MEMORANDUM To: From: Re: Date: Pam O’Neal, Vice President of Marketing, BreakingPoint Systems, Inc. Claire Boetticher, Chandler Christoffel, Michael Daniels and Yunmeng Du BreakingPoint Systems, Inc. Research Project December 3, 2008
BreakingPoint Systems, Inc. (BP) develops and markets network testing equipment. The company offers products that enable network equipment manufacturers, service providers and enterprises to amplify and modify network traffic, receive security information and test automation services. BP was founded in 2005 and is aiming to expand its share within the rapidly evolving server load testing market. BP aims to accomplish this by undertaking both targeted and broad marketing initiatives to penetrate the market shares of its competitors. To that end, our project is twofold. First, we analyze the United States and global market for server load testers with the goal of locating potential new customers. We identify not only potential customers, but also the contacts in those companies that are in charge of either their test labs or, more generally, information technology infrastructure. Ultimately we identify a list of the top fifty companies that might buy BP load testers in the sectors described above. Second, we identify and segment key influencers in the industry that would be important to broader marketing initiatives. Pursuant to BP’s request, we divide these influencers into four segments: technical forums, bloggers, media and industry analysts. We also added in an additional category for associations. Part I of this memorandum outlines the research methods we employed in compiling and ranking our top fifty potential customer list. Part II briefly introduces our findings and references the spreadsheet containing our top fifty list which follows this memorandum. Part III reviews our
research methods for gather information on key influencers in the industry, including technical forums, media, bloggers, industry analysts and associations. Part IV presents the findings of our research on key influencers and provides URLs, descriptions and web traffic data. I. METHODS: POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS A. Identifying Potential Customers In order to compile and rank our customer list, we used Gartner (http://www.gartner.com/) (accessed via UT proxy), Capital IQ (https://www.capitaliq.com/ciqdotnet/login.aspx) (accessed via INF 382N trial subscription) and Hoovers (http://www.hoovers.com) (accessed via UT proxy). Using keywords provided by BP’s November 18th PowerPoint presentation, we started our search within Gartner to better conceptualize and define the market and its segmentation. Gartner's various market reports, particularly marketscope and magic quadrant, clarify the types of products and services available in an industry, and they also provide trends, developments and key companies for each type. For example, Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Application Servers, 2Q2008 names niche players, challengers, visionaries, and industry leaders for the worldwide enterprise application server market. Gartner helped us gain the vocabulary and conceptual understanding to further research and identify potential network service providers, network management systems, and enterprise management system vendors. It also provided us with a large list of companies – customers as well as competitors – which we then leveraged with Capital IQ and Hoovers to extend and verify our findings, and eventually narrow and rank into a list of top 50 suspects. By utilizing SEC filings such as annual reports and prospectus statements, Capital IQ provides lists of customers and competitors for firms. We extended our initial Gartner list in three ways within Capital IQ.
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First, we located customers for BP’s main competitors. Second, we did the reverse: locating competitors for some of BP's main customers. This process was iterative, in that every new competitor or new customer we found would yield its own new list of competitors or customers. We also exploited Capital IQ's industry classification system, which shows the top 10 companies, by revenue, for each industry. In addition to this method, we looked at companies according to Capital IQ’s SIC and NAICS Code classification, though we found this to be less informative than Capital IQ’s own homegrown scheme. Capital IQ's industry classification is markedly unlike Gartner's. Their dissimilarity provided us with differing ways of conceptualizing and organizing the market, ensuring that we develop a broader and thus more accurate market view. Hoover’s also provided us with industry classifications and competitor lists, though its results were mostly obviated by Capital IQ's accurate and extensive listings. Through our iterative and extensive process of compiling an inventory of customers for BP, we were able to verify and whittle down our list by noting those companies that consistently came up in our screening results. B. Contact Information In addition to developing a list of potential customers, we also located specific contacts at each company. To do so, we used Capital IQ’s “Professionals” lists, which are primarily derived from the company’s most recent proxy statements as well as other information on executive membership that the company publishes. The benefit of using Capital IQ’s feature is that it allows for free text searching of the information. To efficiently locate a potential target we conducted a various searches using the term “technology” “labs” or “infrastructure”. We ultimately ended up choosing C-level executives as they most likely the individuals who have
