Industry Analysts: Putting the “arse” in Analyst
I’ve never been a real fan of the output of big “industry analysis” firms, since their reports never seemed to really tell the whole story, and didn’t match up with my experiences “in the trenches”. Now I know why. A representative sample:
“I see. So, the companies in your magic quadrant, are they all paying clients of yours?”
“Well, yes they are,” He said, proudly.
“Well, if they are all paying clients, then what’s so ‘magic’ about being in the quadrant?”
“The companies are not all rated at the same level, some are rated much higher than others.”
“And should I be surprised to hear that the companies that pay you more so you can afford to have entire teams cover them full-time; you tend to know a lot about, and they tend to get better ratings?”
No answer.
“Maybe you should stop calling it the ‘Magic Quadrant’ and call it what it really is; perhaps ‘The Quadrant of Companies That Can Afford To Be In It’.
Go read the whole article, though, it’s pure gold.