Steve Duplessie’s ESG Acquires CentricInfo

The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), an IT industry analyst and strategic consulting organization, announced the expansion of its coverage and analysis in Data Management, with a specific focus on databases, data warehousing, business intelligence, and data integration.

To accelerate its entry in this segment, ESG acquired CentricInfo of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, adding founder Julie Lockner to its expert team as a senior analyst and vice president of IT Advisory Services for Data Management. This acquisition will extend ESG’s advisory services for IT organizations and technology vendors looking to better understand the current and future market dynamics associated with this increasingly important area of technology.

As companies of all sizes struggle with the explosion of data, there is an increased demand for business analytics and data warehousing services. ESG estimates that Data Management is an $11 billion market, growing annually at twenty percent. IT organizations who want to align IT services with business requirements to create a more time- and cost-efficient data center will now be supported by ESG’s advisory services and world-class research covering forward-looking market trends in Data Management.

"We all know databases are important, but now the challenges are greater – ‘big data’ is a big deal. According to ESG research, managing big data is a 2011 top five strategic investment," stated Steve Duplessie, founder and senior analyst at ESG. "Organizations need insight into their businesses from the massive amounts of data maintained across the enterprise. Broadening our portfolio of quantitative and qualitative research, market analysis, and IT advisory services to cover big data and other Data Management issues will provide end-users and vendors guidance in navigating these technologies and opportunities, especially with Julie Lockner at the helm."

Industry veteran Julie Lockner joins ESG as a senior analyst to provide insight on segment trends. Julie has over 15 years experience architecting, developing, and marketing business application software. In her previous role of founder and president of CentricInfo, she led a specialized team of consultants who could rapidly assess business requirements, and architect and implement solutions. The ESG Data Management segment covers an array of technologies and trends.

Key focus areas include:

• Data warehouse software and appliances, business alignment and data governance.
• Data integration and data quality.
• Business intelligence and data analytics.
• Transaction processing systems.

In addition, Lockner leads ESG’s IT Advisory Services for Data Management with a specific focus on helping IT organizations implement data management strategies that improve efficiencies in the workplace, reduce risk of non-compliance, and lower the cost of managing information. This new consulting practice examines applications and business processes that create, use, and access data, as well as the server, network, and storage infrastructure supporting the data warehouse to best align technology with business needs. The practice also supports Data Management vendors and IT departments who need guidance in navigating database, data warehouse, business intelligence, and data integration market trends and technology developments.

"From Informatica’s viewpoint, the consolidation of database and storage vendors in the market requires a perspective that takes both technologies into consideration when analyzing market trends and servicing end-users," said Adam Wilson, general manager, ILM at Informatica. "With the acquisition of CentricInfo, ESG is clearly adding solid domain expertise to address the shift in the market, providing value to Data Management vendors and practitioners."