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final authority for large acquisitions. In that sense, they might make a better prospect than a lower-level middle manager. Also, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain which middle manager might have purchasing authority. Once we targeted a contact or, in some cases, multiple contacts, we then located their contact information, including telephone number and mailing address. We primarily used Capital IQ for this and then cross-referenced our findings with Hoover’s, ReferenceUSA (http://www.referenceusa.com/) (accessed through Austin Public Library) or LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations (http://www.corporateaffiliations.com/) (accessed through UT proxy). II. FINDINGS: POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS Based on the results from our research outlined in Part I above, we produced a spreadsheet outlining the top fifty companies that are both high earners, by LTM revenue, and demonstrably suited for BP's services. See the attached spreadsheet, “Top Suspects for Market Prospects…” following this memorandum. We also created an appendix with a list of companies that were on our radar, but whose revenues did not put them in the top fifty. This is attached as Appendix A and follows the spreadsheet. III. METHODS: KEY INFLUENCERS While BP’s products are specifically targeted to those who require network testing equipment, the scope of influencers (potential targets for broad marketing initiatives) is quite large. As such, we casted a broad search net to ascertain a list of key influencers. Below is a list of resources we consulted to identify key influencers in the industry. Rather than focusing specifically on network testing equipment, we found the best search results by reviewing resources that are broad in scope (i.e., information technology or computer science) and then
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narrowing our focus within those resources to topics such as network equipment, performance or security. These resources are in no particular order. A. Google Search We used Google search (http://www.google.com) as our initial search resource. It was useful to gain an understanding of just how large the information technology industry is and the types of resources that covered it. Our initial search strings were: • • • “network” “server” “load” “test” “network” “security” “test” “network” “security” “breakingpoint” These strings were useful in identifying some of the major players in the industry. The third string, in particular, retrieved influencers that covered BP products, which usually led to uncovering an excellent resource that covered the industry. B. Market Research Reports Market Research Reports (http://www.marketresearch.com/) offers more than 160,000 market research reports from over 600 leading global publishers. In particular, they offer a large selection of reports on information technology. The relevant section is accessible at: http://www.marketresearch.com/vhp/comptech/default.asp?categoryid=1599&SID=17882002432931794-417257536. As you can see, they offer roughly 17,700 reports on computer hardware and networking, which includes equipment, e-commerce and IT outsourcing, electronics, networks, and telecommunications and wireless. The network equipment and hardware section includes 898 reports. We conducted a search for “network” “server” “load” “test” and retrieved a few interesting hits. Browsing through categories was also useful in getting a sense of what firms and
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analysts were covering this field. The reports are all available for purchase and range in price. Given that some of the reports were quite costly, we did not purchase any for the purpose of developing this report. C. MindBranch MindBranch (http://www.mindbranch.com) is similar to Market Research as it offers market research, global business information and independent equity analysis. They cover 130 sectors. MindBranch has pretty deep coverage of computers/information technology generally. This section is accessible at: http://www.mindbranch.com/catalog/find.jsp?cat=comp. Roughly 3800 reports are available on networking. We repeated our search pattern from Market Research. First, we conducted a search for “network” “server” “load” “test” and retrieved a few interesting hits. Browsing through categories was also useful in getting a sense of what firms and analysts were covering this field. The reports are all available for purchase and range in price. Given that some of the reports were quite costly, we did not purchase any for the purpose of developing this report. D. Hoover’s Industry Profiles Hoover’s (http://www.hoovers.com) (accessed via UT Proxy) is also useful for getting more information on key influencers in various industries. Each of their industry reports include a “Web Resources” section that notes good places to track industry news, developments, reviews, etc. We browsed through the profiles in the “Computer Networking Equipment” section (Industries tab Browse Industries (underneath search box) Computer Hardware
Computer Networking Equipment. This section contains more specific profiles too. Of particular interest are the profiles on “Network Access & Communication Devices” and “Network Security Devices”.
