I take a simple view of things. If we're meeting customer needs, we'll likely find a way of extracting economic value, be we large firm or small, new or traditional. What's important in my mind, therefore, is my belief that customer needs *have* changed. No longer is tech advice relevant. Much as we've stopped talking about eBusiness because it's now just one component of business, so too can we no longer talk about technology without talking about business, or business without talking about technology. That's where the current model is broken. We're selling technology insights to technologists. Is it any wonder why the average tenure of a CIO is so brief? Only once we've agreed on what the unmet customer needs are can we begin to address the issue of the right approach to satisfy those needs.

Of course it's hugely self-serving of me to say this — this is Datamonitor and Ovum's value proposition, after all — but I dare anyone to say this isn't the unmet need. It's clearly open for debate whether we can do it or what the right approach to meeting that need is, and I certainly acknowledge our challenges in that regard. But if we continue to have this discussion about the analyst industry without turning into a discussion about the customer needs, we won't serve the needs of our customers and potential customers and after all, isn't that the kind of discussion we want to have with them?

I take a simple view of things. If we’re meeting customer needs, we’ll likely find a way of extracting economic value, be we large firm or small, new or traditional. What’s important in my mind, therefore, is my belief that customer needs *have* changed. No longer is tech advice relevant. Much as we’ve stopped talking about eBusiness because it’s now just one component of business, so too can we no longer talk about technology without talking about business, or business without talking about technology. That’s where the current model is broken. We’re selling technology insights to technologists. Is it any wonder why the average tenure of a CIO is so brief? Only once we’ve agreed on what the unmet customer needs are can we begin to address the issue of the right approach to satisfy those needs.

Of course it’s hugely self-serving of me to say this — this is Datamonitor and Ovum’s value proposition, after all — but I dare anyone to say this isn’t the unmet need. It’s clearly open for debate whether we can do it or what the right approach to meeting that need is, and I certainly acknowledge our challenges in that regard. But if we continue to have this discussion about the analyst industry without turning into a discussion about the customer needs, we won’t serve the needs of our customers and potential customers and after all, isn’t that the kind of discussion we want to have with them?