Last updated on January 9th, 2017 at 04:00 pm
Gartner, historically primarily focused on tech and IT analysis, acquires Corporate Executive Board (CEB) in a $2.6 billion deal plus $700 million in CEB debt.
- Vaults Gartner ahead of its competitors with access to CEB’s consulting talent and its database of non-IT companies.
- CEB has been a hedge fund darling in the months leading up to the announcement
- The enterprise analyst space continues to evolve with increasing specialization; Gartner bucks this trend by going broader and reestablishes it’s clear domination in the space over competitors like Forrester and IDC, and consulting firms who are aggressively going after those budgets now.
- We’ve reached out to enterprise B2B experts for thoughts on this move and whether it portends further consolidation in the sector, and will update this article as they come in.
Carter Lusher, analyst, had this to say about the deal on Twitter today:
1/ Smart move by @Gartner_inc to acquire CEB. Expands reach into non-IT parts of C suite https://t.co/i7doXVs88n #ARchat @IIAR
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
2/ As more tech spending happens outside #CIO‘s domain @Gartner_inc can leverage IT research with new audience @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
3/ CEB gives @Gartner_inc 2,300+ sales reps options to cross-sell existing clients as well as new land-&-expand opportunities @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
4/ Same holds true for CEB sales team, cross-sell + land-and-expand opportunities. @Gartner_inc @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
5/ Besides normal M&A integration issue, a real danger is @Gartner_inc sales reps overwhelming CEB staff with new business @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
6/ That happended with Real Decisons acquisition in 90’s – massive increase in clients crushed RD analysts. @Gartner_inc @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
7/ This is really bad news for @forrester as @Gartner_inc enhances its relevance to vendors, sucking up more analyst budget. @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
8/ CEB will provide great fodder to @Gartner_inc‘s machine learning/AI driven tech initiatives. @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
9/ Clearly a case of the “rich gets richer.” Shows how @Gartner_inc can be a market disrupter with its finanical strength @IIAR #ARchat
— Carter Lusher (@carterlusher) January 5, 2017
Enterprise B2B Experts Weigh In
R Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation says, “Gartner’s legacy business has played out. With a monopoly on tech industry research, this is a play for other roles. CEB’s done a great job of building communities albeit not all experts but engaged.. This natural extension brings together more than just the IT side of the house but helps Gartner move into the executive ranks. So long Gartner does not try to Gartnerize CEB, the model will be in good hands.”
Robert Watson, President and CEO, ITAC, adds, “the Gartner offer to acquire CEB really speaks to the importance of technology and need for constant innovation across the economy. Companies rely on technology partners to innovate their business. Getting trusted information on emerging trends, from Gartner or other research firms, is essential to keep from being disrupted out of business by competitors.”
For the full press release and complete details, please visit the Gartner Newsroom.
