If you live in a major metropolitan area, you should be able to get access to most of the major research offered by IDC, Gartner, and others through the local chamber of commerce or Board of Trade. Another great source is the Media kits provided by major magazines serving the market you want to address. Just call the magazine and tell them you're interested in advertising, and the'll send you a nice glossy package full of charts & graphs... Research is pretty expensive, IDC charges $1500-$7500 for a "standard" report and custom ones can easily go over $30,000. Most large companies contract for open access for their employees for something like $30,000 per year. You can often find the odd pearl to put into your biz plan by revewing the abstracts and press announcements the big research firms put out. Here's some other links, and links of links: http://www.estats.com http://www.softwaresuccess.com http://www.softwareceo.com http://www.idc.com Another valuable source of statistical and market info can be found in the SEC documents and press releases of public and private companies. Everyone needs that magic quote to say that they have a huge market to serve (and of course they have to say that it's highly competitive, but they have a big advantage ;)) HTH, David http://www.dundas.com