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E. CEOExpress CEOExpress (http://www.ceoexpress.com) is a business information portal site. It is designed to be the executive’s interface to the Internet. CEOExpress links to only the most critical sites that a C-level executive needs to read to understand the broad scope of a particular subject. Of particular interest to this project is their section on “Tech Magazines and News”. It contains links to several magazines that are useful for executives concerned with business information technology. These are discussed below under “Media”. F. Special Issues Special Issues (http://www.specialissues.com) (accessed via INF 382N class login info) is a site that indexes special issues published by a wide variety of magazines and highlights industry outlooks, overviews, or surveys; statistical issues; company ranking lists; buyers guides; salary surveys; product/industry focus issues; membership directories; who's who registers; tradeshow specials; etc. We conducted a search using two search strings: • • “network” “equipment” “test” “network” “computer” Obviously, the first search was our specific search and the second was broader. Unfortunately, neither search retrieved any valuable hits. The only hit retrieved was to an unrelated review of personal computers from 1999. Any of the valuable information that might be obtained from this website is probably covered elsewhere in the resources we did find. G. Google Directory Google Directory (http://www.google.com/dirhp) is a portal site aimed at being the largest human-edited directory on the web (it certainly succeeds). This directory is so large that
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borders on unwieldy. Nevertheless, it can be a useful tool for a project like this. There is a section specific to computer hardware. This is accessible at: http://www.google.com/Top/Computers/Hardware/. As you can see, there is a section on “Test Equipment” as well as a variety of other relevant sections that are worth exploring. We did not find any additional resources beyond what we found using a Google search, but the directory may be worth trolling, to find smaller sites that would be useful for BP’s broad marketing initiatives. H. Business Source Complete Business Source Complete (accessed via Austin Public Library) is a scholarly business database providing a collection of bibliographic and full text content in all disciplines of business. It includes business journals, financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, and SWOT analyses. We conducted a search using several search strings: • • • • • “network” “server” “load” “test” “network” “security” “test” “network” “security” “breakingpoint” “network” “equipment” “test” “network” “computer” The goal of searching Business Source Complete was to retrieve names of either analysts or publications that cover the network load testers. We retrieved a few additional names, but most of the publications were ones we had already identified. I. Plunkett Research
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Plunkett (http://www.plunkettresearch.com/) is similar to Marketing Research and Mindbranch in that it provides industry sector analysis and research, industry trends and industry statistics. Plunkett covers “Computers, Software & Infotech”. We attempted both browsing that category and conducting a search. We were unable to locate any reports that appeared to be on point, but it might be worth calling Plunkett at (713) 932-0000 or e-mailing them at customersupport@plunkettresearch.com to see if they have any reports that might be relevant. J. UT Libraries “Research by Subject” UT Libraries’ “Research by Subject” pages are a useful starting point (free, open to public) means to get an overview of the better resources available on a particular subject. Of particular interest here are the pages on computer science (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/cs/index.html) and business information technology (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/databaseguides/technology.html). The computer science page was particularly useful for identifying major computer and technology news sites. Available at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/cs/news.html. The business information technology page was useful for accessing relevant UT databases (particularly eMarketer and Gartner) that contained various analyst reports which we used to develop the lists of analysts below. IV. FINDINGS: KEY INFLUENCERS Using the resources listed in Part III, we developed a list of key influencers in the industry. Pursuant to BP’s request, we parsed the results into four categories: technical forums, bloggers, media and industry analysts. We also added a fifth category for associations. These results are not likely to be complete, because it is a large, diverse industry that receives a tremendous amount of coverage, particularly on the Web. Nevertheless, our list is quite
