lauded the complementariness of the companies, as one might expect.

      Despite synergies, the loss of Meta as an independent company means there is less choice among IT analysis companies. Thats not such a good thing for IT professionals. While there are still choices, further consolidation looms, threatening to bring with it less competition and less divergence of viewpoint. Because the ability to compare perspectives in sorting out the truth is critical, it also means there is less value in the work of the remaining consulting companies.

      Out and about

      The IT consulting arena is not the only one thats seeing rampant consolidation. Jim Beam Brands signed on with HP Services to “upgrade its e-business infrastructure to support newly merged entities as well as to cater to any potential future mergers or acquisitions,” officials said. HP will deploy Microsofts .Net technologies at Beam, which was one in a flurry of deals announced at years end by HP Services, giving the HP unit a 13 percent increase in bookings year over year.

      Stan Gibson can be reached at stan_gibson@ziffdavis.com.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on IT management from CIO Insight.

      Stan Gibson
      Stan Gibson is Executive Editor of eWEEK. In addition to taking part in Ziff Davis eSeminars and taking charge of special editorial projects, his columns and editorials appear regularly in both the print and online editions of eWEEK. He is chairman of eWEEK's Editorial Board, which received the 1999 Jesse H. Neal Award of the American Business Press. In ten years at eWEEK, Gibson has served eWEEK (formerly PC Week) as Executive Editor/eBiz Strategies, Deputy News Editor, Networking Editor, Assignment Editor and Department Editor. His Webcast program, 'Take Down,' appeared on Zcast.tv. He has appeared on many radio and television programs including TechTV, CNBC, PBS, WBZ-Boston, WEVD New York and New England Cable News. Gibson has appeared as keynoter at many conferences, including CAMP Expo, Society for Information Management, and the Technology Managers Forum. A 19-year veteran covering information technology, he was previously News Editor at Communications Week and was Software Editor and Systems Editor at Computerworld.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×