The influencer ecosystem for enterprise cloud computing shifted here in the US today with Burton Group formally entering the tech research and advisory fray. The launch moves them directly into the line of influence with all of their clients, because they already cover the primary tech and service areas that make up cloud computing and because they are offering all active clients immediate access to the cloud service for a limited time.
When Burton Group talks about clients, it’s talking about tech decision-makers at Fortune 500 / Global 1000 companies with annual revenues of $12bn and up.
In truth, Burton Group has been influencing enterprise cloud computing decisions under the public radar for some time now. Drue Reeves, who heads cloud computing research, explained, “Cloud computing touches on everything we cover, from security and privacy to SLAs and compliance to data centers and storage.” Clients are ready to talk about where cloud computing makes sense and where it doesn’t in their particular circumstance.
He said that clients have been probing into cloud computing within the individual Burton service areas to such an extent that it was a natural choice to add cloud to their all-in-one IT1 service.
IT1 is a popular alternative to traditional service- and seat-based pricing. According to Gary Hein, service director for cloud computing, IT1 accounts for as much as half of Burton Group revenues. IT1 provides enterprise-wide all-you-eat access to all Burton research along with perks such as analyst face time and designated research assistants. IT1 subscribers have exclusive access to enterprise architecture (EA) and ITIL, and now cloud computing.
Cloud computing will be a primary focus at Burton Group Catalyst Conference 2009, from keynotes and dedicated sessions to content woven into tech-specific tracks. In addition, the service is publishing a half dozen reports including new titles on cloud computing and recent titles covering key strategy and decision areas. You can also catch an introductory teleconference on May 20th.
Here’s more of my Q&A with Drue and Gary, followed by the list of analysts adding cloud to their coverage.
Q: What’s the average price for an IT1 subscription?
A: It’s negotiated individually with each enterprise.
Q: Are you increasing the pricing of IT1 now that you’ve added cloud computing?
A: No. This year there are no price increases. Usually, you would expect small increases, not this year. This makes sense when you consider IT1 is driving up our usage rates and contract value.
Q: Where have you cut back on coverage to accommodate this expansion?
A: We have not made cuts in coverage.
Q: Do you expect cloud computing to catch on for the long-term? or is this another tech fad?
A: We do expect it to catch on. It’s not dissipating in any way. We think it will catch on because the issues it addresses (cost and complexity of IT, need for greater agility, etc.) will not go away.
Q: Why are IT professionals becoming so comfortable so quickly with cloud computing?
A: They are already familiar with cloud concepts. And, they have some wins in these areas. That gives them confidence.
Q: What’s the short answer to the difference between IT outsourcing, hosting and cloud computing?
A: The 3 are distinct but the boundaries between them are blurry. Putting it very simply: cloud uses an on-demand business model; outsourcing entails contracting specific resources; hosting entails contracting specific physical resources.
Some people are presenting cloud as all internal or all external. There are lots of different patterns for this, including some use of internal clouds or “private” clouds. It’s also more a case of a steady migration. You might move from internal virtualization to hosted solutions to cloud. Our customers are evolving in hybrid models — such as introducing SaaS then adding EC2 for compute infrastructure.
Q: Are your clients concerned about their staffs or jobs being replaced by the cloud?
A: There’s a little sensitivity. On the whole, though, cloud computing should free up resources from mundane tasks — such as patch management — so they can focus on the more strategic projects. Also, there may be a shift, with jobs moving to cloud providers.
Q: Are you going to cover green clouds?
A: We already do, through the data center strategies services. That rolls up to the cloud coverage. And, we don’t say green. We say energy efficiency.
Cloud computing - Burton influencers
The core analyst team is adding cloud coverage to their ongoing coverage areas:
Drue Reeves: Research Director, virtualization, compute, storage
Bob Blakely: Identity, security
Anne Thomas Manes: Platform, development
Dave Passmore: Networking, service providers
Guy Creese: Collaboration, content
Dan Blum: Security, risk management
Chris Haddad: Platform, development
Marcus Collins: Database, data management
Chris Howard: CxO messaging, business drivers
Gary Hein: Service Director
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Gartner, Inc.’s acquisition of META Group has sparked industry discussion about top industry analyst alternatives to Gartner. Tekrati asked seven of the top choices in North America to state their case for technology users and vendors. In addition, this report highlights two stand-out firms from among the hundreds offering specialized expertise and services.
Top picks include well-known firms — Forrester Research, IDC and AMR Research — and four lesser known firms: Burton Group, Info-Tech Research Group, The 451 Group, and The Advisory Council.
We also highlight two stand-outs among hundreds of firms offering specialized expertise: Nucleus Research and AMI-Partners.
