The IIAR> recognise top industry analysts and influencer relations professionals at a global virtual celebration; winners are IDC, Peggy O’Neill / Informatica, and the Oracle AR team 

London, Friday 18th December 2020.  The Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR>), a not-for-profit member influencer relations association announced the winners of Analyst and Firm of the Year 2020, Analyst Relations (AR) Professional, AR Team and AR Agency of the Year 2020 at its (virtual) annual gala event.

“This was an incredible year as AR professionals were tasked with evolving AR programs to fully digital formats and realigning programs as many organisations grappled with the impact the pandemic has had on their businesses.”

–Aniruddho Mukherjee / IIAR Board Member (@aniruddho, LinkedIn)

An in-depth presentation for IIAR> Members will detail additional findings from the annual survey over multiple sessions in Q1 2021.

• Analysts Deep Dive: 3 R’s of Analyst Relations – Thursday 4th February 2021, 1600 GMT – registration link (IIAR> members only)
• The AR Best Practices : Insights on Building the best AR Team – Thursday 25th February 2021, 1600 GMT – registration link (IIAR> members only)
• Analyst Pet Peeves : Things AR pros should pay attention to – Thu 18 Mar 2021, 1600 GMT – registration link (IIAR> members only)

Don’t miss out, register now!

IIAR> Analyst Relations Professional of the Year 2020: Peggy O’Neill / Informatica

For the second year running, Peggy snatched this most coveted distinction, followed by Rachel Kaltenbach / Director Global AR, Veeam (LinkedIn, @rachelnudge) and Ricarda Rodatus / SVP Global AR, Oracle (LinkedIn, @rodatusr).

“This recognition is such an honor, given the stellar competition of analyst relations managers at other companies and agencies. I’m grateful that Informatica’s culture and colleagues strongly support the analyst relations function as we truly do enjoy working with industry analysts.” 

—Peggy O’Neill / VP Industry Analyst Relations, Informatica (LinkedIn, @pegoneill)

IIAR> Analyst Relations Team of the Year 2020: Oracle

The IIAR Awards also recognise the best-performing AR teams among so-called megavendors – and for the second successive year,  industry analysts ranked Oracle in first place. Tata Consulting Services (TCS) was a new entry, straight in at number two, and consistent top five performer Cisco this year took third place.

“The entire Oracle AR team is extremely honored to receive the IIAR Analyst Relations Team of the Year award for 2020 second year in a row, by vote of our respected analyst community. A sincere thank you to our valued analysts who voted for us, and thank you to the IIAR for facilitating this meaningful survey. AR is a very collaborative function, and winning in this space takes a committed product team, a supportive marketing team, and executive advocates. To win this award is very special to us.”

–Ricarda Rodatus  / SVP Global Analyst Relations, Oracle  (LinkedIn, @rodatusr)

IIAR> Analyst Relations Agency of the Year 2020: Spotlight AR

In the Analyst Relations Agency of the Year 2020 category, Spotlight AR, the largest AR agency in the US and possibly the world landed the coveted first place, as voted by industry analysts. From Munich, Destrier AR landed the second position again. In third, comes DenningtonAR, a prowess for a boutique.  The results again underline the analysts’ preference in dealing with specialized AR experts at AR agencies, above working with PR firms that don’t understand the nuances of AR.

“We are honored to have Spotlight recognized as the IIAR> AR Agency of the Year. Our teams push everyday to do great work with our clients,  and it’s incredibly rewarding to have that work recognized by the analyst community. I want to thank our amazing clients for their trust, and the industry analysts for their partnership.”

–Andrew Hsu / Managing Partner, Spotlight AR (LinkedIn, @andrew0hsu)

Need help with Analyst Relations? Check the IIAR> Member AR agencies list.

IIAR> Analyst Client Partner of the Year 2020: Jean Pitt / Gartner

AR professionals value commercial partners helping them deliver win-win partnerships and unlock value from long-term relationships. The IIAR> Client Partner of the Year 2020 is Jean Pitt / Client Director – Large Enterprises, Gartner (LinkedIn) followed by runner ups Olga Tilly / Forrester (LinkedIn), Janice Worsfold / IDC (LinkedIn, @WorsfoldJanice) and Rakesh Kaaria / Gartner (LinkedIn, @RaksKaria).

“I am extremely honoured to accept this award from such an important business function.   I would like to accept this award on behalf of my many client service delivery colleagues who collaborate with me on a daily basis to ensure all our Analyst Relation clients derive maximum value from their Gartner memberships.  We appreciate the important role they play within their organisation and thank them for their great partnership.”

–Jean Pitt / Client Director Large Enterprises, Gartner (LinkedIn)

IIAR> Analyst Firm of the Year 2020: IDC

This year AR professionals recognized IDC as the Analyst Firm of the Year based on its breadth of research, global coverage, and the quality of insights. Gartner came in as a close second, followed by Forrester, Avasant and 451 Research. However, when compared to other firms nominated, AR professionals said they appreciated the flexibility IDC offered, in addition to overall value for money.

