We are pleased to feature an interview with Mr. Sudin Apte - Country Head, Forrester Research. He has more than six years' experience in the research industry and has been closely involved in implementing ARM programs for leading Indian IT companies.

This issue of Confluence being focused on marketing programs, and Analyst Relationship Programs being a  tool that is most often not exploited by companies, we thought it fit to interview Mr. Sudin Apte to throw some light on managing analyst relations. We thank Mr. Apte for readily agreeing to be a part of this issue. He can be contacted at sapte@forrester.com 

Could you please give readers an overview of the size and reach of the IT analyst community?  

The IT Analyst community plays a vital role across Users, Vendors, Investors and Government agencies. It provides an analysis of the current state of technology, industry verticals or markets, and then provides directions for the future.

The IT Analyst community has been in existence for approximately 20 years, and there are more than a 100 such firms, of varying sizes, around the world.  However, on the basis of market reach and industry standing as opinion influencers there are few IT research firms that actually matter. These firms comprise around 2000-odd IT analysts, who advise large and mid size firms across North America , Europe or Asia Pacific. So, one can say that analysts form / create opinions, and to a great extent, influence decision-making.

Mr. Apte, for the benefit of those (from the vendor community) who are not in an Analyst Relationship Management (ARM) program yet, can you please tell us how an analyst program will benefit them? Specifically, to what extent does an analyst influence the buying community?

Analyst Relationship Management (ARM) is probably one of the growing initiatives anchored by the  Marketing function in leading IT Services firms in India. Leading firms have had experienced and dedicated staff  manage this function over the last 1-2 years and have, consequently, reaped several benefits.

There are several levels at which analysts can communicate their views, and influence buying decisions. At one level, the media – print and electronic - publicizes summaries of reports and high-level trends. Secondly, there are several events organized by research firms which are attended by a large number of decision makers. Additionally, around 90% of the  Global 2000 firms subscribe to more than one research agency and utilizes their findings at the time of decision making. On a micro level, organizations refer to analysts through one-on-one interactions, and follow their advice for vendor evaluation, design and evaluation of RFPs, participation in vendor discussions and many more such processes.

At Forrester, we receive several such requests from our clients in the US and Europe , relating to IT Services and BPO. In recent times, we have also received requests pertaining to a specific vendor’s domain skill, competitive analysis of 2-3 Indian players, recommendation in partner selection and the like.

Can you give an example of how an analyst relation program can help bring together a buyer and IT supplier.

Frankly, my opinion is that one should not look at the Analyst relationship as lead generation or direct marketing activity. If that does happen, it should be considered as a bonus.

I personally feel that ARM should ensure two things: keep analysts informed about the activities of your firm, and ensure that key functions in the organization – CXO, Technology and Marketing, for example – use their research extensively, and interact with the analyst. This combination works far better than resorting to vendor briefings alone. I can give two examples – A Chennai based firm approached Forrester to get a particular methodology reviewed. During the process, analysts were quite impressed with the idea, and hence,  recommended this firm to three global financial institutions. In the second case, as an outcome of a briefing, analysts recommended a Bangalore-based firm to prospective channel partners in the US. But remember, this is a long term process and develops as you interact with analysts and win their confidence.

A lot of emerging players do not have the resources to afford extensive programs maintained by the larger players. What approaches would you suggest for such players?

Strictly speaking, you don’t need any investment or an established client relationship to brief an analyst. However, it may help if you read up on their research and are conversant with their opinions / views when you talk to them and brief them. I call this an Integrated Analyst Relationship program. Just to clarify, it’s not a product or offering from Forrester, but a best practice on building good relationships. This would mean you utilize research for your decision making, as well as work consciously to build a strong relationship with the analyst firm. Many Forrester clients are currently using this model and are successful.

Research firms’ delivery models work on a “pull” mechanism. ARM should work with various functions internally and ensure optimum interaction and research usage. Then, it should work along with the technology team and senior management to feed key information to research firms. I have seen that Indian IT vendors focus too much on vendor briefings and repeat the same story time and again. They need to focus on differentiation, business benefits and value to the client.  

