Research services
The reports on this site are free because the research pays for itself in other ways. There are four of them, and all four are stated openly, because a research publication that hides its funding is not a research publication.
Industry reports
Commissioned or syndicatedA defined market, measured properly: the size of it, who buys, what they pay, what they already run, and what the primary statistics actually support rather than what a vendor deck claims. Delivered as a numbered-data-point report in the same format as everything on this site, plus the underlying spreadsheet.
- Commissioned. You set the question. We agree the sources and the method before starting, and you see the method before you see the findings.
- Syndicated. We choose the topic, you buy early access and the right to use the figures in your own marketing with attribution.
- Refresh. An existing report re-run when the source data updates, so a number you quoted last year does not quietly go stale.
Every commissioned report states who paid for it, on the page, permanently.
Data licensing
CSV, JSON or feedOur market data index is free to quote with attribution. A licence adds the parts it does not include: the full time series behind a figure, country and size-class breakdowns we have not published, a scheduled feed rather than a download, and the right to redistribute the data inside your own product or client deliverable.
Let us analyse your software
For vendorsCommission an independent analysis of your own product. We take it apart the way we take apart everything else here: what it does well, where it falls short, what the price becomes in practice, and which buyer it is genuinely right for. The result is published with your name on it as the commissioner, permanently.
Vendors ask for it for three reasons: a credible third-party write-up to point buyers at, an outside read on where the product sits against the field, and the questions we ask along the way, which tend to be the ones a prospect asks in the last meeting before signing.
What that does and does not include:
- You get the access, we get the questions. A working account, a walk through the product, and straight answers on pricing and roadmap.
- Facts, yes. Judgements, no. Correct anything we got wrong and we fix it. The assessment stays ours, including the parts you would rather we left out.
- It says who paid. The commissioner is named on the page and stays named. Nothing here is passed off as unpaid work.
- It is not a rewrite service. We do not sell edits to an existing guide, and a factual correction is applied whoever asks for it, vendor or reader.
- You can see it first, and stop it. If the honest version would not help you, say so and we shelve it. What we will not do is publish a softened one.
Ask for the rate card through the contact form.
Advisory and briefings
By the dayShortlist reviews, category briefings and second opinions on a selection already in progress, for buyers rather than vendors. We do not take a commission on the outcome of an advisory engagement, which is the only way that advice is worth anything.
Questions
What does a commissioned industry report cost?
It depends on whether the data already exists. A report built on public statistics we can reach through an API is a matter of days; one that needs a survey fielded across several countries is a matter of weeks.
Tell us the question and the deadline and you get a fixed price and a scope before any work starts.
Can we commission research and keep it private?
Yes. Commissioned work can stay entirely yours, or be published here under our name with the commissioner disclosed on the page.
What we will not do is publish work under our name without saying who paid for it, or let a commissioner change a finding after the fact.
What does a commissioned product analysis involve?
You give us access to the product and honest answers about pricing and roadmap; we write the analysis. Your name appears on the page as the commissioner, permanently.
You see it before it goes live and can correct anything factual, but the judgements are ours. If the honest version would not help you, you can shelve it before publication. What we will not do is publish a softer version of it.
Can a commissioner change what an analysis says?
No, and that is the whole point of disclosing it. If you think an entry is factually wrong, send the evidence to our corrections address and we will check it and fix it, whether you are a customer or not.
That is the only route to changing what a page says, and it is free.
Do you license the underlying data?
Yes. The published index is free to quote with attribution. Licensing covers the things the index does not give you: the full series behind a figure, country and size-class cuts we have not published, a scheduled feed, and permission to redistribute inside a product.