Adviser (Advisor) / Sourcing Adviser – Individual or firm providing technology advice. Often including advice on sourcing or procurement of services and products. Differentiated from analysts because they directly recommend vendors and products and are not required to be independent of those vendors. Are sometimes called Consultants.

Advisory – Service provided by industry analyst firms, whereby vendors and end users get insights from analyst firm experts. Typically packaged as part of a RAS / CIS or workshops (e.g. SAS days) and / or consulting (see definitions).

Analyst (Industry Analyst) – An information and communications technology (ICT) industry analyst is a person, working individually or within a firm analysing and publishing research and/or opinions, forecasts, market sizing, on ICT products and services trends, adoption, market-fit, procurement, deployment and/or independently advising technology buyers and vendors and/or providing go-to-market services (source: IIAR> definition).

Analyst relations (AR) – Analyst relations is a business function that can be positioned within product engineering, marketing, communications, strategy or investor relations. The IIAR> has crafted the following definition of AR: “Analyst & influencer relations (AR) professionals engage with industry analysts and other B2B influencers on behalf of technology vendors. They build relationships with the analyst community and drive conversations about vendors and their solutions to gain strategic insights, educate analysts to help them knowledgeably position vendors with their user clients and leverage analyst research and content for marketing purposes and advocacy with technology buyers.”

Awareness – One of the four impacts of AR. Analysts are opinion leaders and shape media and customer perception. They can help to increase awareness of vendors in the market.

Briefing – A formal meeting through which a technology company informs industry analysts about its products, services, roadmap, strategies and successes. The flow of information goes from vendor to analyst. The vendor usually uses a slide deck. Briefings are always free for vendors and to analysts. Check out tips to nail briefings here and here.

Category – A specific market segment, technology domain or industry vertical that includes comparable hardware, software or services of technology vendors. Analysts define those categories and often use them as a basis to compare vendors in evaluative research (check definition).

Consulting –Services delivered by analyst firm to either technology vendors or end-users to address specific topics / priorities such as market positioning, message testing, vendor evaluation or RFI management, price benchmarking.

Continuous Intelligence Services (CIS) – Subscription-based service provided by analyst firms to give technology vendors and end-users access to research reports and advisory sessions with analysts (see inquiries).

Evaluative research / reports (Measurement reports) – In-depth comparative research report produced by industry analysts that ranks vendor and/or product capabilities within a specific category and based on specific criteria and methodology. Examples include Gartner Magic Quadrant, Forrester Wave, IDC MarketScape, GigaOM Radar, Everest PEAK Matrix and Omdia Universe.

FIGs – Acronym for Forrester, IDC, Gartner, the biggest industry analyst firms. Check out more about them here.

Forecasts – Type of data research produced by industry analysts, which sizes a market and predicts its future evolution. Check out the hidden impact of shares and forecasts.

Go-To-Market (GTM) – One of the four impacts of AR. Analysts have very strong brands and are seen as independents who can be leveraged in GTM tactics. They can deliver white papers, case studies, speaking engagements, etc., to support announcements and position offerings.

Influencer – Individual or firm that is considered to influence buying decisions or market perceptions. Can be industry analysts, market mavens, bloggers, etc.

Insights – One of the four impacts of AR. Analysts routinely help vendors to assess the market relevance of future products, validate strategic choices and provide a sounding board to test messaging. They are usually good at identifying which features / business benefits will resonate with customers. These activities are often carried out as paid engagements (see inquiry).

Inquiry (British: enquiry) – A scheduled interaction during which a seat holder to a paid research subscription with firms such as Gartner, Forrester and IDC can ask questions and seek insights from an analyst’s expertise and research on trends, competition or test messages. Usually carried out as a 30mn call or possibly in writing. Check out our tips to make the best out of an inquiry.

Market mavens – Type of industry analysts who help vendors launch and position
their products in a marketplace. Examples of firms include Futurum, the CRM Evangelists, Advaes, Valoir, HardenStance, Disruptive Analysis, etc.

Number crunchers – Type of industry analysts who collect data points to publish market shares and forecasts. Examples of firms include IDC, Omdia, PAC. Check out the powers and limitations of market shares methodology here.  

Peer review sites – Professional websites where end users compare enterprise software and services. Examples include Gartner Peer Insights, G2, TrustRadius, TrustPilot, Software Reviews, Capterra, etc. Check out more about peer review sites here.

Predictions – Type of forward-looking research produced by industry analysts, covering expected technology and market developments usually for the year to come or sometimes a more distant future. Used by vendors for strategic planning. More on predictions here.

Prescribers – Type of industry analysts who advise IT end users to select, procure and implement IT solutions. Examples of firms include Gartner and Forrester.

Reprint – Product offered by analyst firms by which vendors are allowed to licence distribution rights to research published by the firm for go-to-market (check definition) purposes for a defined period. Originally available on paper (hence the name) but nowadays in the form of PDF or html pages.

Research – In-depth market studies on the state of technology offerings and ecosystems produced by industry analysts. Can be syndicated (program-focused), multi-client survey, commissioned (one or several clients), freemium or RAS subscription (see definition). Usually packed as research reports or delivered live at events. For types, check evaluative research, forecasts, predictions, shares, trends. 

Research & Advisory Subscription (RAS) – Alternative term for CIS, see above.

Sales – One of the four impacts of AR. Analysts influence over 60% of enterprise technology sales (source: IIAR best practice primer paper: Who are industry analysts and what do they do?). Analysts can help sales to adjust their sales tactics by providing a feedback loop and competitive intelligence.

Seat (seat holder) – Specified individual licence (for a named user) providing access to the analyst firm’s research and advisory services. Mostly used by Gartner, Forrester and IDC.

(Market) shares – Type of research produced by industry analysts, which sizes a market segment and estimates vendors share of that category (check definition). In AR strategy, it is used to claim category leadership. Example IDC Trackers. Check out the hidden impact of shares and forecasts.

Strategic Advisory Session (SAS) – Service provided by analyst firms whereby vendors purchase a strategy session with one or several analysts. Can be delivered remotely or in person for variable durations.

Symposium – Top conference organised by Gartner on topics like IT, Marketing, Supply Chain, etc. With over 20,000 attendees, symposiums are a great opportunity for networking, learning and getting insights, and meeting Gartner experts. Also includes a show floor called ITxpo. Organised in a number of locations including Orlando, Barcelona, Mumbai, Tokyo, etc. Other events organized by analyst firms include summits, conferences and Xchanges.

Tiering – The process of ranking analysts based on their impact and value to a vendor’s business and AR programme. The classification must follow business objectives and be updated accordingly. 

Trends – Type of research industry analyst, focusing on technology description, adoption and impact. In AR strategy, it is used to legitimate a technology use case. Examples include Gartner Hype Cycle.