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comprehensive and in compiling these results we researched until we began to see the same influencers appearing in our results. A. Technical Forums We found a few technical forums dedicated to a general discussion of network test products. We repeatedly kept coming across support forums sponsored various companies in the larger information technology industry. We have listed the types of forums we came across the most, along with a brief description below: 1. Software Quality Assurance Forums Software Quality Assurance forums (http://www.sqaforums.com/) received many hits in the various Google searches we ran for forums. The forums cover a broad range of topics, but there is considerable coverage of load testing on this forum and it does not appear to be sponsored by any vendor. 2. Software Gurus Software Gurus Forum (http://www.softwaregurusforum.com) received quite a few hits in our web searches as well. The forum’s scope is general, but the site dedicates a whole section to testing equipment. In particular, HP LoadRunner has its own forum. 3. HP IT Resource Center The HP IT Resource Center (http://www.itrc.com) is Hewlett-Packard’s general support forum for its products. Users are able to run a text search for the particular products they are interested in (i.e., “loadrunner”). LoadRunner receives considerable coverage in this forum. While HP likely monitors this forum and would delete any posts remotely considered advertising for a rival product, it might be in the interest of BP to develop a similar forum for its products. 4. Citrix Forums
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Citrix Forums (http://forums.citrix.com/support) is similar to HP’s forums insofar as it is dedicated to support of its own products. There is, however, significant testing of Citrix products with load testers, such as HP LoadRunner. Citrix Forums is another example of how BP could develop a similar forum setup, though it is not solely dedicated to support of its own products. B. Media There is a plethora of media sites dedicated to IT and all of its various specialties. While we were not able to find any data to quantify the relative influence, we were able to pull traffic statistics for each of these sites from Alexa (http://www.alexa.com). While this is an imperfect measurement of influence, at least it offers some distinction between the sites. All of these sites, however, are considered to be top news sources for information technology news and it is worth noting that many of them function as news portals. Additionally, many of these sites also sponsor blogs, which we have noted where appropriate. These blogs supplement are listed in the following section. We have listed these sites, in no particular order, along with a brief description and Alexa web traffic data1 below. 1. Network World Network World (http://www.networkworld.com/) provides information, intelligence and insight for Network and IT Executives. Alexa Web Traffic: 16,334. Network World also has an extensive blog series (http://www.networkworld.com/blogs/) in addition to their publication. Some of the more appropriate ones for our purposes are: a. Layer 8 (http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/31) b. Tech Exec (http://www.networkworld.com/community/techexec) by Linda Musthaler
The Alexa web traffic number is the site’s rank among all other sites. As such, a lower number indicates a higher ranking.
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c. App Performance View (http://www.networkworld.com/community/appview) by Peter Sevcik and Rebecca Wetzel d. Brad Reese on Cisco (http://www.networkworld.com/community/bradreese) by Brad Reese g. Intelligent Network Computing (http://www.networkworld.com/community/intelligent) by Tony Bishop and Sheppard Narkier h. Security Phreak (http://www.networkworld.com/community/securityphreak) by Noah Schiffman. 2. Network Computing Network Computing (http://www.networkcomputing.com/) is published by Information Week and focuses on network technology, product reviews, comparisons, analysis and advice for IT professionals. Alexa Web Traffic: 82,256. Network Computing also has a blog series (http://www.networkcomputing.com/blog/dailyblog/) in addition to their publication. They publish blogs written on a wide variety of topics in networking, including: security, application infrastructure, network and system management, network infrastructure, enterprise applications, and application performance. These blogs are all worth checking out. 3. TechRepublic TechRepublic (http://www.techrepublic.com) is published by CBS and ZDNet. It provides technical content resource dedicated to delivering timely information technology news to information technology professionals. Alexa Web Traffic: 1,593,993. TechRepublic offers a couple of relevant blogs: “Servers and Storage” (http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/datacenter/) written by John Sheesley. “IT Security” (http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/) written by Chad Perrin.
