Forrester Research, B.V. (Nasdaq: FORR), today announced the launch of eBusiness TechRankings in Europe. TechRankings is a new breed of interactive technology selection research designed to help European companies cut through vendor clutter and select winning technology solutions. It combines Forrester’s objective strategic analysis with rigorous laboratory-based product testing, and is delivered through the Web to help users assess and pinpoint the best technology offerings. eBusiness TechRankings categories currently available include Commerce Platforms, Content Management, Application Servers, and Customer Service Applications.

“At present, European companies can spend months and millions of euros selecting eBusiness software and services from an ever-growing array of vendors,” said Emily Nagle Green, managing director of Forrester’s European headquarters in Amsterdam. “TechRankings is an easy, efficient tool that cuts through the hype from vendors and radically speeds the testing and selection process, delivering valuable time and investment savings.

“Importantly, TechRankings is a major addition and complement to Forrester’s ‘Whole View’ of eBusiness strategy research in Europe. It demonstrates our commitment to continual development and innovation that helps our clients understand how technology is impacting their businesses today and into the future. eBusiness TechRankings sets the standard for prescriptive ways to select technologies based on the real-world needs of eBusiness decision-makers,” she added.

“With our analysis and hard data at their fingertips, users are better-positioned to select the right technology platform, negotiate a contract, or implement a new product,” said Ted Schadler, group director at Forrester and chief architect behind this new offering. “TechRankings uniquely blends product testing, vendor analysis, and user interviews to enable clients to customize and select the right products for their eBusiness strategy — all delivered through an interactive research database and powerful Web tools such as detailed product scorecards, a comparison engine, and interactive rankings.”

Forrester works with its partner Doculabs to conduct laboratory-based product testing and assessment for each vendor on more than 100 attributes, and then presents the analysis via an interactive research database. Forrester continuously updates its research and re-evaluates products to help firms understand rapidly changing technology markets, accelerate and improve product selection, and effectively gauge implementation costs and effort.

Forrester’s eBusiness TechRankings methodology is open, rigorous, and unbiased. TechRankings combines the results of hands-on lab tests, strategic market analysis, and
in-depth research into the needs of technology users. Forrester does not charge vendors in any way to participate in TechRankings. With Doculabs, it tests and analyzes all products in a given category, using identical, publicly available criteria.

Since its launch in the US in October 2000, Forrester has announced leaders in four eBusiness TechRankings categories: Customer Service Applications (December), Application Servers (December), Content Management (November), and Commerce Platforms (October). Future TechRankings categories will be announced, while current ones will be updated throughout 2001.

Forrester extensively checks and verifies results and updates the research and rankings monthly. Any vendor wishing to be ranked may apply by contacting Forrester’s TechRankings research team at techrankings@forrester.com. To learn more about TechRankings, visit www.forrester.com/TR.

About Doculabs
Doculabs, Inc., an independent industry analyst firm, is a leading source for research and strategic advisory services on the emerging technologies that drive e-business, including e-commerce, e-content, e-fulfillment, and e-business infrastructures. Based in Chicago, Doculabs’ offerings include project-based services for the end-user and software provider communities, product benchmarking, and publications. For more information about Doculabs, call 001 312 433 7793 or visit the Web site at http://www.doculabs.com.