IDC overtakes HfS in 2017 global Analyst Firm Awards

The 2018 Global Analyst Firm Awards have superseded the post below.

Gartner and Forrester’s leadership is no surprise, but IDC has won back third place in the 2017 Analyst Firm Awards, pushing HfS Research into a still-impressive fourth place. PAC and Ovum also rose substantially in 2o16, rounding out the top six.

In 2016’s awards, we saw that firms that could create business leads for their clients were increasingly valued, especially by vendors. That is a big part of Gartner, PAC and ISG’s value in the market.

According to the Analyst Value Survey, ten firms produce around two-thirds of all the value generated by the industry’s sixty largest analyst firms.

  1. Gartner remains the leader in the market, producing around one-fifth of all analyst value. One of its relative weak points, peer services (for example Forrester’s leadership boards, which allow users to interact), could be solved through its recent purchase of CEB.
  2. Forrester remains highly rated for its research, inquiry and advisory services, but its peer communities now produce less comparative advantage as others have developed.
  3. IDC’s users now rate its research more highly than Gartner’s or Forrester’s. Its inquiry and reprint services are also highly respected.
  4. HfS’s research is rated even more highly, and its events are rated second only to Gartner’s, but its influence on purchasing is coming under more competitive pressure.
  5. The CXP Group has risen into the top five this year, as the integration of its PAC, BARC and le CXP units progress. The group’s top-five position comes from excellent advisory services and the highest rated research in the top ten firms. Its influence on purchasing has grown notably.
  6. Ovum’s research has also improved, and its advisory days and reprint services are highly valued. Its peer services are the weakest in the top ten.
  7. Everest Group is rated strongly for research, inquiry and advisory services. It has the opportunity to develop its influence on purchasing and its events business.
  8. 451 Group has entered the top ten, pushing out the Digital Clarity Group. Its research and inquiry services are well-rated, but its peer services and events are badly under-developed.
  9. NelsonHall has fallen out of the top five, but continues to offer strong research, inquiry and advisory services. It is also held back by low-value events and peer networking.
  10. ISG holds on to its place in the top ten narrowly. Its research is not highly rated by most of its users, but its strong advisory services and its leading position in developing business leads continue to be highly valued.

To read more about the methodology, take a look at this page.

Duncan Chapple

Duncan Chapple is the preeminent consultant on optimising international analyst relations and the value created by analyst firms. As SageCircle research director, Chapple directs programs that assess and increase the business value of relationships with industry analysts and sourcing advisors.

There are 5 comments on this post
  1. Alan Rodger
    January 13, 2017, 5:12 pm

    I wonder if you could explain ‘peer services’, ‘peer networking, and ‘peer communities’, particularly in terms of which customer or industry audience these individually serve?
    I have checked the methodology’ page but there is no explanation there..

  2. January 14, 2017, 11:08 am

    Hi Alan. peer services are those like Forrester’s leadership boards, which allow users to interact. They serve a wide range of professionals, on both the demand-side and the supply-side.

  3. January 18, 2017, 3:08 pm

    […] picked the best articles from each of the world’s ten leading analysts firms, as ranked in the 2017 Analyst Firm Awards. Together they show how diverse analysts’ most compelling content can be, including deep […]

  4. January 19, 2017, 2:16 pm

    Hi Duncan, can you say anything about market shares of these firms? Global? Europe?
    Regards! Sascha

    • January 20, 2017, 11:41 am

      Hi Sascha. We don’t publish our financial estimates anymore, but the Analyst Value Survey shows market share in term of share of subscribers.