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4. Datamation Datamation (http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/) provides news and analysis for IT professionals. It features articles on enterprise resource planning, remote backup data storage solutions, computer network security, enterprise integration, mobile wireless applications, and open source software project management. Alexa Web Traffic: 38,255. 5. InfoWorld InfoWorld (http://www.infoworld.com/) provides information technology resources in the enterprise IT marketplace as well as opportunities for the enterprise IT community to coalesce and interact to solve business problems, exchange information, and network with other IT professionals. Alexa Web Traffic: 22,802. InfoWorld has a number of relevant blogs: “Storage Adviser” (http://weblog.infoworld.com/storageadviser/) “Sustainable IT” (http://weblog.infoworld.com/sustainableit/). This blog would be particularly relevant to BP’s interest in providing a green alternative. “Tech’s Bottom Line” (http://weblog.infoworld.com/tech-bottom-line/) 6. Information Week Information Week (http://www.informationweek.com/) features a wide variety of news and resources broadly focused on information technology. Alexa Web Traffic: 12,718. Information Week has a number of relevant blogs in several areas of interest to BP: “Security”(http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/security/index.html) “Innovation” (http://www.newageofinnovation.com/) “Green Computing” (http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/green_computing/index.html)
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“Information Management” (http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/information_management/index.html) 7. Dark Reading Dark Reading (http://www.darkreading.com) focuses on IT security, helping information security professionals manage the balance between data protection and user access. It is owned by Information Week. Alexa Web Traffic: 90,025. Given Dark Reading’s focus on information technology security, many of their blogs are relevant. These can be accessed at: http://www.darkreading.com/blog/ 8. ZDNet ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com/) is broadly focused on technology and caters to both business executives and information technology professionals. Alexa Web Traffic: 2222. ZDNet publishes many blogs, but a couple may be relevant. These include: “Between the Lines” (http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/) by Larry Dignan and other IT industry experts. Blog at the intersection of business and technology, deliver daily news and analysis on vital enterprise trends. “Enterprise Alley” (http://blogs.zdnet.com/enterprisealley/). Showcases startup-style vendors who are solving old problems in a new way or offering a glimpse into the future of enterprise applications. 9. CNET CNET (http://www.cnet.com) is the online presence of the larger media conglomerate that features product reviews, news and price comparisons, free software downloads, daily
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videos, and podcasts. It is geared toward the general public as well as information technology professionals. Alexa Web Traffic: 160. 10. SC Magazine SC Magazine (http://www.scmagazine.com) provides news, analysis and reviews on information technology security strategies, best practices, government regulations and current infosecurity tools geared towards professionals in the field. Alexa Web Traffic: 362,219. 11. TechTarget TechTarget (http://www.techtarget.com) publishes integrated media that enable information-technology (IT) marketers to reach targeted communities of IT professionals and executives in all phases of the technology decision-making and purchase process. Alexa Web Traffic: 1735. 12. CIO Magazine CIO Magazine (http://www.cio.com) provides technology and business leaders with insight and analysis on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT's role in achieving business goals. Alexa Web Traffic: 27210. 13. ComputerWorld For 40 years, Computerworld (http://www.computerworld.com) has been the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide Alexa Web Traffic: 12974. 14. MIT Technology Review MIT Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com) focuses on emerging technologies, and it identifies and explores the groundbreaking innovations that will shape and define lives and businesses. Alexa Web Traffic: 41974.
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15. IEEE Spectrum Online IEEE Spectrum online (http://www.spectrum.ieee.org) is the flagship publication of the IEEE, the world's largest professional technology association (noted in the following section as well). A monthly magazine for technology innovators, business leaders, and the intellectually curious, Spectrum explores future technology trends and the impact of those trends on society and business. Alexa Web Traffic: 1904. IEEE publishes a couple of blogs on general technology topics, similar to Slashdot (discussed below). Perhaps the most relevant is Tech Talk (http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/tech_talk/), which provides insights into tomorrow's technology and is authored by the editors of IEEE Spectrum, Kieron Murphy, Dexter Johnson and Sally Adee. 16. CRN.com ChannnelWeb (http://www.crn.com), the online home of CRN and VARBusiness, provides technology news, channel news, tools and product reviews for VARs, technology integrators, computer consultants and resellers. Alexa Web Traffic: 23385. CRN’s blog entitled “The Chart” (http://www.crn.com/weblogs/thechart/) by Ed Moltzen might be of interest to BP. 17. E2open.com E2open.com (http://www.e2open.com) is the leading provider of supply chain management software solutions delivered as a service for improved visibility and control over distributed global supply networks. Alexa Web Traffic: 1128407. 18. InternetNews InternetNews (http://www.internetnews.com) provides real-time news updated
