Highlights
In 2007, revenue per billable consultant hit $400,000, on par with top strategy firms.
In a Gartner survey released in ’06, 66 percent of U.S. companies predict an increase in IT staffing during the next year.
In 2006, warned administrators to be “more aggressive” when protecting their Oracle applications, claiming that the database giant isn’t offering enough help.
In 2005, Acquired Meta Group, an IT research and consulting firm.
2004, former ADP executive Gene Hall became CEO.
Gartner is a research and advisory firm. It specializes in helping clients with hardware and software purchasing, communications, and other IT-related decisions and implementations. The firm has four main units: research services; consulting; events, including symposia and conferences on topics relevant to senior IT and business professionals; and executive programs, encompassing networking services and membership programs.
Gartner consulting covers four areas: sourcing, or advice and project management on IT outsourcing, offshore resources, and business process outsourcing; IT management and measurement, including advisory support for applying Gartner research to IT issues; federal government, including IT solutions for federal agencies; and market and business strategies, which involve applying Gartner’s research to assist technology companies in identifying demand and improving products.
Gartner has 60,000 clients, representing 10,000 organizations in 75 countries. Boeing, Microsoft, and Toshiba are among the companies it serves. Silver Lake Partners acquired $300 million of the firm’s debt in 2000 and converted its holdings to stock in 2003. It now owns a 13 percent stake in Gartner.
Although the firm generally recruits according to need, it does visit some college campuses. Current open positions call for experienced professionals. Gartner’s website is unique in that it features the photos, biographies, and publications of all its analysts and consultants. A number of those individuals have been with the company for a decade or more, and have scores of years under their belts in the high-tech industry. In short, this isn’t the place to pick up industry experience—it’s the place to apply it.