You don’t really need big money and resources to run a good ARM program. A well designed and well-implemented ARM program is about innovation, patience, consistent efforts and team work.

What kind of money should a company budget for an analyst program?

There is no hard and fast rule on how much is enough. Broadly speaking, if you spend around 3-5% of your revenue on Marketing, then you should look at spending 5% of your marketing budget on ARM. So, my recommendation for a $ 10 million company would be to invest around $ 20,000 on ARM. Of course, if you have objectives like branding / message communication / Product Review on the anvil then spending may go up.

Research works as a timely information support. Analyst interactions will help you bounce off ideas and get feedback. Research and analyst advice is not only about what to do, but also what not to do. If an analyst helps you avoid one costly mistake your investment sees a return overnight. Remember, analysts talk to thousands of user as well as vendor companies. They can tell you if your idea is truly innovative, or if it has already been tried three times and has failed, in some other part of world, or even by a vendor in your own city. With such an approach, you can be assured of multifold returns on your time and money.

There is another benefit of analyst research. It provides information and analysis free from hype, and is dependable as you are aware of the source. Today, the challenge is not “lack of information, but “too much information”, and doubts about the quality of the information. For any individual company, it is impossible to hire hundreds of staff members - to keep track of emerging technologies, vendor landscape and market trends - at a price for which you can buy syndicated research. So, from that perspective, syndicated research offers you a price advantage.

Right now, the global IT scene is dotted with many Indian players. Do you think that we should continue to play on this advantage?

Forrester believes there will be some level of shake out in the vendor space in India , and more so in the BPO space. Despite the lack of business value offered and  a sound business model, these companies might have survived in the boom period, but in the current tough times, some of  fat in the industry is bound to melt off.

Forrester has been researching more than 50 Indian IT & BPO Companies. We believe they need to focus more on differentiating on business value to the client rather than continue to focus on CMM levels and technology bits and bytes. Firms need to appreciate that buying centers and dollars are constantly shifting and it is Business which is calling the shots. Indian firms also need to ensure that they have a large client base and do not depend merely on 1 or 2 large relationships to get more than 50% of their revenues. Finally, they need to get into the mainstream services market rather than talk only about cost savings and the offshore model.

What is Forrester’s view on the future of offshoring, and what are the destinations that are likely to be significant on the global IT map in the next 5 years?

In a recent research study, we projected that around 3.3 millions jobs will go offshore by 2015, from the US alone. We reviewed 700+ job categories as defined by the US Labor department and evaluated each service definition on sensitivity to offshore and technology dependence. Forrester strongly believes that this market is going to grow - at a moderate rate for IT services, and at a faster pace for BPO.

India will continue to be the destination of choice, with more than 70% of the clients in North America preferring Indian vendors. However, Indian vendors need to ensure that they climb up the value chain rapidly in order to meet the competitive challenges.

With leading analyst companies strengthening their presence in India , how can Indian vendors benefit, in terms of better analyst interaction, programs conceived for them and in other ways?

Leading analyst organizations have significant plans for India. Forrester has a definitive focus on India and we track more than 50 IT Services and BPO firms. Leading CEOs in the industry have made it a point to visit Boston and meet Forrester analysts and management. India figures in many of our analysts’ agenda. Apart from IT Services and Offshore analysts, we have Financial Services and Banking, Manufacturing, Telecom, Media, Healthcare and Retail analysts focusing on Indian IT services companies. We are helping companies to vertically align their solutions , to become more business specific rather than horizontal and to package and position their solutions more effectively. We also provide actionable advice to firms on marketing messages and go-to-market strategies for new lines of business and territories.

At Forrester we are supported by experienced staff. We provide global support with named focal point of interactions in the US as well. Our team helps our clients know research directions, key analysts and helps them in setting up interaction opportunities. We have programs that ensure that the Relationship manager in India, along with the Program Manager in the US works with the client’s multiple departments and locations to ensure that we deliver maximum value via research and analyst interactions.