Commentary: We've never met a "thought follower"

A couple of days back, a vendor tried to convince us that their new security consultancy services should be of interest to you, our readers.

The salient points they tried to impress us with were that they are a really, really big company that takes security very seriously. They know all the best practices in the field and can help you to adopt them. And you should turn to them ahead of anyone else because they are "thought leaders."

We responded that we have never heard of a vendor willing to position themselves as a "thought follower," or indeed as in any way inferior to their rivals.

Which brings us to the reason for this commentary.

We believe that when it comes to the subjects we cover at TechTarget ANZ - storage, security and networking - that no-one who works in IT can afford to be a thought follower.

Nor can anyone afford to allow assertions of thought leadership go uncontested. There's simply too much at stake if you fall for a hollow promise.

And that means asking tough questions of those that would claim to have the answers you need to operate your businesses.

We plan to ask those questions as often as possible. It's our way of trying to be a thought leader in our field.

If you think we're not getting it right, let us know. [email protected] is always on!

And for what it is worth, we are now pursuing a client of the vendor concerned in the hope of getting their perspective on the security consultancy services. As soon as we've spoken to them, you'll read about it here!