This Tekrati Special Report is divided into several sections. We invite you to comment and trackback at the Tekrati Weblog, using the links at the bottom of each page. To date, two comments have been posted to the Introduction.
- Special Report: Alternatives to Gartner, Introduction: Overview of the special report and listing of the analyst firm spokespeople who responded to our questions.
- Special Report: Alternatives to Gartner, Technology User Viewpoint: Tekrati asked seven of the top choices in North America, “What is the primary reason that former META clients, from the end user community, should short-list your company for their industry research and advisory needs?” Here’s how they responded.
- Special Report: Alternatives to Gartner, Vendor/Provider Viewpoint: Tekrati asked seven of the top choices in North America, “What is the primary reason that former META clients, from the vendor community, should short-list your company for their industry research and advisory needs?” Here’s how they responded.
- Special Report: Alternatives to Gartner, Differentiators against Gartner: Tekrati asked seven of the top choices in North America, “What are the primary characteristics that differentiate your company from Gartner, Inc.?” Here’s how they responded.
- Special Report: Alternatives to Gartner, Free-form Comments: Tekrati asked seven of the top choices in North America, “Any related quotes or comments you would like to provide?” Here’s how they responded.
- Special Report: Alternatives to Gartner, Specialized Expertise Firms: Hundreds of industry analyst firms offer specialized expertise on topics from browsers to globalization to storage to telecommunications. Some serve only technology providers within an industry, some focus on geographical regions, others serve only technology users. Two of the stand-outs in this arena are Nucleus Research and AMI-Partners.
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A few industry analysts are experimenting with weblogs, or “blogging”, as an additional, more informal or more immediate vehicle for expression. For analyst relations managers, the greatest value of these first-generation analyst blogs is not in delivering influence or mentions for their employer. The value is in providing candid insights into analysts as normal, socially connected human beings.
AR Benefits Embedded in Weblogs
Thoughtfully reading analyst blogs can help you maintain a healthy attitude about initiating and building analyst relationships. After all, it’s easy to think of analysts only as gatekeepers of your firm’s reputation. Blogs can pull you out of this unhealthy state of mind.
Blogs reveal analysts as well-rounded individuals. You get a quick sense of their personal perspectives: who they think is or is not influential, what they read, what seems surreal and, how high tech touches their own human experience. Blogs tend to reveal all of this, and more.
Often, analyst weblogs reveal a reaction or opinion in its earliest stage of development. This is the kind of personal expression you don’t see in traditional industry research publications. For example, you can see what brought an incident or idea to their attention and their immediate reaction to it. Some analysts include references to other people inside the industry who share similar or condratictory reactions. Others point back to earlier research.
More AR Envy
It’s appropriate to note that analyst weblogs to date show no downsides for analyst relations managers. This is yet another cause for envy by public relations counterparts.
Blogs are complicating life for many public relations professionals. Some columnists and journalists are blogging in parallel to their traditional editorial presence. This mucks up PR effectiveness and ROI measurements, such as press clips weighted by publication. Do you rate the journalist’s importance in the same way, whether the clip is from a personal blog or the leading publication? Do you ignore the blog? How do you know who’s reading the blog?
Analyst relations program measurements are more focused on relationship factors, and therefore less subject to such dilemmas. In addition, blogging fits well in the complex landscape of industry research deliverables.
Analyst Weblogs and AR Best Practices
All AR program benefits — information exchange, trust, advice, fair analysis, media mentions, sales leads, short-listing — depend on healthy analyst/vendor relationships. Healthy relationships, in turn, depend on a good understanding of the analysts. It’s a good idea to embrace weblogs into AR best practices. Off the cuff, consider adopting five steps:
- Track down the blogs your analysts are writing. Don’t be afraid to simply ask if web searches do not produce results.
- Browse the analyst blogs periodically to get a better sense of their personalities, interests and rationale. This is most useful if practiced regularly, rather than when you are preparing a briefing book.
- Include weblog URLs in analyst profiles for your spokespeople and executives. In particular, ensure that executive relations and buddy program participants browse their analyst’s weblog.
- Keep an eye out for weblogs of employees within your company. You don’t necessarily want to find out about them from an analyst during a visit. Point the analyst to worthwhile weblogs of your official spokespeople, evangelists and executives.
- Keep a healthy perspective on your role as a relationship facilitator and primary support contact. What you bring to the relationship will have a bearing on the analyst’s attitude toward working with the vendor you represent. Remember that industry analysts are more than industry watchers, consultants or statisticians: they’re human beings.
If analyst blogs are new to you, take a few minutes now to browse some of the blogs at these links:
Burton Group
Jupiter Research
Amy Wohl
Reprinted from Tekrati
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