Analyst Equity: Why analysts matter - some hard facts

Some new facts have emerged about the influence that industry analysts have on the buying decision.

Thanks to Duncan Chapple at Lighthouse for sharing these on his blog.

They come from a survey which focused on CIOs and telecoms managers in businesses with over 1,000 employees.

- 72% use analysts' opinions when shortlisting products
- 56% have cited analyst research when preparing their business case
- 45% have added in a vendor because of an analyst's recommendation, while
- 42% have removed a vendor on analyst advice.

"The patterns of influence differ between country, industry and with the size of the business: most buyers in finance say that analysts influence a majority of their purchasing, compared to a quarter of those in manufacturing."

Lighthouse's research also suggests:
- One third of enterprise technology buyers have consulted analysts directly each year (by email, phone or face-to-face)
- Two fifths of enterprise buyers have ongoing subscriptions to analyst firms
- Two thirds of firms are guided by one-off analyst reports found online or given to them by vendors or analyst houses
- Over three quarters of buyers are using analysts when deciding on purchases.

"Lighthouse's annual surveys of technology buyers show that industry analysts are the top organizational advisor to buyers, used on a par with buyers' personal network."

Interesting stuff. And bound to prompt some interesting responses from those who believe analyst influence on end-users is on the wane. I shall be watching Duncan's comments with interest!