In an interview with AMR Research, Carter Lusher / Dave Eckert make a surprising assertion:

“Only one analyst firm in the IT industry has a dedicated and systematic research approach on emerging technologies. However, that one firm is the 900 pound gorilla Gartner.”

That’s not the view from where I sit.

It’s rare that an emerging technology surfaces first in Gartner research. And, Gartner’s hype cycle and cool vendor reports are hardly the end all, be all of systematic industry research on bleeding edge tech.

Emerging technologies almost always come to light first at one of the dozens of smaller, agile analyst firms offering in-depth insight into specific markets. It’s easy to see why. These analysts tend to have deeper roots in early stage technologies and markets. They are easier to get to. They have robust networks among developers, investors, other opinion leaders, and early adopters. I see it time and again, from semiconductors to Wi-Fi to 3G to graphics to collaboration software to managed services.

Gartner does a good job of discussing technologies that are ready for early enterprise adopters. They also do a good job on emerging tech providers ready for IPO or acquisition. That doesn’t make Gartner the first — or the only — analyst outfit with a dedicated focus on emerging technologies.

Carter Lusher announced he is departing HP. Adding to HP’s loss of voice in the AR community, no one will be taking the reigns of the HP Corp AR blog. Instead, it will be discontinued.

The AR community also saw the departure of Jonathan Yarmis from his high profile AR position at Hill & Knowlton, earlier this year.

On the PR/AR blogging front, Jonny Bentwood lamented earlier today about the recent loss of high profile PR bloggers.

I’ll be interested to see who steps up to take the places of these AR statesmen.

Meanwhile, enjoy your time off, gentlemen. And, stay in touch.

Update Nov 12: AMR Research has brought Jonathan onboard as a vp (Tekrati story).