‘Optimize’ ranks the analysts, fails math test

CMP’s magazine for CIOs, Optimize, has surveyed its readers and concluded that most of them find Gartner to be the most influential firm. This is what they say — add up the numbers with me.

“A full 73% of more than 1,000 Optimize readers surveyed ranked Gartner as the most-influential analyst firm. Competitors lagged significantly: Forrester ranked second (37%), followed by Yankee Group (22%), IDC (21%), AMR (11%), and all others (3%).”

It add up to a total of 167%, reflecting a ‘special feature’ of Optimize’s research: multiple responses were allowed. Methodologically, this is mistaken. If one CIO is influenced by four analyst firms and another by only one, then their influence is not the same.

Duncan Chapple

Duncan Chapple is the preeminent consultant on optimising international analyst relations and the value created by analyst firms. As SageCircle research director, Chapple directs programs that assess and increase the business value of relationships with industry analysts and sourcing advisors.