Giga Information Group, a firm with ties to the GartnerGroup, is once again involved in downplaying Y2K concerns. This time, one of Giga's IT management and services analysts is criticizing the comment in the Senate report about civil unrest abroad. Here's the link and a quote from the article:

http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/NATION/UPDATES/lat_y2k990303.htm

[snip]

The committee's assessment drew a mixed reaction from industry experts. Kazim Isfahani, an analyst with Giga Information Services in Cambridge, Mass., said that the panel had done "a good job of pulling everything together" but had not broken new ground.

Isfahani termed senators' warnings that disruptions abroad could lead to civil unrest in some countries--or that they might even prompt terrorist attacks--"fear-mongering." While some countries may be unprepared, he said, "that doesn't necessarily translate into civil unrest."

[snip]

I realize the article above says Kazim Isfahani is with Giga Information Services, but according to the contact list at this link...

http://204.255.88.14/contacts.htm

...Mr. Isfahani does work for the Giga Information Group. He's listed in the section "IT Management and Services".

To see another recent comment by a Giga analyst, and to learn more about how Giga is related to the GartnerGroup, follow this link:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000OvB

"Firm with ties to GartnerGroup downplays the "chip" problem"

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), March 04, 1999

Answers

I'm not sure, perhaps someone with more knowledge could confirm or deny, but I think Kazim Isfahani might be an Iranian name. In any event, it seems to be of Middle East origin; such a person might very well be a bit sensitive to remarks about terrorists.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 04, 1999.

Old Git,

I thought about that too. I've just done some more searching on his name, and it looks as if he works for Giga in Massachusetts. I don't know where Mr. Isfahani was born, though.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), March 04, 1999.

What a twisted path -- a once respected consultancy, now turned government PR flack, trying to spin information released by a different part of the government.

Once again, it's congress saying one thing, the executive branch another.

-- De (dealton@concentric.net), March 04, 1999.

Actually, it's as though everybody has something "different" to report based on the same report.

Dizzy again.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 04, 1999.