The first big move came when Hyperion hired long time industry analyst Howard Dressner away from Gartner. Howard has since been very active in his new role from a business development standpoint as well as being an executive who can clearly communicate Hyperion's vision to the public.

Today Business Objects followed suit by announcing the hiring of Keith Gile as a senior advisor within the Strategy Office. In this position, Gile will help define the ongoing Business Objects vision and strategy. He will report to Bernard Liautaud, founder, chairman of the board, and chief strategy officer at Business Objects.

I think this is an interesting strategy and I can't help but wonder how prospects and customers see these types of executive hires? Is it important to a prospect that Howard or Keith have chosen to be part of these teams? How do previous clients of Gartner and Forrester feel about it?

And, perhaps the biggest question.....Who is Cognos going to hire?