IT Central Station Is Riding the Peer Recommendation Wave in Enterprise Tech
News flash… decisions by business customers are increasingly driven by the same dynamics of peer-to-peer networks and opinions that influence consumers (e.g. Yelp, Trip Advisor…). Facebook sports a $380 billion value, in part, because of the power of the like button to influence purchases by consumers.
Businesses spend $3 trillion a year on enterprise technology. Enterprise technology companies know that the “white papers” they publish lack independence, and thus score low in terms of buying consideration. Buyers are looking for content that combines expertise with an independent voice. That’s why “peer recommendations are influencing more than 90% of all B2B buying decisions” according to a recent HBR article. A Gartner study found that peer networks, like IT Central Station are the dominant way that buyers are getting input from other end users.
The enterprise tech purchase path has three phases
- Exploration?—?do I want to make a change?
- Evaluation?—?what approach am I going use to make to this change?
- Engagement?—?can I work with this specific vendor?
According to Gartner, during the second and third phases of the buying process, recommendations from analysts and influencers, including peer reviews, is the most important factor driving the buying decision.
IT Central Station, lead by the talented Russell Rothstein, is using the power of peer reviews in enterprise tech to build a big business. For example, here’s a review of AppDynamics APM (Application Performance Management).
It All Starts With The Users & Monthly Uniques Are Growing Rapidly
As IT Central Station is a private company, for competitive reasons, we won’t disclose exact figures, but total visitors to IT Central Station grew 52% in 2016 vs. 2015:
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