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The rocky history of an IT consulting pioneer Gideon Gartner, computer analyst extraordinaire, founded information technology consulting firm The GartnerGroup in 1979. The Stamford-based firm was later acquired by ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi in the company's failed effort to become a business services giant. A 1990 buyout led by the firm's management and assisted by Dun & Bradstreet eventually sent the firm's founder packing. The company went public again in 1993; three years later Dun & Bradstreet's stake in the company was transferred to Cognizant (a spin-off of Dun & Bradstreet). IMS Health held a majority of Gartner stock until 1997, and now owns 45 percent of the firm. In 1999, GartnerGroup completed a buy back of the majority of its stock. On the acquisition trail Presently, Gartner boasts more than 35,000 individual clients, representing more than 9,600 organizations. The firm has more than 3,300 employees, including 750 analysts and 700 sales executives. Gartner's growth has exploded in recent years. The firm's revenue jumped from just under $400 million in 1996 to $734 million in 1999. The firm's profits increased 20 percent in 1998 to $87 million. Much of the firm's growth has come through acquisitions. In 1996 alone, Gartner purchased Dataquest, Internet vendor Fox Industries, the Productivity Management Group, CJ Singer, and Nomos Ricerca, an Italian IT consultant. In 1997, Gartner agreed to buy computer market researchers Datapro and Northern Business Information from McGraw-Hill. And in 1998, the firm bought a large stake in new media consulting firm Jupiter Communications. Also that year, the firm announced that Michael D. Fleisher, formerly Gartner's CFO, would become take over the reins as CEO in 1999. In 1999, Gartner acquired 90 percent of Tech Republic, a leading community hub for IT professionals. A personal tech advisor The company thinks of itself as a comprehensive resource for information on the trends of the turbulent IT industry. Gartner's clients receive research and analysis through state-of-the-art delivery mechanisms like CD-ROM, Lotus Notes, Gartner Web, and a World Wide Web-based user forum named @vantage. All told, Gartner offers more than 80 personal advisory services. Its products and services include conferences, symposia, briefings, audioconferences, videoconferences, and vendor exhibits. Aside from providing information to clients, through its many published reports and engagements the firm also serves as something of an expert voice for the IT industry. In 1998, for example, Gartner research director Lou Marcoccio spoke before the U.S. Senate's Special Committee on Year 2000 Technology Problems. Also in 1998, in partnership with Forbes the firm launched Executive Edge magazine, a bimonthly publication about IT targeting senior executives. Getting research done In February 1999, Gartner acquired G2R, a information technology market research firm. G2R will join Gartner's Dataquest, the company's market intelligence unit. Dataquest now has over 70 industry analysts with the acquisition of G2R. G2R joins such other premier IT research holdings as Jupiter Communications.
Gartner applicants should expect fierce competition. One employee describes Gartner's selectivity, noting "the proportion of people chosen is very small given the number of resumes we receive." Gartner conducts initial and final interviews on-campus. Due to Gartner's penchant for acquisition - and the fluctuation in company needs that this growth inevitably inspires - employment opportunities are often in flux.
Growth and hot stock "Gartner is a rapidly growing company with very talented people and the hottest set of products in a very hot area,"declares one insider. "Salaries are pretty good and stock options are possible for top performers." Word on the dress code at Gartner varies. "Casual dress is OK except for two circumstances. First if you're meeting with a client, they make the decision (if they want business attire, we wear suits). Second, when you are on a sales call or at a conference, business attire is required." Yet, another insider says he wears his tie only a few times each year. "It's jeans or Dockers here, plus a knit shirt or sweatshirt." Always in search of more consultants Diversity is something of a non-issue when you're growing as fast as Gartner. "Geez, we need more qualified women, men, minorities, non-minorities - it really doesn't matter," exclaims one consultant. "The issue, especially for the analyst area, is finding the few qualified and motivated people with the right intellect and attitude." An insider from a different department agrees that Gartner has a perennial need for qualified people, and believes that the company is sufficiently egalitarian in its hiring practices. "The majority of the analysts in my team - information security - happen to be female," says that contact. "I do not believe that prejudice is an issue here." All-American One insider who makes frequent trips to Gartner's offices in Europe and Asia identifies a problem with Gartner's rapid growth and international dealings: "We have a very Americanized version of doing business. Not long ago, every decision in the international market had to run through the managers in the American office - even when they had no idea what we were dealing with. Gartner needs to grow up and learn how to be a global player." The consulting-tech wedding In general, employees find Gartner "a happy marriage between the consulting and computer industries." Though most employees turn in the "long hours" expected of the consulting industry, many can work from their home by computer. "Despite the long workdays, Gartner makes a special effort to accommodate employee schedules," reports one Gartner insider. "I work out of an office I built at my house 50 percent of the time and spend another 15 percent of my time in our corporate headquarters. The rest of the time I spend on the road." Who's that? Perhaps the biggest gripe about Gartner has to do with its problems integrating new employees in a proper and healthy way. "It's crazy," declares one insider. "Because of the acquisitions, new colleagues suddenly appear all the time. Not only do they not know what to do, but the training process here is quite scant. By default, it's a learn-by-doing situation." Continues that consultant: "The people who do well here are the people who take initiative. They will ask for help, send e-mails, are bold, and attempt to trade information." What about the people who lack such nerve? "The people who don't take initiative feel isolated; they often produce work which goes unacknowledged." The bottom line: "You cannot be shy at Gartner."
Dan Chig Director of Recruiting Human Resources 56 Top Gallant Road1 Stamford CT 06904-2212
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