In our 2020 B2B Buyer-Vendor Disconnect research, we documented the rise in influence of user reviews over the technology buying process, as well as the corresponding decline in reliance on analyst rankings and reports. Tech buying is more democratized, as are the information sources available to buying committees. 

Traditionally, the analyst model has focused on the analyst as guru and gatekeeper, despite the fact that the analyst may have never logged into and used the products in question. The rise of democratized buying and easily available information from peers has threatened that model. Gartner, the 800-pound analyst gorilla with a market cap of $11B, has tried to mitigate that risk to their model by owning the threat. They’ve created Gartner Peer Insights for enterprise technology reviews as well as acquiring SMB-focused review sites like Capterra.

And yet—picking the right solution can seem harder than ever. Yes, buyers have a lot more access to real end-user feedback about products, but navigating a market, building a short list, figuring out whether products meet requirements, and negotiating a purchase all require a lot of work, with risks all along the way. Analyst opinion and review insight often conflict. Wouldn’t it be useful to buyers if there were a true solution that blended the analyst’s expertise with the insight from actual users?

Omdia and TrustRadius think this is possible. Omdia, the UK-based analyst firm owned by Informa Tech, has launched a new vendor selection tool called Omdia Universe, which brings together expert analyst opinion as well as real customer feedback, through a partnership with TrustRadius.

We’ve seen analysts from a number of firms using TrustRadius, in an unofficial capacity, likely to understand user experience in a way that’s impossible when vendors vying for a quadrant position share their three best customers with the analyst.

With this partnership, Omdia has afforded its analysts access to TrustRadius reviews and rating data, so they can make the customer experience a clear differentiator for the Omdia Universe. As Simon Jones of Destrier Analyst Relations observes, this represents “…a big step in widespread recognition not only for TrustRadius, but also for enterprise peer reviews.” Technology buyers now have access to a tool that can truly help them understand which product fits their use case, based on both expert market analysis as well as real customer experience.

TrustRadius has always focused on quality of content and data integrity. Everything from publishing reviews are detailed, insightful and authentic, as well as scoring algorithms and sorting mechanisms that ensure our data is unbiased, has led to TrustRadius being the highest quality review platform for business technology buyers.

This is a clear part of why we’re the review platform analyst firms choose to use — whether officially or unofficially.

We’re delighted to be a part of the Omdia Universe reports, and look forward to continuing to serve both audiences of technology buyers with real user feedback that helps them make the best purchase decisions possible.

We’re also delighted to offer up a platform that helps both technology marketers and AR professionals bring customer experience to the forefront of how technology vendors do business and grow. Everyone knows that in-depth customer reviews influence the modern technology buyer and that analysts bring an important market perspective. With the Omdia Universe, those two things are combined, opening up a universe of possibilities for the modern buyer and seller.