Gideon Gartner, visionary of technology research, dies at 85

His idea unfolded amid a massive shift in the world of business as companies as diverse as JPMorgan Chase and General Motors became more reliant on computers as part of their infrastructure. It happened in incremental steps, from big mainframes to personal computers to the era of smartphones and cloud computing. Understanding all these shifts was critical for IT executives, and Mr. Gartner positioned his firm as a vital guide to understanding and embracing the idea that those changing systems were a critical part of the corporate equation.