I seem to be one of the few people who mourns the Ovum / Datamonitor divorce. Making the combined offer work was always going to take time as it required huge cultural change. You were effectively bringing together three different organisations (Ovum, Butler Group and Datamonitor) and trying to create something new. That takes much longer than most people realise.
I had a glimpse of how powerful the Collaborative Intelligence approach could be when working with the combined energy/utilities team. The combination of vertical business and technology expertise allowed Ovum to shine brightly, eclipsing its competitors. It will be a great loss to the IT industry if the re-organisation means that type of collaboration isn't nutured and encouraged.
The IT world needs Ovum. Or more accurately, it needs another company that is capable of being a global competitor to Gartner. IDC does this successfully in its chosen market segment. Forrester is still pushing hard, with its role-based model and its recent expansion into Asia-Pacific. Ovum had a chance to be a player at that table. I wonder if it can still make it.
