London, Wednesday 27th November 2019. At the IIAR> we believe in taking a stance and recognising greatness when we see it -an approach we find more impactful than sprinkling awards to dozens of “winners”.
Today, at the IIAR> London Christmas Party kindly sponsored by HCL, we celebrated the top industry analysts and firms of the year. The IIAR> surveyed analyst relations professionals globally and from diverse industries, predictably casting a wide net on coverage areas. The evaluation used the IIAR SOSM methodology, to reflect the best practice promoted within the IIAR> looking at not only perceived sales impact, but also strategic insights, resonance in the media and ease of doing business with.
This year, analyst relations (AR) professionals have voted and provided clear insights both on the value they see from analysts, as well as how they perceive industry analyst firms’ value to them as clients. There were some interesting shifts in the 2019 results compared to prior years…read on to learn more!
Without further ado, the Analyst Relations community has spoken and the winners are….
IIAR> New Analyst of the Year 2019
IIAR members were again asked to identify fresh talent within the analyst community. We asked you to call out your IIAR ‘New Analyst of the Year’ nominations and we are delighted to announce:
IIAR> New Analyst of the Year 2019:
Eric Schmitt / Gartner (LinkedIn), covering AdTech.
AR pros commented that Eric “got up and running really quickly and always strives to deliver best value.”
The runner ups are Mark Harris / Gartner (LinkedIn) covering security, and Erica Spinoni / IDC (LinkedIn, @SpinoniErica) covering AI, Scott Wilkinson / Cignal AI (LinkedIn, @ScottWilkinsonQ) covering Optical transport and networking, Jason Cerrato / Gartner (LinkedIn, @JasonACerrato) covering HCM, Knud Lueth / IoT Analytics covering, you’ve guessed it, IoT.
The IIAR> Analyst Of The Year 2019
The overall winner of the IIAR> Analyst Of The Year 2019 is Frances Karamouzis, Chief of Research and Distinguished VP Analyst / Gartner (LinkedIn, @Fran_Gartner), covering sourcing strategies for business and IT services. Respondents consistently commented on Frances’ “Exceptional understanding of the market dynamics and its ecosystem players, with strong influence in engaging with C-Suite decision makers.”
“#GRATEFUL. Its humbling to be recognized for this award as analysts are constantly in the company of amazing minds. And most of all, this includes all of my teammates and colleagues. Any award of this type is tribute to the team rather than any one individual.“
Frances Karamouzis / Gartner, IIAR> Analyst Of The Year 2019
She is followed in second position by Dan Bieler, Principal Analyst / Forrester (LinkedIn, @DSBieler) covering digital platforms and business innovation strategies, who commented:
“A great working relationship with AR professionals is essential to get the work of an industry analyst done. Many thanks for the trust that we have built over many years.”
Dan Bieler / Forrester
See also Dan’s 2016 IIAR> Around in 10 Questions interview.
In third place comes Nick McQuire, Vice President, Enterprise Research / CCS Insight (LinkedIn, @nickmcquire) said:
“Thrilled and honored to be among the analysts recognized in the IIAR’s 2019 Analyst of the Year nominations. This is 100% down to our fantastic clients and the superb team we have at CCS Insight. Our research is laser focused on helping our clients assess key market trends, understand the implications for their businesses and above all, succeed with customers. The wonderfully close and productive partnerships we have within the AR community helps make this possible.”
Nick McQuire / CCS Insight
Bindi Bhullar, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner (LinkedIn), and Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst at HfS Research (LinkedIn, @pfersht) round out the top 5 nominations for the 2019 IIAR> Analyst of the Year awards and were also recognised for their research and contributions. There were many nominations from the AR community this year, but these 5 analysts were most often called out for providing consistent value by the AR community.
The IIAR> Analyst Firm Of The Year 2019
This year’s Analyst Firm of the Year award was hotly contested. After four years in the lead with IDC and Forrester jockeying for second place on the podium, it was interesting to see Gartner moved down to third place. We’ve redone the maths several times but it was the verbatim comments which shed some light on AR professionals’ lost love for the industry research behemoth. Whilst Gartner is still recognised for its breadth of analyst coverage and overall impact, with many analysts being commended for their individual work, survey feedback indicated Gartner as an organisation has become increasingly more difficult to work with, attracting severe criticism on overall client experience from in-house analyst relation professionals.
The IIAR> Firm Of The Year 2019 is Forrester (website, @forrester).
“Well done to Forrester for coming on top this year, earning praise from analyst relations professionals for its thought leadership and agility.“
Ludovic Leforestier / IIAR> Board Member
In second place comes IDC (website, @IDC).
