As 2010 begins, Gartner bolsters its position in the IT analysis market.

Gartner and Burton Group both announced that Gartner, Inc. has agreed to purchase Burton Group for $56 million in cash. This marks Gartner’s second acquisition since Dec. 1, 2009 when it acquired AMR Research.

Gene Hall, Gartner’s chief executive officer, stated, “…Burton Group is a great strategic fit for Gartner and should enable us to offer a more complete solution to every level and functional expert within an IT organization.  By leveraging our scale and worldwide distribution capabilities, we expect to significantly grow Burton Group’s business over time.”

It will be interesting to see how this affects companies’ perceptions of independent firms and individuals. Will companies be comforted by the massive size and resources of the Gartner conglomerate, or could there be backlash and a fear of receiving cookie-cutter consulting, particularly among smaller organizations with limited research budgets?

My two cents: More than ever is it important to pay attention and engage with independents via blogs and other channels such as social media. For example, former Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang’s Web Strategy blog is an excellent resource for technology insight.

The Gartners of the world may continue to dominate the business of research. The independent analysts and firms, however, are on the rise, and they’ll stand a fighting chance if they have the connections and ability to deliver more focused insight for companies in important niche markets.