There is a great disturbance in the force of research firms … Could the “new” Omdia challenge legacy stalwarts? Or simply spark elevated competition? Much remains to be seen, but the pieces are in place and the ambition is there.
After nearly a year of anticipation and speculation, Informa recently completed its acquisition of TechTarget, merging its existing Informa Tech businesses with TechTarget’s portfolio and creating a new entity named Informa TechTarget, which will house Omdia and Canalys (formerly of Informa Tech) along with Enterprise Strategy Group (formerly of TechTarget). The acquisition, first announced in January 2024, took until December 2024 to be approved and finalized. As a result, last year saw plenty of anticipation and speculation from AR pros about the future of Omdia, Canalys, and Enterprise Strategy Group—whether the firms will remain separate or merge, how inquiry and client access will work going forward, and what their relationship will be with the broader Informa TechTarget ecosystem.
Informa TechTarget’s go-to-market rests on three pillars: intelligence & advisory, branded content for thought leadership, and audience demand generation. The originally stated goal of the merger was to create a “unique end-to-end solution provider across the go-to-market: from strategy, messaging and content development to in-market activation via brand, demand generation, purchase intent data and sales enablement.” This merger will have major ramifications for the AR ecosystem. Especially as smaller firms try to upset the dominance of the “Big 3” analyst firms (Gartner, Forrester, IDC), Informa TechTarget’s research and advisory division will be a powerful contender.
But what will the new firm look like? Spotlight recently spoke with Bill Morelli, President of Omdia, to discuss the future of Omdia, Canalys, Enterprise Strategy Group, and Wards Intelligence. In short, across 2025, Omdia will become the sole brand for Informa TechTarget’s technology research division. The Omdia brand will be retained and the other brands will eventually be retired.
Following the acquisition, Omdia will be the 4th-largest tech research firm, with a team of 400+ analysts across the globe. Omdia’s portfolio stretches across consumer, enterprise, channel, telecoms, and integrated technology segments, providing over 250 annual forecasts for different technology segments.
“We are incredibly excited to bring together the capabilities of the Omdia, Canalys, ESG and Wards research brands,” Morelli said. “As our vendor clients know, we are focused on helping them achieve growth in the incredibly dynamic and fast-paced technology sector. Now as part of Informa TechTarget we can offer deeper insight into end-user needs, while continuing to offer best-in-class market data and insights from our expert analyst teams.”
Regarding the firm’s structure, Morelli will remain president of the combined firm. From Omdia, Evan Kirchheimer (Chief Research Officer), Iva Gotovac (VP, Marketing), Mengya Du (VP, Product), Mark Oliver (VP, Consulting), and Milena Cooper (VP, Operations) will remain in their roles. John McKnight and Greg Anderson will join Omdia from Enterprise Strategy Group as SVP, GTM Strategy and Advising and VP, Sales, respectively.
Omdia, and Informa TechTarget more broadly, is confident in its vendor-centric outlook. Rather than centering its offering on products and advice for end-users (à la Gartner), the firm works to “address the go-to-market challenges of today’s B2B technology vendors across their product lifecycle, from R&D to ROI, helping to accelerate time to market and to revenue.”
Omdia will continue to focus exclusively on objective research and offer advice primarily for technology-centric markets; the rest of Informa TechTarget will offer expertise in areas such as: promotion, lead gen, marketing, and so on (through product lines such as: Industry Dive, InformationWeek, AI Business, Light Reading, IIRIS, and Priority Engine). The addition of Enterprise Strategy Group, as well as access to audience data sources from across Informa TechTarget, gives the firm insight into end-user trends to better inform vendor advisory.
Omdia is carving out a space for itself as a vendor-focused, end-user-informed research and advisory powerhouse. For more information, follow Informa TechTarget and Omdia and check out the FAQ below:
Q: Is Informa divesting Omdia to TechTarget?
A: Not at all! Informa will remain the parent company of Informa TechTarget (the merged company) and Omdia will be a key offering in Informa TechTarget’s portfolio.
Q: I’m still confused…what’s the relationship between Informa, Informa TechTarget, legacy TechTarget, legacy Omdia, legacy Enterprise Strategy Group?
A: Let’s break this down:
Q: What will be the relationship between Omdia and Informa TechTarget’s branded content, news, demand generation, etc.? Doesn’t that compromise Omdia’s objectivity?
A: Informa TechTarget has committed to keeping its Research division separate from its marketing and reporting divisions in order to prevent vendor bias. As it was before the acquisition, TechTarget publications may quote Omdia analysts when it is appropriate; likewise, the divisions may share research and data when appropriate.
Q: I’m a client of Omdia; does that mean I now have access to Enterprise Strategy Group analysts? What about the other way around?
A: Currently, Omdia is working to merge the two firms, beginning by establishing a shared platform for research. Throughout 2025, analysts from both brands will be available for shared inquiry for each others’ clients. Omdia prides itself on analyst access, allowing clients broad access to the analysts that will be most helpful.
Q: How can I stay in touch with Omdia?
A: Omdia offers RSS feeds for blogs and PR, social media posts, and regular presence at events. In addition, subscribers have the ability to create personalized dashboards to follow particular analysts and topics; non-subscribers can register for complementary research.
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