Back in 1966, John Lennon’s comment about the Beatles being ‘bigger than Jesus’ caused an almighty controversy, dividing opinion and threatening to turn many US fans against the most successful pop band ever.  As it turned out, the suicidal PR disaster was actually a PR coup in disguise, as the comment became a symbol of the anti-establishment revolution which defined the decade.

Such a comment today would be unlikely to bat many eyelids, but the heresy I’m about to suggest here would – to an IT audience – make Lennon’s look like hymn practice.  Here goes:

“I’d take everything Gartner predicts with a pinch of salt if I were you.”

Shocking I know.  I may as well collect my P45 right now.  But here’s why I said it…  Friends and colleagues who work for US-based technology vendors often (secretly) complain that Gartner does not correctly categorise or even understand its products.  This is particularly the case with ‘disruptive’ technologies which have the capability to rationalize or revolutionise established working practices.  But you know what?  Typically they have to go along with it anyway.  In fact many of these vendors have and will completely realign their entire product strategy according to what the likes of Gartner and other influential analyst firms think, even though this thinking is patently incorrect, and even though end-customers are disproving them in their tens of thousands. 

In today’s straightened times, it seems everyone goes along with this and cannot summon the temerity to question it.  The consensus is that Gartner are very good at reflecting what has happened, but are not good at anticipating or accepting whatever’s new right now.  No one ever got fired for buying Cisco or Microsoft.  Is the same true of Gartner? 
Last week’s announcement that Gartner was acquiring Burton Group bolsters the overwhelming strength of this behemoth.  They may be too big to ignore, but nothing should ever be too important to ever be wrong.

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