“It is a tribute to everyone at Giga that Forrester has decided to purchase our company. “Giga brings deep IT research that augments our emerging technology focus, as well as approximately 900 new client relationships. But there some things that just don’t make sense:Gartner is once again bullish about the next year, forecasting a revenue growth of 10% to 12%, with the highest forecasts in research. I have a spreadsheet with lots of data comparisons, but I’m assuming that not everyone is as fascinated with this detail as I am, so I’ll keep it high-level. Gartner, Inc, officially known as Gartner, is a global research and advisory firm providing information, advice, and tools for leaders in IT, finance, HR, customer service and support, communications, legal and compliance, marketing, sales, and supply chain functions. Forrester has a long history of successful acquisitions — from Giga to Jupiter to Fletcher Research in the UK to Springboard in Asia and to our 2018 acquisitions of FeedbackNow and GlimpzIt. If a majority but less than 90 percent of Giga’s outstanding shares are tendered, Giga would become a majority-owned subsidiary of Forrester and a meeting of Giga’s stockholders would need to be called to complete the transaction. A Webcast replay will be available from January 21, 2003, through January 28, 2003.“We believe that this acquisition significantly expands our coverage and reach,” stated George F. Colony, Forrester’s chairman of the board and chief executive officer. On its earnings call, Forrester said that it had appointed Doug Kohen, formerly head of operations & strategy, to lead its acquisitions, with a goal of completing one deal per year.Meanwhile, International Data Corporation is also cashed-up for acquisitions, with its new Chinese venture capital owners also placing some emphasis on inorganic growth.Forrester was trying to differentiate itself from Gartner and get a head-start in tapping into the new research goldmine. It seems that the bigger Gartner gets, the harder it is to navigate.Forrester is forecasting a revenue growth of -1% to 2% for 2017, which is its lowest outlook since a similar forecast for 2013.Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.It’s no secret that Gartner invests heavily in its salesforce and in sales training, but it doesn’t tolerate under-performers. Gartner consistently walks the talk and lives up to its forecasts, so if it says it’s going to do something, then you’re unlikely to see a different outcome.Forrester, meanwhile, seems to be under attack from some of the ATGs (Alternatives to Garter) which have narrower focus, particularly around digital marketing. From an analyst relations perspective, we could choose how to deal with them, depending on our own objectives.Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:Forrester brought on Michael Morhardt about four years ago as Chief Sales Officer, and has continued to refine its sales model since then, with varying degrees of success. The most attractive are those outside of IT, who can add breadth to the offerings of these traditionally IT-focused firms.Regardless of this, Gartner and Forrester are pretty much in the same business. Gartner’s revenue has grown at a CAGR of 11.1% since 2013 and 11.3% since 2010, while Forrester’s has grown 3.1% since 2013 and a slightly better 4.5% since 2010.