Andy Abramson, Jon Arnold and other bloggers and online publications have commented on the recent layoff of 20 analysts at Yankee Group. Couple this with layoffs at Heavy Reading/Light Reading following its acquisition of Pyramid Research and I’m a bit sad for my former colleagues and the telecom industry. Then, I think more about what the bloggers are saying and realize that change can be good and necessary for the analyst firms.

Andy noted that “For years analysts have played a crucial role, but it has been the big firms where the mainstream media has looked for insight, just as the clients of the analyst firms have looked as well for market guidance and a sounding board. Now, with a very connected environment, the independent analyst armed with a laptop, a VoIP line, a conference bridge and a web site can rise up and rival the bigger firms and provide the kind of custom insight they used to look to the big firms for.”

This statement reminds me of one of my favorite business books. In the book, “The World is Flat,” Thomas Friedman explains that through the Internet and other telecommunications technologies, geographic boundaries to communicating and competing are falling. The one-man band analyst can appear just as professional as the large organization without the overhead. Although large research firms have greater resources than the smaller firms, there is a new breed of analysts and bloggers who leverage the Internet and the technologies about which they were writing and analyzing. Andy refers to these peoples as Analyst 2.0.

Jon Arnold in his comment on Andy’s blog notes that the role of the analyst is to turn information into knowledge and insight. I agree–It is difficult to place a price on information. Why is a research report valued at $5,000 and a Potter book at $35? It’s the value of the information. The problem faced by research firms is that the value of information quickly becomes stale in a competitive, time-sensitive business. Individuals with less overhead and fewer processes can focus on Internet and quick turnaround to compete successfully with the big boys.

Analysts, whether with “traditional firms,” Analyst 2.0s or bloggers are an important part of Vantage clients’ marketing plans. These people are key influencers to whom media and service providers look for insight. An analyst firm or individual analyst’s greatest asset is the brainpower of the analyst therefore analysts should be judged on their expertise and tenacity and not on the firm with which associated. Timeliness is becoming more critical and the world is flattening. Peronally, I will continue to include analysts and bloggers in the marketing mix and caution clients against dismissing their influence as the industry changes to meet a changing economy.