IDC and Microsoft Negotiate the Results of Studies

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2009-01-03 14:38:30 UTC
Modified: 2009-01-03 14:40:47 UTC

IDC headline

FOR reasons that we mentioned in the past, the Gartner Group utterly lacks credibility. It negotiates its output with companies that are also its clients. IDC is very much the same, as we pointed out before. Sadly, IDC is not just an analyst firm as it also owns lots and lots of media outlets, which are of course biased (they rely on funding, e.g. through advertising or contracts) and it sometimes goes as far as historical revisionism.

Here is an another antitrust exhibit which shows an IDC report being mailed to Microsoft for review before being published [PDF]. The mail says: "I hate to put it like this, but at this point, IDC is done negotiating with us. We have moved them quite a bit already, but they are now holding the line, saying that if we want the names of their ‘big’ analysts on the report this is it."

Why is there wiggling room anyway?

This may be less of a 'smoking gun' than this one [PDF], where Microsoft is removing the sponsorship from an IDC study. We wrote about it over a year ago. Responsible for that FUD was also Peter Galli, a former reporter who now reports directly to Microsoft. ⬆

Comments

ushimitsudoki

2009-01-03 14:49:52

I know this is pure speculation on my part, but I just love the implication that IDC would move the line, but they would get a "lesser" analyst name on the report.

Like there's a credibility menu with prices, and you can pick a la carte or something.
Diamond Wakizashi

2009-01-03 18:55:50

Ballmer would be frothing at the mouth like a rabid mongrel if they released a study he didn't like.
Roy Schestowitz

2009-01-03 20:04:43

From people who know:

"Ballmer has picked up the phone shot/shouted at the analysts (that’s the expression they used)"

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IDC and Microsoft Negotiate the Results of Studies

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