October 18, 2019

Subscribers give most analyst firms six out for ten for value for money

Almost 300 registered for the October 2019 webinar which presented the initial findings of the current Analyst Value Survey (take part before November 18 at http://bit.ly/2019AVS). One of the most interesting findings was that subscribers give most analyst firms six out for ten for value for money.

Above is an updated version of a chart shown in the webinar. We’ve added in more recent initial responses, and added more descriptive axes.

The first message of this picture is that subscribers generally feel they get modest value for money from analyst firms, with the average around six out of ten. Straightaway, we need to point out some limitations to our data.

• The AVS is the biggest survey of its type, and the 225 early responses uses are significant statistically. However, the scores for the firms with fewer subscribers are more volatile and will probably become more moderate as we get more responses.
• Share of subscribers is not the share of spend. These firms vary in their price per seat, and some give access to everyone in the organisation (For example, Frost and Sullivan’s clients have paid for millions of people to have access, but its revenue and active user base are smaller).
• Share of subscribers is not the share of influence. Most people who use analyst insight don’t access it through a subscription, so value for money is not the same as analyst value, since analysts are also valued by those who do not subscribe.

Even so, another finding is implied by the trend line: subscribers to mid-size firms generally feel they get better value for money there than from Gartner, the market leader. Clearly, this has not prevented Gartner from maintaining a leading position. However, those firms looking to win crumbs from Gartner should be able to take comfort in this finding.

More findings from the data will be made available in the Analyst Firm Awards, which our 2019 sponsor, CCgroup, will publish in November. To get a copy, please register at http://bit.ly/2019AFAs