Search for top Gartner alternative comes up empty handed

Tekrati is addressing the debate over which industry analyst firm is the best alternative to Gartner, now that Gartner’s acquisition of Meta Group is history.  

Tekrati hand-picked what they consider are seven top choices in North America--Forrester Research, IDC and AMR Research, Burton Group, Info-Tech Research Group, The 451 Group, and Technical Advisory Council—and asked each of them the following question: "What is the primary reason that former META clients, from the end user community, should short-list your company for their industry research and advisory needs?"
 
Here are some highlights from the responses:

• Karyl Levinson, Director, Corporate Communications, Forrester Research: "If former end user clients of META appreciated the company's size, culture and offerings, Forrester is the closest fit. We hear from former META clients that they particularly liked META's responsiveness and service, which is what our clients say they value about Forrester…"
• Michael Shirer, Public Relations Director, IDC: "IDC has the deepest industry knowledge and experience of any market research firm."
• Bruce Richardson, Chief Research Officer, AMR Research: "We serve two primary buyers -- IT and supply chain executives. We tend to win when one or both of these groups is looking for a team of research analysts that understands their vertical market, their critical business processes, and the whole spectrum of enterprise software vendors capable of providing applications or infrastructure software for their specific project or need…"
• Jamie Lewis, CEO and Research Chair, Burton Group: "Because enterprises get something from us that they can't get from other research firms. Burton Group's focus and architectural approach give enterprise customers not just the "what to do," but the "how to do it…"
• Davin Juusola, Vice President, Info-Tech Research Group: "With more than 25,000 clients at more than 10,000 companies, Info-Tech Research Group is the largest alternative to Gartner…"
• Adam Needles, Vice President, Marketing, The 451 Group: "At an end-user level, The 451 Group is focused specifically on the early-adopter community…"
• Hunter Muller, President & CEO, The Advisory Coucil: "TAC's unique business model is a next generation of IT advisory services, extending the value concept introduced by Meta."

The pitches fall into two camps based on the size of the firms. There are the niche players like Burton Group who cannot be easily compared to Meta apples to apples, and then there are the few 400 pound gorillas, like IDC and Forrester, which have a large scope but distinct agendas. Tekrati added insight from its own readers in its report, which, in this single statement, seems to sum up what conclusions can be drawn from this dubious excercise: "Ironically, there is no clear-cut consensus on a "top five" industry analyst list -- or on whether the META acquisition left a void in the IT industry research market."