Without an in-depth view of their target markets, technology vendors can waste effort producing products for non-existent prospects, or presenting features that are of little interest to them. Even when their offerings are relevant, there can be difficulty articulating their value, especially when unfamiliar concepts and jargon are involved. All this stands in the way of vendors achieving sales success and their customers and prospects might miss out on potential opportunities to enhance their business performance.

Quocirca's primary research helps to ensure products and services are shaped appropriately and delivered in a way that is accessible to customers. It can also be used to check the level of customer understanding and adoption throughout the product life cycle. For Quocirca's customers, this increases the chances of new offerings being relevant, minimises teething problems, shortens the time to value and ensures that products are adapted according to their changing needs.

The industry relies on vendors to create awareness and provide education about new ideas and technologies. Some would argue that the press and industry analyst communities should do this. However, in reality the press generally reacts to initiatives created by suppliers rather than introducing new ideas themselves and most industry analysts charge a premium for the reports putting them beyond reach for many who might benefit from reading them.

The Quocirca model is different:  it relies on vendors funding research up front as part of their investment in raising awareness of new technologies and educating customers. In order to ensure this is done objectively, Quocirca research is almost exclusively focused on the customers' situations and requirements. Any view provided by Quocirca of specific offerings from specific vendors is always given in the context of this. Quocirca does not conduct product reviews or endorse specific products or services. An extensive on-line library of research reports is testament to this, as is the fact that many of the sponsors behind them are direct competitors of each other.

The big advantage for vendors of the Quocirca model is reach. Co-branded educational reports are freely available to customers and prospects, and are promoted aggressively via Quocirca's own subscription list and its press partnerships with CNET, VNU, The Register, RBI and others. This means that Quocirca's reports end up on the desk of many thousands of IT decision makers and their influencers. Further, vendors get the benefit of brand association with high impact, thought-leading research.

The big advantage for end user organisations, i.e. the technology buying community, is no-cost access to high quality analyst reports looking at how specific technologies may impact their business.