In third place, we have Gartner (website, @gartner_inc)
In fourth position is HFS Research (website, @HFSResearch)
And in fifth place, 451 Research (website, @451Research)
Other Analyst Nominations
Most impactful analyst – Has significant impact on sales and end-user buyer preferences: Donald Feinberg / Gartner (LinkedIn, @Brazingo)
Most insightful analyst – Continuously delivers thought provoking industry insights in research: Ted Schadler / Forrester (LinkedIn, @TedSchadler)
Best project results – Consistently delivers sound, practical advice and results for their clients: Adam Ronthal / Gartner (LinkedIn, @ARonthal)
Most social influence – Broad reach within social channels and communities: Ray Wang / Constellation (LinkedIn, @rwang0)
IIAR> Client Partner Of The Year 2019
The IIAR> Client Partner Of The Year 2019 is David Stanley / Constellation (LinkedIn, @kiwigate), whom members said they appreciate his collaboration as he, “really looks to deliver clear business value” and is a true partner. Special mention from the IIAR> Awards Committee for the best LinkedIn banner as well…
The runner-ups were: Jeremy Green / IDC (LinkedIn, @JeremyG86006699) and Erna Begic / Forrester (LinkedIn).
“Congratulations to everyone who has been recognized by the IIAR community – and thanks to the AR professionals for taking the time to vote. Here’s to continued engagement between industry analysts and the community of AR professionals in 2020!“
Stephanie Look / IIAR> Awards Committee
IIAR> Webinar: results from the AOTY 2019 survey
IIAR> members will be able to dial in the webinar presenting detailed results on the 13th December 0800 PST / 1100 EST / 1600 GMT / 1700 CET > register here.
The IIAR> Awards Committee
- Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovic, LinkedIn)
- Stephanie Look (@s_look, LinkedIn)
Previous IIAR Analysts and Firms Of The Year
- IIAR> Discussion Group: Working Smarter with AI: How LLMs Are Reshaping Analyst Relations (05/26)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: Omdia – Highlights (04/26)
- The 2026 IIAR> AR Forum + London Summer Party! (06/26)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: Omdia (04/26)
- IIAR> Webinar with India Chapter: Advisor Relations(04/26)
- Measuring analyst influence: turning IIAR> Awards insights into action (03/26)
- IIAR> Café: at NVIDIA GTC, San Jose – 2026 (03/26)
- IIAR> Discussion Group: The Dangers of AI for AR (02/26)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar : IDC- Highlights (02/26)
- IIAR> Discussion Webinar: RFI response-generating AI tools (01/26)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: IDC (02/26)
- And the winners are… Celebrating the IIAR> Awards recipients for 2025 (12/25)
- IIAR> London Café (11/25)
- Celebrating Excellence: IIAR> AOTY & ARPOTY 2025 Awards Launch (12/25)
- The IIAR> AR Forum India: Twin City Forum (Bengaluru and Gurugram) – Sponsored by Everest Group (12/25)
- The IIAR> 2025 London Xmas Party London – Sponsored by Omdia, Verdantix, Narrativeworx and Amdocs (12/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar : Dresner Advisory Services – Highlights (10/25)
- IIAR> Discussion Group: the impact of AI on analyst relations roles (10/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: Dresner Advisory (10/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar : BARC – Highlights (09/25)
- CCS Insight Joins FDM in Ambitious New Chapter
- IIAR> Webinar on Expanding AR’s Toolbox: Non-Traditional AR Services – Highlights (05/25)
- IIAR> London Café (09/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: BARC (09/25)
- IIAR> Webinar : Psychology of Personal Influence in Analyst Relations (07/25)
- IIAR> India Chapter Welcomes Inaugural Co-Leads! (08/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar Highlights: Phil Fersht, Elena Christopher and Sia Ravari / HFS Research (5/24)
- The 2025 IIAR> Forum: AR Evolution + London Summer Party! (07/25)
- IIAR> Best Practices Webinar: Sales Enablement + 30/60/90 days AR Plan, (06/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: Forrester (05/25)
- Expanding AR’s Toolbox: Non-traditional AR Services (05/25)
- IIAR> Café, 30th April: Navigating the RSA 2025 Analyst Landscape (04/25)
- IIAR>Analyst Firm Webinar : TBR – Highlights (03/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar : TBR (04/25)
- IIAR> interview with Josh Greenbaum / Enterprise Applications Consulting
- Around Virginie O’Shea from Firebrand Research in 10 questions
- Around Dean Bubley from Disruptive Analysis in 10 questions
- IIAR> Café, 6th March: Navigating the Mobile World Congress Analyst Landscape (03/25)
- Around Sam Gupta from ElevatIQ Research in 10 questions
- IIAR> interview with Pete Tiliakos / GxT Advisors
- IIAR> Independent Analysts Panel (03/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: The Futurum Group (02/25)
- IDG to divest Foundry, what’s next for IDC?
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: Informa TechTarget – Highlights (01/25)
- IIAR> Analyst Firm Webinar: Informa TechTarget (01/25)
- IIAR> Discussion Group: New Year’s Resolutions: The Different Types of AR (01/25)
- IIAR> Discussion Group: Mastering The 30/60/90-Day AR Plan, 19th December
- The Wait is Over! Announcing the IIAR> Award Winners for 2024.
- IIAR> AR Forum Sessions announced: Reskill for 2025!
- Around Louella Fernandes from Quocirca in 10 questions
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