Yesterday I spent a couple of hours talking to “Analysts” about their perspective on a number of IT Security vendors. The indsutry has numerous different sectors and many of the big players are competing in each other’s spaces. Whilst giving customers a choice of whom to buy from, it is also serving to complicate the buying process.

This is where the Analysts come in, studying the various offerings with the aim of making solid recommendations. However one fundamental issue with any recommendation is the motivation for providing that guidance. In a business environment there will always be an angle to ensure profitability, credibility, customer retention or some other strategic goal. Questions one should ask of the advice are: Is it truly impartial? Is it biased towards a particular vendor? Has the analysis paper been sponsored by a third party? Is the analyst trying to drive the market in a particular direction? Many industry Analysts work for Investment Banks so their guidance will be angled towards Buy/Hold/Sell recommendations, which again need further scrutiny. All Analysts rely on the industry itself, so they are motivated to keep it alive and as big as possible, with some consequently spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Dounbt).

The term “Trusted Partner” gets banded around a lot, especially by Resellers and Service Providers. It’s meant to represent the point in a relationship where guidance and recommendations are more trusted, allowing plans to be made without the usual due diligence and scrutiny. Unfortunately the “Trusted Partner” status is not often achieved, with most business partnerships operating within contractual constraints rather than shared goals, shared risks and mutual trust. In my experience the two factors that are absolutely essential to gain this trust are Credibility and Excellence. Each member of an organisation needs to live and breathe these qualities in everything they do. Repeatedly demonstrating excellence proves credibility which wins future business, and further opportunities to once again demonstrate excellence. It’s a virtuous circle that if done right will build long term strategic partnerships.

Everyone loves doing business with Trusted Partners. It saves time, it’s less risky and in the long run is usually cheaper.

Evaluate the suppliers you do business with and analyse which ones really do have that credibility factor. I recommend you give them more of your business. (But then I would say that wouldn’t I).