Opening up our boardroom to discuss Forrester and Gartner

One of Lighthouse’s traditions is the Boardroom, a free and private off-the-record discussion for AR managers. We have been holding these discussions in San Jose every April for a few years: on Thursday, September 20 we’ll start to hold boardroom discussions in London.

The topic for the invite-only discussion in September is the changing business strategies for Gartner and Forrester. Both firms have instituted price rises, re-aligned their salesforce, moved to role-based views and started identify further specific revenue opportunities in the analyst relations functions of vendors.

Generally, these changes are in the interests of AR professionals, including Lighthouse. Higher pricing by analyst firms segments the market, and pushed Gartner and Forrester out of the mid-market. That produces greater opportunities for AR managers who can identify top analysts at a range of firms. Better salespeople and role-based research seems to increase the value of analyst firms, which means AR managers are targetting and audience with increasing impact. More services for AR managers can only help, especially since AR functions in firms with one or fewer AR professionals needs greater support.

However. these changes also has potential risks. Not all client see extra value reflected in the higher prices. Some of services for AR managers are problematic; for example, Forrester’s AR guidance is based partly on research that ‘overfits’ the needs of Forrester analysts and clients, a concern we have shared with several Forrester representatives, and so far has a partial and uneven usefulness.

Boardroom discussions are conducted using the Chatham House Rule: attendees are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of participants may be revealed.

The meeting will be held from 2.15 until 4 pm in central London, allowing plenty of time to travel to a nearby meeting of the IIAR, which starts at 4.30 pm.

If you’d like an invitation, please get in touch. Seats are limited.

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.