Hope my friend Phil Wainewright does not mind my ripping off the title of his new post.
But to me the big accident that happened was someone decreed one group of vendors should develop software, and another group should implement and maintain that software.
It’s changing.
Appirio briefed me yesterday about the Professional Services Enterprise vertical product they have developed on the force.com platform. So I asked them – are you becoming more of a software company, less of a systems integrator? Their response, oblivious to the difference - “we are a cloud solutions provider”
A few hours apart, Vana Consulting informed me they had released human resource, talent management, and collaboration solution for small to mid size businesses built on the Zoho’s platform. Oh and on the side Vana also delivers services arounf Success Factors, PeopleSoft and Oracle HR products,
I bloggedon Sunday about Zyme breaking free from the traditional linear services model based on chargeable hours.
Last month I ran a guest column from the CEO of Corefino where she described how she is blending software and services in her next-gen BPO.
Four companies too young to remember the accident…
Un-hyping the Gartner Hype Cycle
Every summer, usually around July, Gartner issues its Hype Cycle for emerging technologies. It’s Jackie Fenn’s signature product each year and she is one smart analyst.
And it sets off a flurry of press releases from fans and detractors of the categories they catalog. So this year, I have heard from plenty – Cloud computing is overhyped. So is Green IT (both are at the “hump” of inflated expectations in 2009).
Guys, don’t take the hype cycle literally. Neither clouds nor green showed up in the 2007 Hype Cycle below. Not on the radar at all. In reverse, Fixed Mobile Convergence and Mobile TV which were at the hump in 2007 are nowhere in the 2009 graph.
What does this mean?
a) Category names morph as they mature. Many converge into others.
b) Never before has there been so much simultaneous innovation in so many tech categories. I mean I can easily average 500 innovation posts a year on New Florence. One Gartner graph with 50 or so categories is not going to cover them all.
c) Gartner is inconsistent at the category level – e.g.“Web 2.o” at the same level as “Bluetooth in automotive”- some are products, some are concepts, some are markets with many products
d) They real strength of Gartner is summarization of their conversations with hundreds of buyers and vendor clients. That allows for good short term confirmation, but not always long-term or even mid-term forecasting.
So take the hype cycle as one snapshot of innovation in the market. And with a grain of un-hype.
August 24, 2009 in Industry analysts (Gartner, Forrester, AMR, others), Industry Commentary | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (1)