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throughout the business day, covering IT issues and Internet-related technologies for corporate managers and hi-tech professionals. Alexa Web Traffic: 45547. 19. IT World IT World (http://www.itworld.com) helps information technology professionals make informed strategic decisions by providing insight on a wide range of technical topics, including security, storage, networking, wireless, utility computing, and open source. Alexa Web Traffic: 40631. IT World’s blog entitled “Security Visualization” (http://www.itworld.com/blog/raffaelmarty) by Raffael Marty is well-known and quite relevant to BP. 20. TRN Technology Research News TRN (http://www.trnmag.com) is an independent publisher and news service dedicated to covering technology research developments in university, corporate and government labs. TRN was founded by and is run by journalists. Alexa Web Traffic: 591,322. 21. SiliconIndia SiliconIndia (http://www.siliconindia.com/) is a membership-based professional networking forum based in India. Members post blogs and news feeds relating to all technology industries in India. Alexa Web Traffic: 761. 22. Business Solutions Magazine Business Solutions Magazine (http://www.businesssolutionsmag.com) produces annual buyer's guides in various technologies. These guides describe the newest technology products available for the channel, and also use editorial input to highlight the most important trends in the various technology spaces. Alexa Web Traffic: 929,426. 23. Telecom Reseller-VOIP Networks
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Telecom Reseller (http://www.telecomreseller.com) is an online source for news and views on the LAN telecom market. The site also lists dealers in the various OEM, equipment, software and services markets as a way to find a vendor, a part or a solution. Alexa Web Traffic: 4,596,200. 24. Federal Computer Week Federal Computer Week (http://www.fcw.com/) provides an information portfolio of print, online, event, custom media and research products to serve the information needs of the government IT buying team—agency executives, program managers, IT managers and systems integrators—across all segments of federal, state and local government. Alexa Web Traffic: 112,680. 25. America's Network America’s Network (available at UT Engineering Library) is a print magazine serving telecommunications carrier companies, and other providers of telecommunications. This resource focuses on emerging technologies, specifically. 26. Networks Update Networks Update (available at UT Engineering Library) is a print magazine that provides the latest news and information about the computer network industry. This includes national, international, public, private, and military network products, services, companies, marketing strategies, and research and development. 27. Queue Queue (available at UT Perry-Castañeda Library) is a publication of the Association of Computing Machinery (discussed in Section D) and is a general computing magazine discussing the challenges expected to arise in the months ahead as new and emerging technologies gain
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widespread acceptance. Queue claims to take an editorial approach that does not focus on the present, but instead helps decision-makers plan future projects by examining the challenges and problems they are most likely to face. 28. NetWorker NetWorker (available at UT Perry-Castañeda Library) is another publication of the Association of Computing Machinery that delivers the latest on technologies and trends to its audience of practitioners, designers, business managers, and others plugged into the networking culture. C. Blogs In addition to the blogs sponsored by media sites that we noted above, there are several other blogs that might be of interest to BP. We approached the blog search similar to our media search and achieved similar results. We have listed these, in no particular order. Where applicable, we have also noted the blog’s author. 1. Michael Cote’s Blog Michael Cote, an analyst at RedMonk (discussed in Section D below) has a blog on RedMonk’s website. (http://www.redmonk.com/cote/). Cote discusses a range of topics, including enterprise software, specializing in open source and IT management. 2. Forrester Research Blog for Application Development and Program Management Forrester Research publishes a blog for application development and program management professionals (http://blogs.forrester.com/appdev/) that has pretty broad coverage. Nevertheless, it may be interesting to review occasionally to see how BP can respond to current developer needs 3. Slashdot
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There are, of course, a wide variety of topics covered on Slashdot (http://slashdot.org/), including material beyond computer networking, but we think it may fit within BP’s interests. D. Industry Analysts As with the other key influencers discussed throughout Part III, there are a wide variety of firms and individuals engaged in analyzing the information technology industry as well as its various specialties. While we do not expect that this list is comprehensive, it identifies many of the key players watching the industry. In addition to the firms discussed in this suggestion, many of the bloggers discussed in the previous section serve as consultants and frequently discuss industry issues. They are worth considering when looking for information technology market analysis 1. Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan (http://www.frost.com) has a long history of analyzing the information and technology markets. In particular, they focus on enterprise communications, communication services, conferencing & collaboration, mobile & wireless, space & communications, IT applications & services, network security, contact centers, and kiosks & retail systems markets. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can keyword search them on Frost & Sullivan’s website. 2. IDC IDC (http://www.idc.com/) focus on market research in business intelligence and analytics, the digital marketplace, open source, security, small and medium business markets, telecommunications, virtualization, VOIP and wireless and mobile. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can keyword search them on IDC’s website. 3. Yankee Group
