International research firm Gartner has appointed South African analysts - the firm`s first analysts on the African continent.
Renee Jacobs, MD of Gartner Africa, the local franchisee of the research firm`s global operations, made the announcement this morning during her welcoming address at the start of the Gartner ITxpo conference in Cape Town.
"This is a significant milestone for Gartner Africa. We have a particularly strong local team of consultants and the fact that Gartner International has recognised the intellectual capital in our team is testament to our standing in the global IT arena," Jacobs said.
The two analysts are Johan Jacobs and Les Stevens, both senior consultants within Gartner Africa and who joined the organisation after Gartner purchased rival US research firm Meta last year.
Johan Jacobs, who has 21 years in the IT industry, specialises in sourcing and the applications environment including enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and business intelligence.
Stevens focuses on IT risk management, business continuity, and all aspects of information security including strategy, processes and architecture. He has had 15 years` experience in the IT industry.
Renee Jacobs said both men have a deep understanding of the challenges facing companies in the South African context. "This coupled with the pool of international expertise, will give local clients access to the finest business insight available," she said.
The appointment of locally based analysts allays criticism of the lack of permanent analysis of the local market, conference delegates said in reaction.
"Having these two people appointed as consultants, based in this country, certainly will help us [the clients] to access them faster and also gives us the feeling that they are taking SA seriously," one of the delegates said.
The two analysts join Gartner`s 650 other analysts located in various places around the world.
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