Historical data a plus. Must forecast current year and years 2-5 to be considered a player. Subject coverage Ability to cover many technologies a plus. Ability to understand IT deployment relative to certain vertical industries a bonus. Must be able to cover product categories at a granular level.
Ideal vendor can cover technology, market and competitor trends, equally.
Few firms have demonstrated ability to do this well. Geographic coverage Geographic coverage less important except for understanding the new vendors on the block and who they may be aligned with. Ability to tie opinion to benchmarking or pricing data a bonus. Important to consider whether IT research vendor will state negative opinions about IT vendors who are part of their clientele. IT vendors care less about opinion and more about fact.