Ava AbbottGartner is the world’s leading research and advisory firm based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company was founded in 1979 by Gideon Gartner and went public a year later. Gartner’s services include research, executive programs, consulting, and conferences.
The firm’s analysts conduct extensive market research for companies in the IT, finance, communications, legal, and marketing sectors. They compile the results to visualize actionable insights. Gartner has 16,724 employees with $4.1 billion in revenue in 2020. [1]
Gartner delivers objective insight and expert guidance to corporate clients to improve their decision-making and performance. Since its founding, Gartner has evolved to become a thought leader in the IT sector.
Its IT research and advisory service involve intelligence gathering to help clients flourish. The company also runs events targeting IT, supply chain, and marketing. Clients access Gartner’s services worldwide on a subscription basis. Gartner has to fend off strong competitors like G2, Forrester, and IDC. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of top Gartner’s competitors and alternatives:
1. G2.com
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Chicago, Illinois
G2 is the largest peer-to-peer review site and most trusted software marketplace. The platform aggregates user reviews for business software, helping 60 million people annually make smarter software purchase. In Jun 2021, G2 raised $157 million in Series D. The company is now worth more than $1 billion, with only 360 employees.
The main competitive advantage for G2 over Gartner is its authentic peer-to-peer reviews. These verified reviews command consumers’ trust, eliminating doubts, bias, and conflict of interests.
G2 has accumulated over 400,000 reviews based on a five-star system, with only one rating per review. Users can sort reviews by the company size, organizational role, and industry. G2 is the top Gartner competitor and alternative for software buyers. [3]
2. Forrester
Year founded: 1983
Headquarter: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Forrester is one of the most influential research and advisory firms globally. The company disrupted the industry as the pioneer of an age-based customer-driven strategy. In 2020, Forrester earned $448.98 million in revenue.
Forrester provides research and advisory services to professionals across technology, marketing, customer experience, product, and sales functions. Both Forrester and Gartner help companies understand market trends and consumers to accelerate growth.
Forrester’s clients gain insights through its annual surveys of more than 675,000 consumers and business leaders worldwide. The company leverages objective research methodologies, such as Forrester Wave™ evaluations with over 52 million real-time feedback votes to guarantee the success of its clients. Forrester is a formidable Gartner competitor. [4]
3. TrustRadius
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Austin, Texas
TrustRadius is a review and rating site for technology products, improving buyers’ purchase decisions. The platform helps vendors improve conversion, engage high-intent buyers, and gain customer insights. More than 1.75 million potential buyers visit TrustRadius annually, with a growth rate of 100% per year.
TrustRadius is one of the most trusted review sites for business technology. According to usage data, over 1 million B2B technology buyers rely on TrustRadius to make informed purchasing decisions. Over 50% of the users are large enterprises.
The company presents information to users via TrustMaps, similar to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. TrustRadius is one of the best Gartner alternatives to Gartner for business technology buyers and vendors. [5]
4. International Data Corporation (IDC)
Year founded: 1964
Headquarter: Needham, Massachusetts
IDC is a research and advisory firm owned by the International Data Group (IDG). In Jun 2021, Blackstone acquired IDG for an enterprise value of $1.3 billion. IDG has around 3000 employees and makes over $3 billion in revenue annually.
IDC leverages 1,100 analyst experts worldwide to technology and industry trends in over 110 countries. Its parent company also owns CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Macworld, PCWorld, and Tech Hive.
IDC dives deeper into different IT sectors to help consumers find the best solutions. Its 3,900 clients have access to various research documents, information services, and conferences. IDC is one of the top Gartner competitors in the IT research sector. [6]
5. Spiceworks
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: Austin, Texas
Spiceworks is a community for IT pros who review tech products. The platform provides high-quality content on evolving technologies to support businesses and troubleshoot issues. Since its founding, Spiceworks has raised $111 million in funding. The company generates around $55 million in revenues annually.
In 2020, Spiceworks acquired Aberdeen. With a leading provider of behavioral-based marketing solutions and research, its B2B marketers will now have actionable visibility into businesses and access to high-quality intent data to drive decisions.
The Spiceworks Community and forums will continue as Aberdeen joins its portfolio of brands. Spiceworks and Aberdeen union increase the firm’s competitive advantage over Gartner. [7]
6. IT Central Station
Year founded: 2011
Headquarter: Modiin, Israel and New York, NY
IT Central Station is the world’s fastest-growing member-based peer review site for enterprise technology. The platform offers reviews on B2B technology, cybersecurity, DevOps, and IT management. In Oct 2021, IT Central Station closed a $30 million Series A funding round. The company will use the funds to expand into new categories and rebrand as PeerSpot. [8]
IT Central Station has over 300,000 members who review products in around 600 categories. In 2021, IT Central Station streamlined technology buying decisions for 97 Fortune 100 companies.
