HotTopics: Gartner Rolls Out Role-Based Products

In the first quarter, Gartner, by far the largest company in the IT research space, launched the first two of eight new role-based products. This new product line takes Gartner's traditional core-based research and tailors it for the individual IT user, providing a much more relevant product to the consumer of the research. Gartner's approach is more in line with the demand that Outsell has seen in the marketplace for more IT research services that are tailored to be relevant for specific roles and functions. This HotTopics covers Gartner's new product approach based on our analysis of Gartner investor calls, investor presentations, press releases, and a product demonstration. In general, Outsell is very positive toward the new offerings, but they raise a number of specific challenges, including high price points, a dependence on individual buyers in a market more used to centralized buying, and continued reliance on a field sales force. The HotTopics also examines the impact on other IT research vendors including Corporate Executive Board, Forrester, IDC, Info-Tech Research Group, Yankee, and Ovum.