Earl PerkinsIf you were like me, you were surprised at the announcement this past week of Gartner’s decision to acquire the Burton Group– if you weren’t surprised, you were either psychic or worked on the acquisition. In any event, it was truly welcome news to my colleagues here in the Secure Business Enablement team at Gartner and the Security team in general.
The Burton Group has been a well-respected name for many years in the identity and access management market. Jamie Lewis and his team were “doing” IAM long before it was cool to do so, and the company has gained a solid, well-earned reputation as a group of professionals with depth of experience and deep engagement with the client.
The business model Burton uses provides an evergreen approach to knowing what is happening in the IAM industry and how IAM is used within the enterprise. Their depth of research in chronicling that approach also provides an excellent view into customer progress and the use of technical IAM standards. The company fosters the ability to connect and communicate with the technical audiences at several levels.
And of course, there is Catalyst– their annual conferences that became a bellwether and institution in the IAM industry.
No, I’m not talking Burton up because Gartner acquired them– we have recognized them as formidable competitors in IAM and respected them over the years. For myself personally, at least two opportunities have arisen to allow my direct communications with them. First, I count Gerry Gebel as both a colleague and a friend. We meet and speak together over a cup of coffee whenever we attend common industry summits and vendor analyst conferences. Also, during my employment at Microsoft, I have had the opportunity to read and use the impressive range and depth of Burton research freely.
You may be thinking “oh great, a big long commercial for a Gartner acquisition”, but there is a point to make here. This industry, for vendors and clients alike, must address a spectrum of need– from standards to practices, from architecture to market analysis, from budgeting to policy. The research industry must be prepared to polish the crystal ball and try to “see” as much of the future of IAM as possible to provide all clients with some sense of the market, the technology, and the ultimate impact this critical area of security and IT has on their enterprise and their business. A decision that brings together a spectrum of talent to address this spectrum of need is a win-win for most clients.
There are always concerns by clients about IT research company choice and culture, of traditional reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t deal with a single vendor for such needs. All I can say at this point is that the proof must be in the delivery– if the new Gartner delivers a consistent, quality solution set for customer needs, the rest will work itself out. That’s the idealist in me.
In any case, we are excited about the prospects and the opportunities that this decision has provided to us, and we look forward to the future exchange of knowledge that will make Gartner IAM solutions even better than they are today.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Todd Hanson January 25, 2010 at 1:37 pm
In general, Burton and Gartner have each provided unique forms of counsel to fairly different audiences — at first review, this appers like a logical acquisition for Gartner as it seeks to expand its portfolio of products/services while reaching a wider audience.
2 Earl Perkins January 25, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Hello Todd– you’re absolutely correct, that’s a conclusion that many of us have as well, and is one reason why this is exciting for us. we’re looking forward to the combo.