I was chatting with some folks from Trilogy at the LOMA show way back when, and in the meeting were some people from Accenture. Trilogy and Accenture had just announced a partnership. When I asked about a consulting firm (supposedly objective) being partners with a software company (clearly not), one of the Accenture guys, Mark Coleman, said, "The days of completely objective software consulting are gone."
That's telling.
Coleman wasn't saying anything that should surprise anyone. If you believed that any consultant is objective, you're pulling the wool over your own eyes. In some cases, like Accenture's, the company has a relationship with a vendor. (So asking Accenture "What software should I use?" would seem to be asking "What Trilogy product should I use?") In other cases, the consultant may simply have a grudge against a vendor, or just like doing business with one particular company-maybe he's dating someone there.
The whole process is what my friend Tom calls "a willful suspension of disbelief." When you order the chicken sandwich in a restaurant, you believe the staff washes its hands. When you climb on board an airplane, you believe the pilot isn't distracted by gambling debts. And when you turn to a consulting firm, you believe you're going to get the right solution-not just a solution from one of its "global partners."
Traditionally, you'd turn to magazines, newspapers, and Web sites to get a broader and hopefully more objective view-unless that magazine runs articles based on who advertises; see my May note. But someone said to me that the problem with all the magazines in this industry is that we run some combination of rewritten press releases and articles that consist of 'a bunch of quotes from corporate marketing people put in some kind of order.'
That's not what we want to do. We want you to be able to get useful information out of Tech Decisions, not the kind of fluff you can get from a marketing brochure (or a global consulting partner). Granted, no one is going to make a $5 million purchasing decision based on what he reads here, but you should at least come away from each issue with some new ideas, a fresh perspective, or a list of questions you need to answer.
Over the next few issues we're going to be implementing changes that have been six months in the making. You'll notice the cosmetic things first-a new look to some of our inside pages and a tweak to the cover design that emphasizes our insurance focus. Soon, though, the real changes begin as we add some new sections, new writers, and new commentary, all designed to keep us as the best-read magazine covering insurance and technology.
Our goal has always been to make Technology Decisions the most useful, most interesting magazine for this industry. We think we've done that, but we never rest on our laurels. As these changes unfold, let us know what you think-good and bad. Write to me at [email protected].
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.