This is the first post on the new GCG blog on the new GCG website. It’s almost embarrassing how long it has taken us to put up a truly interactive web site that includes a blog and access to our research. (Correction to last sentence: it isn’t “almost embarrassing” – it’s truly embarrassing, particularly for an IT analyst firm.). But now is not the time for recriminations and blame plenty of time for finger pointing and show trials later, when we run out of stuff to blog about. So, let’s move on and talk about this shiny new site. I’m pretty sure that the advent of our blog marks the absolute top of the blogging trend. I’m not the kind of guy who goes in for every new thing that comes down the pike.my ancestors regarded fire as only a fad, and believed the wheel would never amount to anything, but, on the other hand, were early investors in biotechnology (leech farms).
On a serious note, the blog will be a great mechanism for promoting two-way communication between us, our clients, and anyone else who is interested in kicking around IT and business issues. Our main interest is continuing to learn about how real-world data centers are helping organizations operate more effectively and efficiently. To that end, our conversations with people in data centers are very valuable to us. For our part, we can provide information about how other customers are dealing with important IT/business issues and give you the lowdown on vendor plans and strategies. We are also making selected GCG research reports available (for free, no less) on our Recent Research page all you have to do is register and you’ll get full access. We won’t ever reveal any of your details or contact information, and we will never spam you or try to sell you anything. You can also buy other research reports in our GCG Research Warehouse well, it’s not really a warehouse we’re still populating it, but there are a goodly number of interesting documents to choose from.
As part of our basic research, we run Vendor Preference Surveys in the Unix and x86 server markets. These surveys allow customers to rate and rank the various vendors on a wide variety of technical and customer support criteria. You can find summaries of our recent surveys in the Recent Research section of the site. We’re constantly on the lookout for data center personnel who would like to participate. Survey respondents get three rewards: 1) an Amazon.com gift certificate; 2) Results of the research; and 3) The exhilaration and satisfaction that comes from making your voice heard (try paying your mortgage with that!) If you’re interested in participating, drop us an email on the Contact GCG page.
Let us know if there is anything on the site that doesn’t work or should work better. Or if there is anything that is misspelled, or if you don’t like the colors, or anything else of interest and, if you’re still reading, thanks for taking a look.