Technology Panels


Panel Overview

CMB's Technology Practice - Sage Research  - maintains
proprietary Enterprise and Service Provider panels (see below
for specfic information on each) comprised of more than 13,000 professionals who evaluate, use, and purchase IT and networking products and services. In operation since 1999, the panels are constantly being maintained and expanded by dedicated, trained staff. 

The panels ensure that our clients get a rapid response time, a high response rate, and a low project cost by providing a pool of pre-screened, highly qualified participants. The panels have been the exclusive source for over 50 client studies, and often provide enough participants to fill the sample size requirements without ever resorting to outside lists.

Panel-based recruits are typically completed within a week, whereas traditional recruiting typically takes 2-4 weeks. In addition, panel-based research is much more cost-effective than recruiting through outside lists on a per-project basis.


Enterprise Panel

We currently have more than 12,000 qualified members on its Enterprise Panel. Our Panel database can isolate the members that fit your specifications on any combination of up to 50 variables. As a start, we maintain conventional demographic information such as industry vertical, company size, and job title.

Enterprise Panel Members by Industry Vertical 
We have a healthy mix of all the major industry verticals for which our clients typically request sample quotas.  We can often recruit sufficient professionals from the desired industries exclusively from its Enterprise Panel to do statistically meaningful cross-tab analysis.

Enterprise Panel Members by Company Size 
We also have an even distribution of companies by size, whether measured in terms of revenues or employees. It is typically more difficult to recruit qualified IT and networking decision-makers at larger organizations.  Our Enterprise Panel, however, has a solid representation of larger enterprises to make this type of recruit easier. For example:

  • Over 50% of the panel members are from organizations with $10 million in revenues
  • Just under 50% of the panel members are from organizations with 500+ employees

Enterprise Panel Members by Job Title 
We can recruit by specific job title requirements, both horizontal (management level) or vertical (department-specific). For example:

  • 66% of the panel members are Manager level and above
  • 35% of the panel members are Director level and above
  • The panel includes both IT and non-IT decision-makers

Enterprise Panel Members by Decision-making Responsibility
We have recently introduced five technology-specific panels, each containing thousands of technology decision makers hailing from all industries, company sizes, and decision-making levels. These panels are:

  • Wireless LAN Panel
  • Network Security Panel
  • Mobile Solutions Panel
  • PBX Panel
  • LAN Switch Panel

Overall, the Enterprise Panel is exceptionally granular in terms of the decision-making responsibilities for specific technologies and services. Panel members have decision-making responsibility for a wide range of technologies including the following:

  • Network Management Systems
  • Intranet Applications
  • Network Security Products
  • Network Testing Equipment
  • VPN products
  • PC's/Laptops
  • Ethernet Switches
  • Servers
  • Printers
  • Systems Management
  • Storage
  • Network Operating Systems
  • Videoconferencing Equipment
  • Network or Systems Outsourcing
  • SNA-related Product or Services
  • E-commerce Applications
  • Frame Relay Equipment or Services
  • Routers
  • Leased Line Services
  • PBX's
  • ISDN Equipment or Services
  • ASP
  • DSL Equipment or Services
  • E-business services
  • Computer Telephony Integration Products
  • Voice services
  • Network Cabling
  • Mobile devices
  • Internet Access Services
  • Wireless LANs
  • Web Hosting Services

Depending on your other recruiting requirements (company size, industry vertical, job title, etc.), Sage often has enough qualified respondents that are decision-makers for your specific technology area to complete the recruit entirely from our Panel. This makes the recruit much quicker and much less expensive than resorting to outside list brokers.


Service Provider Panel

We currently have nearly 1,000 qualified members on our Service Provider Panel. Our Panel database can isolate the members that fit your specifications on any combination of up to 56 variables.  As a start, we maintain conventional demographic information such as service provider category, company size, and job title.

Service Provider Panel Members by Service Provider Category 
We have a healthy mix of different categories of service providers for which our clients typically request sample quotas.  We can often recruit sufficient professionals from the desired types of carriers exclusively from its Service Provider Panel to do statistically meaningful cross-tabulation analysis.

Service Provider Panel Members by Company Size 
We also have an even distribution of service providers by size, whether measured in terms of revenues or employees. It is typically more difficult to recruit qualified networking equipment decision-makers at larger service providers. Sage's Service Provider Panel, however, has a solid representation of larger service providers to make this type of recruit easier.  For example:

  • 54% of the panel members are from service providers with 1,000+ employees
  • 46% of the panel members are from organizations with over $50 million in revenues

Service Provider Panel Members by Job Title 
We can recruit by specific job title requirements, both horizontal (management level) or vertical (department-specific). The Service Provider Panel also has economic decision-makers in addition to technology decision-makers. For example:

  • Nearly 40% of the panel members are members are Manager level and above
  • 30% of the panel members are Director level and above
  • Nearly 25%of the panel members are not directly involved with technical network planning (marketing, executive management, strategic planning, operations, etc.

Service Provider Panel Members by Geography 
We can recruit by service coverage area, and has great representation of international service providers on the Panel.   For example:

  • 23% of the panel members have purchasing responsibility for networks in Europe
  • Nearly 20% of the panel members have purchasing responsibility for networks in Asia
  • Nearly 20% of the panel members have purchasing responsibility for networks in Latin America
  • 17% of the panel members have purchasing responsibility for networks in Canada

Service Provider Panel Members by Decision-making Responsibility
Sage's Service Provider Panel is exceptionally granular in terms of the decision-making responsibilities for specific technologies and services. Panel members have decision-making responsibility for a wide range of technologies including the following:

  • ADMs
  • Mobile wireless equipment
  • ATM switches
  • MPLS equipment
  • Cable modem
  • OSS products
  • Cache servers
  • Policy management tools
  • Class 4/5 switches
  • Routers
  • Copper cross-connects
  • Security Servers
  • DACS
  • Softswitches
  • DSL modems
  • SONET equipment
  • DSLAMs
  • Storage (RAID, optical, etc.)
  • Ethernet switches
  • Subscriber management systems
  • Fiber optic cable
  • Transmission equipment
  • Firewalls
  • VoIP Solutions
  • Fixed wireless equipment
  • WDM/DWDM
  • Frame Relay equipment
  • Web servers
  • IADs
  • Web switches
  • Mobile IP

We can also select panel members that have responsibilities for specific services. Equipment vendors are increasingly selling to business decision-makers that buy equipment to enable new services or improve existing ones. Services may include:

  • Local voice
  • Leased line services
  • Long distance voice
  • Cable modem
  • DSL
  • VoIP
  • Web hosting
  • ATM
  • ASP
  • Frame relay
  • Unified messaging
  • Network management
  • Wireless voice
  • MPLS-based services
  • Wireless data
  • Internet access
  • Fixed wireless
  • IP VPNs

Depending on your other recruiting requirements (company size, service provider category, job title, etc.), We often have enough qualified respondents that are decision-makers for your specific technology area to complete the recruit entirely from our Panel. This makes the recruit much quicker and much less expensive than resorting to outside list brokers.

To find out more about the Service Provider Panel, please contact us at info@cmbinfo.com.