Top 10 Most Read Blog Entries of 2013 Written in 2013; #5 – #1

The Top 5 most viewed blog entries of 2013 that were written in 2013 on DCIG’s website reflected a substantial change from past years as to what content individuals most often come to DCIG’s website to read. In the past, visitors typically came to DCIG’s website to get very detailed product specific information that they could not get elsewhere. 2013 showed that individuals still come to DCIG’s website for that information. However they are also looking for much more general information about multiple products and they specifically want DCIG’s viewpoint on which product is the “Best-in-Class.”
#5 – DCIG 2013 Virtual Server Backup Software Buyer’s Guide Now Available. Jerome Wendt. Of all of the Buyer’s Guides that DCIG produces, this one has always created the most vocal response (for and against) so it should come as no surprise that the blog entry announcing its availability is also one of the most read blog entries on DCIG’s website. The DCIG 2013 Virtual Server Backup Software Buyer’s Guide itself evaluates 22 backup software solutions from 18 different providers and provides the critical information that all size organizations need when selecting backup software that is specifically tuned to protect virtualized environments.
#4 – Breaking Up is Hard to Do. Jim Nash. This blog entry comes from our sales side of the house and reflects DCIG’s somewhat incredulous reaction as to why one of our clients decided to cancel services with DCIG. In this particular instance, a value added reseller has signed up for DCIG’s Lead Generation program that identifies potential leads based on using DCIG Buyer’s Guide as the download content. As a result of using this program, this client called to tell us the following; “We just finished closing the 3rd piece of business as a result of your Lead Gen program, but we are cancelling the engagement because we don’t think that it works very well.”
This left us completely befuddled. This reseller had been using the program in less than two weeks and, while using it, had uncovered net new opportunities in which they were not previously engaged or even aware existing. Jim told me privately that finding and closing one piece of business like this in such a short period of time is like finding a unicorn in your backyard. To find and close three deals in this period of time is unheard of and then to come back and say it is not working – he was astounded, to say the least. However at the end of the day DCIG can only lead a unicorn to water. We cannot make it drink.
#3 – A Practical Solution to Today’s Problem of Connecting IT Buyers to the Right Vendors at the Right Time. Jerome Wendt. The impetus behind this blog entry was the struggle that every IT person faces – whether on the user or vendor side. What makes the IT profession unique – maybe more so than any other profession – is the rapid pace of change in this industry and the constantly balancing act that IT individuals must perform between managing existing technologies while evaluating and purchasing new ones.
Aggravating the process of educating and evaluating oneself new technologies in an objective and efficient manner is the difficulty IT folks face in gathering this information without getting inundated with a ton of sales call during this period of time.  This process is equally frustrating for vendors as the last thing they want to do is spend a bunch of time talking to folks who are “just browsing.” They want to talk to people who are ready to buy.
This blog entry explains how using DCIG Buyer’s Guides organizations can quickly get the high level information they need to evaluate specific products and create a short list so that whatever white papers or technical documents that one does download, the sales calls that will inevitably follow only come from providers that you are truly interested in.
#2 – Sandwich Artists – Not Exactly; Analyst Artists – Absolutely! Jim Nash. In this blog entry that was one of our most read blog entries of 2013, Jim shares his personal musings as to what truly constitutes an “artist.” As one may surmise, by the time Jim actually wrote the blog entry, he already had a full stomach with a blood sugar count well above what might be considered “safe.” But whatever Jim ate that day clearly inspired him and the thousands of people who subsequently read his blog entry. In it, he tastefully (pardon the pun) illustrates what makes DCIG’s many types of analysis such works of art and why they are so differentiated in the market place.
#1 – Maturing Deduplication Backup Appliances Still Offer Plenty of Features for Organizations to Evaluate. Charley McMaster. I have to admit, I was a bit worried when I first started reviewing the list of the most read blog entries of 2013 written in 2013 that none of the in-depth product specific information that DCIG writes would end up in the Top 10. Granted, reading about data protection, deduplication or virtualization may not be as enthralling as reading about Paris Hilton, the Kardashian’s or even Jim Nash’s latest eating exploits at the local sandwich shop. But one would hope that on a technology specific blog site such as DCIG’s the top one be a technology specific blog.
Thankfully DCIG’s Charley McMaster’s blog entry on the latest and greatest features on deduplicating backup appliances saved the day showing up as the most read blog entry in 2013 written in 2013. In this blog entry, Charley delves into some of the ways in which deduplicating backup appliances now differentiate themselves beyond just offering either inline or post-process deduplication.
Here is the blog entry detailing the rest of the Top 10 most read blog entries of 2013 written in 2013 on DCIG’s website.