Constellation Research launches, targets 'broken' IT research model
A group of well-known enterprise IT analysts have formed Constellation Research, a group that will feature a bevy of experts who can be mixed and matched. The aim: Be an alternative to big IT research firms.
In some respects, Constellation Research is a bit of a supergroup, which typically brought big names from various bands together. Constellation aims to combine partners, who have largely been collaborating anyway, to cut through jargon and focus on the IT buyer. Where big research firms offer syndicated research and a panel of analysts, Constellation is aiming to provide more access to experts and will offer:
- Open research.
- Syndicated research, tailored to clients.
- Direct access, via subscriptions or on an ad-hoc basis, including inquiry calls, advisory engagements, and custom projects.
Meanwhile, Constellation aims to be an alternative to the large research shops, which have been acquiring smaller players at a rapid clip. For instance, Gartner owns AMR Research now and also acquired the Burton Group.
Constellation is led by R. Ray Wang, who will be CEO. Other analysts joining the group you'll recognize either on ZDNet or the Enterprise Irregulars group. Here's a look at the coverage areas:
- Phil Fersht will cover business process outsourcing and IT services. He's an AMR Research alum.
- Maribel Lopez will cover the communications industry. Lopez is a Forrester Alum.
- Oliver Marks will focus on collaboration strategy. He's also a ZDNet blogger.
- Vinnie Mirchandani, a Gartner alum, will focus on software negotiations and outsourcing.
- Paul Papadimitriou will be the online media and social networking expert. He's editor in chief of Mobile in Japan.
- Sameer Patel has a bevy of clients such as Ingres and KPMG and will focus on collaboration.
- Alan Silberberg is a government 2.0 expert and Frank Scavo, co-founder of Strativa, will provide IT metric and management knowhow.
Other folks on the Constellation advisory board include Paul Greenberg, who also blogs on ZDNet, as well as Dennis Howlett. Wang said other partners will be named soon.
While it remains to be seen how Constellation fares, there's little doubt that IT buyers want some alternative to the big research houses. If anything Constellation's launch will start an interesting debate around the IT research. Is the IT research model fundamentally flawed?