I'm a bit sad to see the 2010 conference season wind down, as it was great to see so many of our research subscribers and it was also great to meet so many people for the first time who shared their challenges and success with content technologies. One question I got over and over again from folks learning about us for the first time was, "where do you get all of the information about the vendors and products that makes it into your research reports and advisory papers?"

I thought I'd share our answer for those who might be wondering the same:

1. First, we talk to customers like you. Your experiences with vendors and technologies form the bedrock of our research and analysis.
2. We debrief consultants and systems integrators who work with multiple competing offerings. They are typically in an excellent position to contrast different vendor approaches.
3. We do real, in-depth demos with vendors, and not just PowerPoint-fueled "briefings." Where it makes sense and adds value, we will test tools hands-on ourselves.
4. We track the same customers, integrators, and vendors for years at a time. This gives us a unique longitudinal perspective on trends and tendencies.
5. We rotate analysts covering a particular tool from time to time, to bring fresh perspectives to vendors and platforms.

If you are a customer, consultant, or systems integrator of one of the more than 150 content technology vendors and products we cover and would like to share your experiences, we'd love to talk to you. Just contact us for details.