The IT research world continues to shrink with Gartner's $56 million acquisition of Midvale, Utah-based Burton Group.

The move, announced earlier this week, comes on the heels of Gartner's announcement last month that it plans to acquire Boston-based AMR Research for $40 million. It also furthers a trend that has been hard to miss: Specialist research firms are getting snatched up by larger players like Gartner and Forrester.