The kea is a large species of parrot found in the South Island of New Zealand. According to Kea’s website, “Keas are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment.” Kea, in support of this endangered species, has adopted its name. It is a fitting name, because one can describe the IT analyst competitive landscape as a harsh environment. Kea Company is a global advisory firm that delivers influencer relations and strategic guidance for vendors of high tech products and services. Of interest to technology buyers, Kea produces the annual Analyst Value Survey (AVS), which details how people value different analysts firms like Gartner, Forrester, and many mid-sized firms. Buyers of these expensive services can use the AVS to understand which analyst firms are really driving value. Duncan Chapple, SVP Influencer Relations Research, explaining the survey states, “very often companies that are buying from analysts have got a small number of strong relationships – they are curious about how they can get better value and what they can do to build up a portfolio so that they can get the maximum value from money from their spending.” The study shows which organizations are delivering the best value for money and the best insight for almost any technology market space.
It is true that in many cases, organizations, due to budget restrictions and the high price of using analyst firms, are forced to choose only a few, if even that many, of firms in which to engage. There is a very real fear of investing in the wrong technology or service. The consequences of making a wrong or bad decision can be dire for an organization, both strategically and financially. Analysts firms, with the guidance of experts, offer solid research and advice to aid in this critical decision-making process. In an ideal world, technology buying decisions would be made by carefully reading research and engaging with analysts from a multitude of firms and other resources. This research is then aggregated and analyzed to fit the specific information need. Most important, when researching multiple sources, patterns, indicating positive or negative reviews and issues start to clearly take shape. It is more difficult to confirm that research is balanced, credible and objective, when only using one or two sources. And on top of that, how do you know which are the best to use and invest your valuable money in? This is where the value of the AVS comes into play. It answers the questions: 1) Is the analyst firm we are currently using the best value for our needs? and 2) Is there a portfolio we could put together that could combine different firms and provide better, deeper coverage? The IT analyst competitive landscape is constantly evolving and changing and the AVS helps IT buyers and decision-makers keep current. The AVS is an open public survey. For the 2014 survey, over 1100 users told Kea how they felt about the technology analyst research firms.
Thank you Bram Weerts, Founder and CEO, for taking the time to speak with me and providing information about Kea Company and the AVS.