By Ian Scott
Now in its 20th year, the Analyst Value Survey (AVS) run by the Analyst Observatory is the only survey asking industry professionals about analysts and advisory consultants.
While we waited for the closure of this year’s survey, we decided to review the most recent results to see if there were any significant differences between the views of respondents in different areas of the world. We found that the short answer is yes. There most certainly are some differences.
We’re focussing on outlining some of the differences surrounding one key area in the survey; perception of the value for money given by major analyst firms.
The overall global ranking of which firms deliver the most value for money contains a mix of smaller, boutique firms and the biggest global players near the top. Gartner, Forrester, and IDC all sit in the top five, but when we looked at regional differences, we found some interesting things.
For example, American survey respondents rate Gartner, Forrester, and IDC as providing much greater value for money than their European counterparts. In fact, our data suggests that Gartner’s value for money score in the US is 23% higher than in Europe.
Could this reflect a cultural trait? Perhaps Americans are more generous in their evaluations?
Analysis shows this is not the case.
European and American participants score value for money, across the board, at almost exactly the same rate. Where they differ, however, is that Europeans score smaller firms more highly, while US participants tend to favor larger firms.
What causes this? Is it about the fit for business needs? Do smaller specialists better fit smaller European markets? Or, could it simply be that the largest analyst firms deliver higher quality results in the US as opposed to Europe?
Learn more about how the Analyst Value Survey is created by discovering the methodology. To purchase a report, please contact info@sagecircle.com
Ian Scott is one of the rare market research leaders with deep business consultancy experience. He has played a significant design and analysis role at both the Analyst Observatory and Loudhouse Research for the AR community’s two longitudinal studies: the Analyst Advocacy Study and Analyst Value Survey.
He graduated with a Masters in Social Research Methods at the University of Surrey, a pre-doctoral training program supported by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council.