The firm grew its ARR by over 120% and surpassed 500,000 registered members during this period. Also, 3.5 million enterprise software buyers visited the site in 2021. IT Central Station is one of the best Gartner alternatives for enterprise technology reviews.
7. Frost & Sullivan
Year founded: 1961
Headquarter: San Antonio, Texas
Frost & Sullivan is a business consulting firm with about 45 offices in America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The company offers market research and analysis, growth strategy consulting, and corporate training. In 2020, Frost & Sullivan had 1,800 employees and generated $180 million in revenue.
Frost & Sullivan leverages clients’ visionary innovation to exploit growth opportunities. The company develops growth strategies for the global 1000, SMBs, and the public sector. Like Gartner, Frost & Sullivan awards innovative companies each year.
For example, the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognizes high performers in leadership, tech innovation, customer service, and product development. Frost & Sullivan is a strong Gartner competitor. [9]
8. Nielsen Holdings
Year founded: 1923
Headquarter: New York, NY
Nielsen is a global data and analytics company that helps clients understand their audience. The company has maintained its global leadership in tracking television audience viewership since 2017. In 2020, Nielsen had 44,000 employees worldwide with $6.2 billion in revenue.
The market measurement media company recently deleveraged its balance sheet by selling its less attractive Connect business for $2.7 billion.
This move allows the company to focus on the more attractive Watch business that measures viewership ratings. Nielsen’s expertise in the media market increases its competitive advantage over Gartner in this sector. [10]
9. eMarketer
Year founded: 1996
Headquarter: New York, NY
eMarketer is a subscription-based market research company. The firm was recently acquired by Axel Springer for $242 million. In 2020, eMarketer had around 300 employees with $31 million in revenue.
eMarketer Insider Intelligence helps clients understand global digital trends in IT, telecom, retail, healthcare, travel, and other sectors. The company aggregates data from over 2,800 sources to provide contextualized information. Subscribers can access forecasts and a news feed about online consumer expenditure, digital marketing, and advertising. eMarketer is a formidable Gartner competitor. [11]
10. GetApp
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: Barcelona, Spain
GetApp offers user and editorial reviews to help SMBs make the right software choice. The site specializes in BI, analytics, customer management, collaboration, operations, sales, and human resources. Over the years, GetApp has accumulated reviews on more than 3,000 apps.
SMBs use GetApp as a recommendation engine for SaaS solutions. Its easy-to-use interface is enticing for newbies in business management. Users also have access to GetApp products, such as AppStorm, AppAppeal, and AppFinder.
In 2021, GetApp focused on helping SMBs create efficient and productive hybrid work models. Though GetApp is a Gartner company, it offers one of the best alternatives for SMBs. [12]
References & more information
- Mlitz, K. (2021, Mar 19). Annual revenue of Gartner 2010-2020. Statista
- Gartner, Inc. (2021, Nov 2). Gartner Reports Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results. Business Wire
- Wilhelm, A. (2021, Jun 22). G2 raises $157M for its software review service. TechCrunch
- Agarwal, S. (2021, Oct 22). Forrester Research to Broadcast Its 2021 Third-Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Yahoo Finance
- Havener, A. (2021, Oct 6). TrustRadius announces 2021 Tech Cares Award recipients. Inforney
- Anderson, M. (2021, Jun 3). Blackstone to Acquire International Data Group. Business Wire
- RJ (2021, Nov 23). Aberdeen Joins the Spiceworks Ziff Davis Family. Spiceworks
- IT Central Station (2021, Oct 6). IT Central Station Raises $30 Million From Invictus Growth Partners. Business Wire
- Toscano, C. (2021, Dec 9). Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Leading Organizations with Prestigious 2021 Best Practices Awards. PRNewswire
- Mari, J. K. (2021, Dec 16). Should You Consider Investing in Nielsen Holdings (NLSN)? Yahoo Finance
- Bourke, T. (2021, Nov 2). eMarketer Insider Intelligence. EUI
- Palms, C. (2021, Sep 20). GetApp Reports That IT Leaders’ Top Goal Should be to Enable Hybrid Work. Business Wire
- Featured image by Carlos Muza
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Brianna Parker
Kevin Johnson
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