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Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com/) is an independent technology research and consulting firm that focuses on the impact of global connectivity revolution on enterprises and consumers. Our expertise spans the technologies creating communications change, and the regions and industries affected by that transformation. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can keyword search them on Yankee’s website or through one of the aggregators below. 4. Forrester Research Forrester Research (http://www.forrester.com) aims to provide pragmatic and forwardthinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 19 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, consumer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. They focus on the business implications of technology change with the goal of creating a unified technology plans that gain businesses an advantage. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can keyword search them on Forrester’s website. 5. Enterprise Management Associates Enterprise Management Associates (http://www.enterprisemanagement.com) is a leading industry analyst and consulting firm that specializes in information technology management technologies. They deliver research, analysis and consulting primarily to enterprise information technology professionals and information technology management vendors. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can keyword search them on EMA’s website. 6. RedMonk
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RedMonk (http://redmonk.com) is a relative newcomer – founded in 2002. They perform occasional project work, but primarily work under yearly retainer subscriptions in the information technology industry. Their reports are not freely available online. 7. Wintergreen Research Wintergreen Research (http://wintergreenresearch.com) is involved in analysis and forecasting in the international telecommunications and advanced computer technology markets. They provide strategic market assessments of the internet, software, hardware, telecommunications, security, nanotechnology, healthcare, energy, and pharmaceutical industries. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can search them on Wintergreen’s website. 8. Plunkett Research Plunkett Research (http://www.plunkettresearch.com) provides industry sector analysis and research, industry trends and industry statistics for broad variety of markets, including health care, financial services, retailing, entertainment, energy and information technology. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can search them on Plunkett’s website. 9. MindBranch MindBranch (http://www.mindbranch.com/) provides industry sector analysis and research, industry trends and industry statistics for broad variety of markets. Their reports are not freely available online, but you can search them on MindBranch’s website. 10. IT-Harvest IT-Harvest (http://it-harvest.com) is an independent information technology research firm that focuses on information technology security space and attempts to cover the 1,200+ vendors
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that provide security products and services to the enterprise. Their reports are freely and available on their website. E. Associations In addition to the influencers outlined above, we also think it is important to include associations among these influencers. We have identified the following associations below that might be relevant to BP’s broader marketing initiatives. 1. AeA (formerly American Electronics Association) The AeA (http://www.aeanet.org) is a trade association that represents all segments of the technology industry and is dedicated to increase the economic prosperity of its members through lobbying. 2. Association for Competitive Technology The Association for Competitive Technology (http://www.actonline.org/) is a grassroots advocacy and education organization representing more than 3000 small and mid-size information technology firms from around the world. ACT is the only organization focused on the needs of small business innovators from around the world. ACT provides resources like the Innovators Network to help its members leverage their intellectual assets to raise capital, create jobs, and continue innovating. 3. Computing Technology Industry Association CompTIA (http://www.comptia.org/) is the voice of the world’s information technology industry. It is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. 4. Information Technology Association of America
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The Information Technology Association of America (http://www.itaa.org/) is dedicated to representing and enhancing the competitive interests of the U.S. information technology and electronics industries. ITAA provides leadership in business development, public policy advocacy, market forecasting and standards development to more than 350 corporate members. Its members range from the smallest start-ups to industry leaders offering services, system integration, Internet, telecommunications, software, electronics and hardware solutions to the public and commercial sector markets. 5. IEEE IEEE (http://www.ieee.org) is one of the leading professional associations for the advancement of technology. 6. Association of Computing Machinery The Association of Computing Machinery (http://www.acm.org/) is an organization for computing professionals, delivering resources that advance computing as a science and a profession; enable professional development; and promote policies and research that benefit society. CONCLUSION This memorandum discussed our research methods and findings for two projects. In Parts I and II we analyzed the United States and global market for server load testers with the goal of locating potential new customers. We identified potential customers as well as contacts in those companies that are in charge of either their test labs or information technology infrastructure. We produced a list of the top fifty companies that might buy BP load testers in the sectors described above. In Parts III and IV, we identified and segmented key influencers in the industry that would be important to broader marketing initiatives. Overall this research will assist BP in
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launching both targeted and broader marketing objectives with the intent of penetrating the market shares of its competitors.
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