The average length of the technology purchase process is 4.8 months. So what are IT decision-makers (ITDMs) doing during this time frame to help them make their final purchase decision? We all know the answer, they’re self-educating and downloading content. But how much of this content do they actually find of value? IDG’s Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker and Customer Engagement research studies aim to answer all the questions tech marketers have about the tech purchase process: What are the educational assets ITDMs seek? How do they prefer to communicate? Who are the key influencers in each stage of the purchase process? To help you position your content, we’ve recently taken the research a step further and outlined the purchase process by different tech areas. Whether you’re interested in cloud computing, IT services, or security, continue reading to learn some of the key differences we’ve discovered.

Cloud Computing

  • 94% of cloud focused decision-makers have registered for tech-related content in the past 6 months
  • When researching cloud solutions, ITDMs download an average of 6 assets
  • The majority (53%) of recent cloud purchases were additional tools, rather than upgrades or replacements of existing technologies

Data & Analytics

  • 71% of data and analytics focused decision-makers said that the topic of data and analytics drove their interest in attending an industry event
  • IT is the primary budget holder for 65% of data & analytics purchases, compared to 72% for overall purchases; which shows that line of business has slightly more involvement in data & analytics purchases
  • 55% of recent data and analytics purchases were from new vendors, compared to 48% for overall tech purchases

Desktop & Laptops

  • Product testing/reviews/opinions are the top relied upon form of content during the desktop & laptop purchase process
  • Only an average of 2 assets are downloaded during the desktop & laptop purchase process
  • Existing vendors have an advantage when it comes to desktop & laptop purchases, as 80% of recent purchases were purchased from existing vendors

Enterprise Software (non-SaaS)

  • Vendor presentations are the top relied upon form of content during the enterprise software (non-SaaS) purchase process
  • 94% of enterprise software (non-SaaS) focused decision-makers have registered for tech-related content in the past 6 months
  • The majority of enterprise software (non-SaaS) purchases are purchased from new vendors (64%)

Enterprise Software (SaaS)

  • On average, there are 23 influencers involved in the enterprise software (SaaS) purchase process
  • 78% of enterprise software (SaaS) focused decision-makers say that when a technology brand is known and trusted it increases the likelihood that they will be added to the short list
  • Only 42% of enterprise software (SaaS)-specific downloaded content has provided value to tech decision-makers in the last 12 months

IT Services

  • The majority of IT services solutions are purchased from new vendors (61%) rather than from existing vendors
  • 77% of recent IT services purchases were controlled by IT, while LOB was the primary budget holder for 23% of purchases
  • Only 38% of IT services-specific downloaded content has provided value to tech decision-makers in the last 12 months

Networking

  • Networking tools are most likely purchased from existing vendors (62%), compared to 52% for overall technologies
  • On average, there are only 11 influencers involved in the purchase process of networking solutions
  • 83% of networking focused decision-makers say that when a technology brand is known and trusted it increases the likelihood that they will be added to the short list

Security

  • IT was the primary budget holder for 84% of recent security purchases
  • Overall, security is the tech topic that drives the most interest in attending events – and 84% of security focused decision-makers said security specifically drove their interest in attending an event
  • Throughout the purchase process, security focused decision-makers download an average of 5 assets

Servers & Storage

  • Servers and storage decision-makers seem to be pleased with their vendors, as 62% of recent purchases were from existing vendors
  • 83% of servers and storage decision-makers say that IT researches solutions and vendors and creates the shortlist, while 9% say that LOB brings a shortlist to IT for vetting
  • Product demos and product testing/reviews/opinions are the most relied upon forms of content by storage & server focused decision-makers

If you’d like to learn more about any of these specific technology purchase processes, please fill out of the form in the top right corner. Wanting to learn more about the overall customer journey? View additional research here: https://foundryco.com/tools-for-marketers/idg-customer-journey-research/