HotTopics:The $142 Million META Transition: One Year Later

One year after Gartner's acquisition of rival META Group, we are revisiting the deal and how the transition is going for Gartner, for the IT research vendors who stood to gain from the META shift, and for the buyers who were META clients. Based on interviews with buyers and users of IT research, a group of IT research vendors positioned to benefit from the META transition, and Gartner itself, the HotTopics provides a snapshot of the current state of IT research. It analyzes how Gartner approached converting META customers, how other IT research vendors have reacted and benefited from the increased interest in their offerings as an alternative to META's, and how buyers have responded to the transition and Gartner's execution of it. Gartner is meeting its targets, retaining 50-55 percent of META's 2004 renewal business base. However, the HotTopics uncovers a level of buyer dissatisfaction with the transition and a continuing interest in new alternatives, so Gartner is not assured of retaining the META revenues in the next renewal cycle. For other IT research players, the HotTopics identifies opportunities to continue to pursue META business in 2006 and to offer buyers new types of research products now that they are open to such alternatives. It concludes with a list of essential actions for IT research vendors, including watching for price-sensitive buyers as IT research prices generally inch up. .