The opinions expressed on this blog post are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers or other members of the IIAR. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and compliance with copyright laws, we can’t be held liable for any unintentional misrepresentation on this post but are happy to correct any wrongs quickly.
Posted on Friday 21st October 2011 by Jonny Bentwood
For the fourth year running, AR professionals have been polled to select the analyst and firms they consider the best best for thought leadership, ease to do business with, influence and value for money.
The IIAR is delighted to announce that this year’s IIARAnalyst of the Year 2011 goes to…
Posted on Wednesday 22nd December 2010 by Jonny Bentwood
(Edit – updated with more predictions. Computing have taken extracts and copied on their site – if anyone spots the citation please let me know!)
[Originally posted on Technobabble 2.0] Every year industry analysts formally put their reputation on the line and make predictions for the next 12 months. This post aims to summarise their views in one place – I recommend you click on the links by each post if you want to read more detail.
And for a bit of fun, why don’t you also compare how they did last year on this post
Posted on Wednesday 15th December 2010 by Jonny Bentwood
This year the IIAR conducted the largest survey yet to identify who AR pro’s believe are the best firms and analysts in the market. These awards, summarising the votes of over 150 participants, reflect a significant change from previous winners and demonstrate that in a year of monetary uncertainty more focus has been spent geared towards the large international houses as oppose to the regional boutiques.
When Ray Wang explains the thinking behind the newest analyst firm on the market, a few words are frequently used:
Disruption - Experience – Research
These areas are at the crux of what Constellation Research is about and are probably the reasons why I believe that they will automatically be listed as a Tier One firm – something that is critical if they are to survive.
Disruption
Ray clearly states that they will partner with their clients to:
Guide buyers through a dizzying array of disruptive business models and technologies
The words that jump out at me here are ‘buyers’ and ‘disruption’. This firm has a focus on end users – this is nirvana for vendors and something that many peers in the industry aspire to have in their client base. The objective is to have 70% buy-side business which considering they are starting day 0 with this number at 60% makes me believe that this isn’t wishful thinking.
The focus on disruptive technologies is prudent – whereas there are hundreds of analysts covering every aspect of technology, Ray has pragmatically realised that there is a need to bring order to chaos and advise people on trends, buyers’ POV and technology in an independent and objective fashion. (more…)
Posted on Monday 27th September 2010 by Jonny Bentwood
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Who guards the guards? This is a question that my peers and I have been discussing for some time. We are in a quandary. Analysts and analyst relations live in a symbiotic relationship where we need each other to thrive – you could argue that we are each others PR team in that the success of one group inevitably helps the other.
Conversely, the effect of a ‘bad apple’ impinges on us all. And so the question remains – who polices the analyst industry? (more…)
For the past few years, the IIAR has sought to indentify the analysts and firms who deserve recognition. In a world where most firms are only contacted by vendors because we want to brief or learn something from them, it is appropriate that once per year we pause and think – who did a damn good job and why?
It is not always the biggest analyst house that wins or the individual with the most twitter followers – what this survey has continued to show is that integrity, independence and market knowledge are the analyst qualities that are most highly valued by AR professionals.
This is a global survey with awards recognised for specific topic areas, globally and by region. There’s only 10 questions and won’t take more than a few minutes to please take part.
This survey is open to all in the AR industry – whether you are an independent, in-house or at an agency. Your vote counts so please vote now.
Next week the IIAR Analyst of the Year survey will be launched. This is an annual award that AR pros vote on to praise the analysts who they think are the best.
The survey is in it’s final stages of being completed – my ask to you is..
what questions do you want to ensure are included?
Put your comments below and we’ll try and make sure they are included.
For previous years results check out the following links:
Over the past dozen years I have been in numerous briefings with analysts where they talk with vendors about the convergence of technologies and how this will impact their business. Who would have thought that the analyst industry themselves would have to go through its own disruption to understand how to differentiate, maintain/gain advantage with the unworldly beast of social media.
When IP is what makes an analyst firm thrive, how do the analysts compete with the new behaviours associated with online conversations. Whereas previously communication existed in a dynamic two way conversation, nowadays the multiple stakeholders in a community can engage freely and easily to share their opinions and thoughts dynamically. One could argue:
do vendors and buyers still need the ‘experts’ of the analyst world or are they merely expensive middle men? Why use them when they can go direct?
Perhaps my earlier point calling this period a convergence is wrong, this is a collision of behaviour in its most fundamental form. Analyst firms need to adapt their business model and differentiate to stay alive.
Discussing these issues and more with me are the goliaths of the analyst and AR world:
Register for this webcast now, places are limited so don’t delay. If you would like to suggest specific topics to be covered you can do so by leaving a comment on this post or on Jeremiah’s.
Posted on Wednesday 23rd June 2010 by Jonny Bentwood
The analyst market is currently in a constant state of flux with different firms struggling to find their niche. One size certainly does not fit all in this market which is why every time I see an acquisition I try and understand where this one fits.
In the original post, I simply let the parody of the video speak for itself but after reviewing the many comments on the blog and on twitter, I have noticed that quite a few people are commenting about what they can learn from this.
Needless to say, when AR is done well the scenario that this video portrays should never happen. Here are some of the key points:
There is some argument as to whether we need to do any EMEA outreach or whether it is sufficient to just speak to those in the US
Being an EMEA AR pro, this one really irks me. Even though the US analysts may sometimes be the lead for a specific topic area, this is not always the case. What’s more when end users wish to buy a solution they often ask the local analysts in their region for guidance. If you haven’t spoken to them, how can you hope for positive commentary. Finally the EMEA analysts can often give valuable advice regarding how to refine the messaging to make it more relevant for their geography as well as give advice on local issues that may not be important in other regions.
We are only positioned as a challenger. They scored us down because we didn’t provide enough customer evidence
There should never be any surprises when it comes to the MQ being published. Make sure you run plenty of inquiries and SAS days to fully understand where the analysts are positioning you and why and what you need to do to change their perception. Do the process and document everything and obviously you should make sure that your executive team are prepared for the eventual placement and understandwhy you are positioned where you are.
We were positioned well in the Forrester Wave… a well-respected alternative
Always investigate alternatives. Despite many execs and sales people often being incapably of looking beyond the MQ, there are many tools and analysts out there. It all depends on your objectives and defining which solution is right for you.
There are many more things you can take from this video as I have tried to include as many clichés as possible. Most importantly remember that this is created in jest as a parody for our wonderful AR industry. I hope you like it.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
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