PREPARED BY ISG
Independent research on how enterprises buy, manage, and renew technology, synthesized from fifteen research organizations and prepared for the members of SIM. Every figure traces to a published source.
One conclusion runs through the entire library: the smartest way to buy technology combines an independent trusted advisor, transparency in the process, and an always-on intelligence layer across the whole estate.
Research briefs
Each brief opens as a single view and expands on demand. Read the verdict in ninety seconds, or drill into the full evidence when you want it.
The Smartest Way to Buy Technology
The full case: why buying fails at the front, middle, and back of the decision; what VARs and hyperscalers genuinely contribute and where each falls short; and the three requirements the evidence converges on, with a modernized buying and management process end to end.
The Trusted Advisor, Explained
Three questions, answered plainly with published research: what a trusted advisor is (and is not), exactly how advisors get paid and why your price never moves, why guided buying measurably wins, and the six questions that separate a certified advisor from an enthusiastic generalist.
The IT Buying Friction Atlas
Explore the friction data for organizations like yours: set your revenue band and industry, and watch avoidable spend, cycle time, regret risk, and vendor sprawl recalculate. The impact statement up front; the drill-ins one click away.
C.L.E.A.R.: The Intelligence Layer for Technology Management
The research says a one-time assessment cannot manage an estate that changes monthly. C.L.E.A.R. is the working answer: Context, Landscape, Experience, Alignment, and Roadmap, run continuously per vendor and per pillar across the whole stack, with a defined deliverable at every phase.
The New Gravity of IT Spend
Software, services, and AI are pulling technology budgets into a new orbit, and the decisive control lever is portfolio architecture, not cost cutting. Six tabbed chapters with live charts, a 500-employee benchmark you can toggle by size and industry, and an optimization playbook.
How SIM Advantage Research works
Published sources only
Every figure paraphrases published research from named organizations, with a sources section in every brief. Nothing rests on our own claims.
Simple first, deep on demand
Each brief opens as a single view: a verdict and the headline evidence. The full argument, stakeholder lenses, and source detail expand only when you choose.
Built for a decision
The research exists so members can judge one question on evidence: how should our organization buy and manage technology? Each brief ends at the same doorstep.
Start with a simple proof of concept, and see the impact you can have.
Bring one to three spend initiatives and compare the proof on your own numbers. No signature, no meeting, no obligation. Ask your chapter leadership or SIM National about SIM Advantage.