KPMG pushes out 451 in 2017 Strategy Analyst Firm Awards

For the strategic heavy lifting, executives are reaching out to a very wide range of advisors. Gartner heads up the list when we look at the Analyst Value Survey data to find the analyst firms most valued by people who work on strategy. It creates almost 19% of all the value being produced by analyst services around strategy (If CEB, which Gartner hopes to buy, was included the total would be 20%). Taken together, the ten most valuable firms produce 66% of the analyst value on that topic. That means that while Gartner remains the most valuable firm by a long way, there’s a lot of influence being held by both its major competitors and the long tail.

The top six firms are the same as in the global Analyst Firm Awards announced in January.

  • Gartner, despite struggling with emerging technologies, is stronger in inquiry calls and weaker for peer services.
  • Forrester Research‘s best score was for its strategy research. It scored lowest for its events.
  • IDC, which was recently sold, was also most highly rated for its strategic research, but scored poorly for purchasing recommendations.
  • HfS Research, a freemium leader, got its highest score for its research, and its lowest for business leads.
  • Because of Pierre Audoin Consultants, its flagship brand, the CXP Group did best for research and was least strong for business leads. The CXP Group’s strong research and powerful advisory services are making it a natural partner for strategic advisory work.
  • Ovum was highest rated for its research and lowest rated for the value of its events.

The interesting difference is how Big Four firms, which AR managers tend to ignore, and sourcing advisory businesses are using both research-driven content and strong support for business growth to muscle in on pure-play analysts in the strategic advisory market.

  • KPMG jumps into this top ten, and the 451 Group (451 Research and the Uptime Institute) drops out.
  • Everest Group is valued for its strong delivery of business leads
  • Deloitte, my former employer, is an even stronger deliverer of business leads.
  • ISG, astonishingly, beats even Forrester for the delivery of business leads around strategy.
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.

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