Architect David Linthicum on why analyst reports like Gartner's keep getting it wrong

DavidLinthicum · x · 2026-10-24

Cloud architect David Linthicum explains why he stopped treating big analyst reports (Gartner et al.) as gospel.

These reports pervade board decks, vendor selection, cloud strategy and AI budget exercises; clients even ask him to cite them for credibility, but "a familiar logo does not make the conclusion more correct."
He cites materially wrong calls, like Gartner predicting 80% of enterprises would shut their traditional data centers by 2025 — far from what happened — errors that shaped real enterprise decisions.
He's not attacking the analysts' livelihood, but urging honest skepticism about the track record.

More from AGI Musings