There are over 100 industry analyst firms of market importance. As explained by the IIAR>, industry analysts are market experts that offer a unique third-party perspective on technology providers, informed by conversations with technology vendors, users and buyers. They publish research, share insights through inquiries and enable go-to-market activities through whitepapers and webinars. Engaging with a variety of analyst firm is key to building a cohesive AR programme that delivers on all four benefits of analyst relations.
The landscape of analyst firms is plentiful, and all types of firms play a key role in scaling any analyst relations programme. In our last blog, we talked about the FIGs (Forrester, IDC and Gartner), the three largest industry analyst firms globally. However, there are a host of other firms analyst relations (AR) should consider engaging with. The vast number of firms out there can be daunting to those unfamiliar with their ways and their differentiators and relevance to your AR strategy may be unclear. To help cut through the market noise, Starsight categorises these firms as: all-rounders, specialist firms, local champions, market mavens and sourcing advisors.
All-rounder firms.
All-rounders cover a large number of market categories in their research and typically have a high number of analysts to do so. While they may not be as big as the FIGs, these firms have industry expertise and connections, making them trusted advisors to their clients. Many of the analysts will have spent time in the FIGs previously or have come from the vendor side and have strong industry and product knowledge. Most companies will find an expert for them to provide another perspective on the market in a cost-efficient manner. They publish a range of research types, quantitative market shares, qualitative evaluations and opinion-based analyses of trends in the market.
Examples of all-rounders.
Specialist firms.
Specialist firms cover a single category or specify a select group of correlated categories to cover. This means that they have deep expertise in their chosen area and can cover the topic at a more granular level than larger firms. This also gives them tighter industry connections and enables them to provide more targeted advice for your category.
Examples of specialists.
- AI multiple – for artificial intelligence
- Ampere Analysis – Media, Content and Communications
- Analysys Mason – Telco, Media and Technology
- Aragon Research
- ARC Advisory – Industry and Cities
- Arion Research – Cloud
- BPM Partners – Business Performance Management Solutions
- Brandon Hall Group – Human Capital Managament
- Canalys – Channel
- CCS Insight
- Celent – Financial Services sector
- Chartis – Financial Services, Energy and Insurance sectors
- Datos Insights (formerly Aite-Novarica) – Banking, Insurance and Investments
- Deep Analysis – Information Automation and Management
- Dresner Advisory – Data, Analytics and Performance Management technologies
- Firebrand Research – FinTech
- Fosway – HRtech
- Futurum Research – Display Technology
- Harden Stance – Telco and IT security
- KuppingerCole – Security and Identity technologies
- Kaleido Intelligence – FinTech and Telco (Roaming)
- NelsonHall – Business Process Outsourcing
- Nucleus Research – ROI studies
- Quocirca – Print industries
- RedMonk – Developers
- The Josh Bersin Company – HR Tech
- Uptime Institute – Datacenters
- Verdantix – Sustainability
Local Champions.
Oftentimes, a company will require country-level insights which large firms simply do not track, enter the local champions. With a smaller target area, their data collection goes down to a more granular, country-level and they can provide insights to match. These analyst firms are likely to have very good local connections and contacts with leaders and decision makers in their locale. They can be particularly good for local government and public sector sources and have expertise in local economic information. Activate these analysts for local events or to support regional sales tactics.
Examples of local champions.
- Africa Analysis – Africa
- BARC – DACH region
- ITR – Japan
- Markess – France
- PAC – Europe
- Penteo – Spain
- TechMarketView – UK
Market Mavens.
The market mavens are a varied group of smaller firms, made up of analysts who have close relationships with technology vendors. They offer targeted consulting for their varied analyst areas of expertise and can be used to generate press quotes to drive brand awareness. These firms offer whitepapers and webinars for GTM activities to help elevate your AR strategy. Some are extremely powerful in their spaces and have unparalleled weight as trusted advisors to their clients.
Examples of market mavens.
- ABI Research
- Amalgam Insights
- Constellation Research
- CONTEXT World
- Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG)
- Freeform Dynamics
- Futurum Research
- Ilumatech
- Info-Tech Research Group (ITRG)
- Moor Insights & Strategy
- Nucleus
- Research in Action
- Ventana Research
Sourcing advisors.
Sourcing advisors operate on behalf of clients, gathering intelligence about technology providers to make an independent assessment of the best vendor to meet their client’s specific needs. Continuously engaging these firms will ensure you are top of mind when a relevant use case is presented and that these analysts are equipped with the information to make your business case. Requests for information should not be ignored as these firms have direct sales impact and can make sure you are being considered in deals. They also publish additional research which their clients can use to make their own decisions when it comes to technology purchases. Some firms such as Gartner and HfS also provide sourcing advisory.
Examples of sourcing advisors.
Getting the balance right.
Not all types of analyst firms will have equal relevance to your AR strategy, but knowing and understanding them all will help you refine your focus. It’s imperative to craft an AR plan that hits all four business impacts of analyst relations, and to then engage with the analysts who will deliver on those four impacts. When supporting a local marketing event, a local champion may be more appropriate and budget-friendly than a FIG, when gathering global sales intelligence through analyst inquiries, an allrounder or a market maven could be a good choice depending on your market category. Get to know the firms and you’ll have a more balanced and successful AR strategy that truly delivers value for your business, rather than one that simply scrambles for Magic Quadrant improvement and misses out on all the rest.
The analyst landscape is vast and the possibilities are many, you need an expert to help you navigate it. Eagle eyed readers will notice this post doesn’t even include the full 100 analyst firms, for a good reason: there is not a single answer to who are the top firms. Each programme is difference –for instance a regional EMEA AR requires a different approach to a global one for a single product. Get in touch with Starsight to hear how we guide technology vendors through the analyst landscape and how to align analyst relations to your business goals.
Hello,
I would be very interested in looking at the full list of 100 analyst firms, particularly if the list includes numbers of analysts per firm, or some other measure of reach.
Thank you,
Hi Martin,
There are as many lists as there are clients -reach and size are only two factors. When building an engagement plan we always start with alignment, the conversation we want to drive and what outcomes our clients are after.