He gave a good performance (particularly for
someone who’d only been in the job for 15 days at the time) and was ably
supported by two of his key lieutenants, Ian Charlesworth, director
of IT research and analysis, and Richard Mahony, director of
Telecoms research and analysis.
Steve cleared up some obvious questions. He’s
been brought in to run Ovum. It's business as usual. There will be no merger or
integration of Ovum with other Informa
businesses.
He also confirmed that Ovum’s Telecoms
division and Informa
Telecoms & Media will not be merged (although he acknowledged that some
back-office administrative functions – not related to research and consulting -
are being combined to take advantage of economies of scale).
Steve comes across as a mature and
experienced business leader. Despite his
low-key manner, he is obviously excited about the opportunity to get his teeth
into Ovum and make it a success.
It's also very apparent he is an Informa
man and for Ovum, that's no bad thing.
Steve very clearly understands what is
expected of him and of Ovum. It’s the
kind of clarity that comes when someone has worked for a company at senior
levels for a lengthy period of time. There is deep trust and respect on both
sides. Having someone like this at the
top is likely to pay dividends for Ovum in the longer term.
Judging by Richard and Ian's contributions
to the conversation, they still have huge passion and commitment for their
respective divisions. There is no sense
of disappointment at having missed out on the top job. (Nor from Eamonn Kennedy, director of
tools & insights, who – in spite of having just flown in from India - was
on good form when I bumped into him later).
They spoke eloquently and at length about Ovum’s
capabilities, the experience of their teams, product innovations, the way
analysts work across teams and divisions, and the company’s agility.
Very interesting and positive to see was
Ovum’s willingness to start sharing information on the scale of its work in the
enterprise market (i.e. with technology buyers and users).
The company says the IT division now has 15,000
registered individuals, from 650 enterprise customers, on its IT Knowledge
Centre (the research portal). In 2012,
it was carrying out about one consulting project a week for enterprise clients.
There is also a clear strategy to invest in
growing the enterprise business. This is focused on key vertical markets
including public sector, financial services and communications & media.
This is good news for Ovum. Having a
substantial and growing enterprise base gives any analyst firm clout.
Many analyst companies claim to influence
buyers but very few have been successful at persuading technology buyers to
actually purchase research and consulting.
Those which can prove they act as trusted
advisors to technology buyers are much sought after (not least by technology
providers who believe some of that insight will rub off and help them sell more
products).
So with a growing enterprise business, other
basics in place and most things apparently working well, what else might we see
from Ovum as Steve gets to move forward with the business?
Here are a couple of suggestions:
Show some more ambition
Although Ovum
still considers itself as small compared to many of its competitors, it’s not.
Based on the
number of analysts it employs (about 120) the firm is certainly in the top five
of general ICT analyst firms (three are obvious, we can debate who the fifth is
if you wish).
Ovum has
analysts and customers on four continents – Europe, North America, Asia and
Australasia. These aren’t associates or affiliates or partners. They are real employees. Unlike some analyst
firms which use smoke and mirrors to give the idea that they’re global players,
Ovum’s actually there.
The company has
a powerful parent. Informa is a £1.2 billion GBP ($1.8 billion USD) business. If
it chooses to flex its financial muscle, there are plenty of small and mid-tier
analyst firms out there which could be brought together to really build out
Ovum’s reach in technology areas, verticals and regions.
For instance,
looking regionally, Ovum is still relatively unknown in North America, at least
in the IT space. There are surely growth
opportunities in Brazil. China remains a powerhouse that is underserved by global
analyst firms. And let’s not forget the next
wave of emerging markets which include Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam,
Mexico, Turkey and Argentina.
Ovum has pretended to be a small company for too long. It may just be time now
to capitalize on all the advantages that size can bring.
Tell a compelling, credible story about why Ovum is
better than the rest
Most analyst
relations people will tell you some firms stick out while others blend together
in a grey mush. Gartner advises end-users.
IDC
is the numbers specialist. Current Analysis
provides quick and easy-to-digest competitor intelligence. 451 does emerging technologies. Forrester has roles.
What about Ovum?
The firm definitely thinks it has some clear advantages over rivals and can
articulate these at a divisional level.
What’s still
lacking is a single unifying theme. Without that, Ovum may as well be two
separate organizations – one focused on IT and the other on Telecoms.
We won’t know what’s going to happen for a
while. A period of stability for Ovum will be good but firms also need to
evolve and grow. Vision and leadership are crucial. Steve needs time to understand
the business properly, establish himself as leader and build his vision. Let's
see what he comes up with.
Footnote:
