The IT Skeptic - analysts

Don't go DevOps with a big bang

skeptic — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 21:38:04 +0000

When I see organisations move to agile ways of working using a big bang approach I always wonder to myself just how profound a grasp of Agile they have.

And when I hear analysts recommending such an approach it is hard to understand where they come from.

Abolish the CAB at your peril

skeptic — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:53:45 +0000

There seems to be a fashion for analysts to make rash revolutionary statements. I reckon it is in their KPIs. The normally-temperate Glenn O'Donnell said: "Abolish the CAB!". That is - to put it mildly - a bit rash.

Dev needs to understand what Ops is for

skeptic — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 01:10:16 +0000

A recent blog post made me angry. This is one cause of the Dev-Ops divide: ignorance of what the other side does. I expect some of that in the trade, down at the coalface amongst Dev and Ops practitioners. I don't expect it from Forrester analysts.

Hornbill ITIL State of the Nation survey: Viewer discretion advised

skeptic — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:21:48 +0000

Hornbill has released an ITIL State of the Nation survey [registration required]. I think it is a good report, relative to the usual Crap Factoids we see. It doesn't try to get all worked up about any one number. Sadly I think it still suffers from all the flaws we see in these industry "research" reports. It does however point to one interesting result: ITIL V3 doesn't seem to be taking the world by storm.

CMDB federation - making a dead elephant dance

skeptic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:10:40 +0000

The analysts can beat the drums all they like - they won't make the CMDB dead elephant dance [I'm in training for the World Mixed-Metaphor Championship]. I've talked before about how the analysts are in a symbiotic relationship with the vendor industry: they have to talk new ideas up so as to have some change to write about. Never has this been more clearly illustrated than around CMDB. For one wonderful moment I thought an analyst was going to be skeptical about CMDB but then he beat the drum, or perhaps flogged the dead elephant [there I got another one in!]

Those who would promote CMDB should promote CMDB

skeptic — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:14:50 +0000

Much of what we read about CMDB is actually singing the praises of asset management, network discovery or other simpler technologies. Other benefits attributed to CMDB actually come from process improvement and do not depend on the technology at all. When all you want to sell is a hammer...

EMA CMDB research: where's the wave?

skeptic — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:57:40 +0000

Recent "research" (in the analyst sense of the word) from EMA shows that even amongst those who say they are working on a CMDB [which other numbers indicate is 10%-30% of the ITIL population], those with functional CMDBs remain a minority. This confirms our recent assertion that CMS and SKMS and CMDB represent best practice blue sky. There is nothing "generally accepted" about CMDB practice: about 2%-5% of IT shops I reckon. In true market-hyping fashion Dennis Drogseth of EMA is fond of referring to the "CMDB tidal wave". Based on their own numbers I gotta ask: where's the wave Dennis?

BMC's own CMDB figures - The IT Skeptic

skeptic — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:17:15 +0000

9:32 minutes (3.83 MB)

A podcast of the original post a back-of-an-envelope re-analysis of Forrester and BMC's own CMDB research

Several readers argue well that ROI is not the right measure for a CMDB, but nevertheless management want to know what they get for their money, and BMC's own research suggests "not much".

a back-of-an-envelope re-analysis of Forrester and BMC's own CMDB research

skeptic — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:23:24 +0000

This post has been podcast.

[Updated June 2009: the paper, entitled "The Total Economic Impact of the BMC Atrium CMDB Solution" is here.]

Several readers argue well that ROI is not the right measure for a CMDB, but nevertheless management want to know what they get for their money, and BMC's own research suggests "not much".

Crap Factoid Alert: CMDB savings of more than $1 million per year

skeptic — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:31:38 +0000

This post has been podcast.
This is a CATEGORY 1 Crap Factoid alert from Chokey the Chimp at the IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Warning Service. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Be on EXTREME danger alert for CF "CMDB savings of more than $1 million per year". BMC and Forrester are shovelling it. [Update: the IT Skeptic's own assessment of the numbers here.]

IT analysts produce crap factoids - The IT Skeptic

skeptic — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:05:48 +0000

14:03 minutes (5.64 MB)

This is a podcast of the original article IT analysts produce crap - what to look for in analyst "research"

Analyst crap factoids as memes: nobody thinks any more

skeptic — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:41:43 +0000

There are a couple of fundamental causes underlying the success of analyst crap factoids as memes [a meme is an idea that propagates through the species like a gene].

IT analysts produce crap - what to look for in analyst "research"

skeptic — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:43:51 +0000

This post has been podcast
Crap Factoids are pure B.S. that almost sound like a fact, and will be presented so often that everyone will think it true. Let us look closer at a classic Crap Factoid where the results were deliberately skewed, then hyped up by marketing people, and the resulting Crap Factoid thrown to the winds like GM seed. It is time people called analysts to task for this stuff because we all suffer the consequences when decision makers fall for it.

Crap Factoid Alert: "Two-thirds of companies around the globe are using ITIL"

skeptic — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:55:28 +0000

The IT Skeptic's Crap Factoid Early Warning Service has detected another Crap Factoid (pure B.S. that will be presented so often that everyone will think it true) emerging.

IT Skeptic Awards 2007 - IT Skeptic

skeptic — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:16:37 +0000

14:21 minutes (5.76 MB)

A podcast of the original article

The IT Skeptic is pleased to announce our annual New Year's awards, inaugurated last year. These awards are presented to deserving figures and organisations in the IT industry in general and the ITSM industry in particular.

McKinsey on IT Strategy; a combination of insight and gibberish

skeptic — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 04:01:24 +0000

Most analysts produce a combination of insight and gibberish, none more so than McKinsey.

The CMDB Tidal Wave? More of a ripple.

skeptic — Wed, 16 May 2007 22:21:45 +0000

Dodgy stats and talk-up-the-market hype mar two otherwise interesting articles on CMDB.

The Emperor Still Has No Clothes: no evidence for ITIL

skeptic — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 01:30:25 +0000

We still call ITIL "best" and we still put up business cases for millions of dollars to implement it, yet there has never been any empirical scientific research to show that ITIL does better than, say, astrology as a framework for IT processes.

"The Emperor has no clothes. Where is the evidence for ITIL?" is the second-most-viewed entry on this blog. Now an updated and revised version has been published as an ITSM Watch article.

ITIL reduces costs by up to 48% - another crap factoid to beware of

skeptic — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:36:10 +0000

Time and again the analysts come up with these numbers using totally unscientific methods and before you know it they are gospel and popping up everywhere like bird flu. I'm not sure who's worse; the snake oil salesmen who invent them or the gullible twerps who repeat them.

ooh I got all excited when I read this question in an article on InfoWorld:

1. What can I do with ITIL that I couldn’t do before?

And the answer is......

Debasement of concepts by IT vendors and analysts

skeptic — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:27:27 +0000

This article has been podcast