I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have sat-in on the webcast today by HIMSS Analytics and Kroll, based on my earlier prompting via the post this morning.   The webcast was arguably the most blatant sales pitch/webcast I have ever had to experience, and I have personally participated in many and listened to many, many more. Had I known what to expect, I would have never suggested you attend this particular webcast.

So, what did I find so offensive?  Among other things…

• Softball questions from the HIMSS Analytics presenters to the “expert” from Kroll.  And this was not just a rare question here and there, but a question with each and every slide.
• Presenting data that was often ambiguous, inconclusive and not worth discussing – a waste of my time.
• A good five minutes of a total 45 minutes spent at the end talking about Kroll.  Please, did you not tell me enough already over the course of the preceding 40 minutes about all Kroll knows?  Did you really have to barrage me with another five minutes of sales?  Argghhhh.

Now I have nothing against Kroll themselves.  I am sure they are a fine firm and having been in the security business for decades, surely they know what they are doing.

But as one who has been in the analyst business for well over a decade, I do have a beef with HIMSS Analytics as it is quite clear that they do not have a clue as to how to run this type of business.  To be a reputable analyst firm, credibility, objectivity, neutrality and intelligence must be demonstrated.  Unfortunately, very little of this was demonstrated today.