“We at IDC are proud to receive this award, especially in recognition of everything we have done in response to the pandemic. 2020 has been a year of immense challenge. To meet our clients’ changing needs, IDC created new research and data products addressing the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and the economy and launched a series of virtual events to bring this research to life.  The response from our clients has been very positive and we hope that our efforts have contributed to their success this year.  We want to thank all the AR professionals who have been following our efforts and voted for us.  Your support is greatly appreciated and we look forward to continue working with you in 2021 and beyond.”

–Crawford del Prete, (LinkedIn, @Craw) / President, IDC

IIAR> Analyst of the Year 2020: Peter Marston / IDC

The most coveted IIAR> award goes to an analyst whose “understanding of the apps space is second to none”: Peter Marston / IDC is the IIAR> Analyst of the Year 2020. 

He is followed by, Ed Thompson / Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner (LinkedIn), Bindi Bhullar / Research Director, Gartner (LinkedIn, @BhullarBindi), Ali Zaidi / Research Director, IDC / (LinkedIn, @sazaidi), Donald Feinberg, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner (LinkedIn, @Brazingo), and Nicholas McQuire / SVP and Head of Enterprise Research, CCS Insight (LinkedIn, @nickmcquire).

“I am honored and humbled by this recognition. It’s really inspiring to be considered for such acknowledgement along with the other nominees and prior award recipients.  I want to thank my family and team at IDC for supporting me and helping me throughout my career (and life), especially over this past year. It has been one for the ages. I also want to thank the IIAR for sponsoring this award as well as recognizing so many deserving analysts. In addition, I want to thank all the analyst relations personnel who connect us analysts with their organizations’ teams and practice members. You are the ones that position us analysts for success. Our reports and insights can’t be generated without you providing direction, access, and connections to your team members. Through your guidance and tireless work, you help us establish and nurture the relationships necessary to do our jobs successfully. Thank you.”

–Peter Marston, Research Director, IDC (LinkedIn)

There’s more (music) to analysts

There is no party without music, and true to form we had analysts taking time out from their day job to perform at the IIAR> virtual gathering. The IIAR> thanks Cathy Thornborm / Distinguished VP Analyst (LinkedIn), Gartner, Jon Collins / VP of Research, GigaOM (LinkedIn, @jonno) and Martin Hingley / President, ITCandor (LinkedIn, @mHingley), for bringing their musical talents to the awards ceremony. We wonder if they’re in fact professional musicians moonlighting as analysts?

IIAR> New Analyst of the Year 2020: Liz Miller / VP Analyst, Constellation Research

Liz (LinkedIn, @lizkmiller) was voted as new analyst who brings fresh insights into the analyst community.

IIAR> Thought Leader of the Year 2020: Ted Schadler / VP Principal Analyst, Forrester

Ted (LinkedIn, @TedSchadler) was recognised for Continuously delivering thought-provoking insights in research

The IIAR> Awards Committee

IIAR> Board Members & Chapter Leads

• Aniruddho Mukherjee (@aniruddho, LinkedIn)
• Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovic, LinkedIn)
• Andrew Hsu (@andrew0hsu , LinkedIn)
• Anja Steinmann (@AnjaStienmann,LinkedIn)
• Simon Jones (@SimonDestrier, LinkedIn)
• Yvonne Kaupp (@YveKaupp, LinkedIn)

IIAR> Members

• Stephanie Look (@s_look, LinkedIn)
• Robin Schaffer (@robinjs19, LinkedIn)

Previous winners

• The IIAR> Analyst and Firm Of The Year
• The IIAR> Analyst Relations Professional, Team and Agency Of The Year

About the IIAR> ARPOTY and AOTY

Since 2014, the IIAR> AR Professional of The Year (ARPOTY) survey has aimed to share best AR practices for the benefit of AR professionals and industry analysts alike, and recognises analyst relations professionals for their outstanding work. The Institute surveys hundreds of global industry analysts to measure the performance of individuals, “mega vendor”AR teams, and AR agencies according to the IIAR 3 R’s of analyst relations: Responsiveness, Relationships and Results. 

The IIAR> Analyst of the Year (AOTY) have been running since 2008 and aim to recognise the best industry analysts and firms, as voted by AR professionals and scored according to IIAR> SOSM framework of the impact of industry analysts and influencers. Those awards recognise analysts and firms based on their impact, thought leadership and client service.

About the IIAR 

The Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR) is a not-for-profit organisation established to raise awareness of analyst relations and the value of industry analysts, promote best practice amongst analyst relations professionals, enhance communication between analyst firms and vendors, and offer opportunities for AR practitioners to network with their industry peers. We’re at www.analystrelations.org and @iiar.