If you're wondering what tech analyst firms will look like in the future, take a peek at RedMonk. That's a link to their company page but let's face it, faceless corporate pages suck so here's where you should really be going:
And here's why:
We support our subscribers by tailoring our analysis to their needs, helping them understand a world that is changing ludicrously fast, with insights, contexts, and narratives, rather than trying to sell them a place on a quadrant or a pay for play research note, or a library of research they will never read.
Anyone that has worked at a company whose strategy is driven by Gartner magic quadrants instead of customer demand will understand why RedMonk is important.
So how is RedMonk doing financially? I don't know. What I do know is that my aspirations for providing competent and honest technical innovation to solve real problems relies heavily on their model of providing competent and honest analysis being successful somehow.