Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) today launched the Forrester Research VC Program, a new and unique stream of research and consulting services dedicated to serving the specific needs of venture capital firms.

The VC Program maps Forrester’s IT expertise into every stage of the VC investment cycle:
pre-money deal sourcing; filtering and full-market due diligence; post-money activity including portfolio company support and strategic advice; and the development of exit strategies to help VCs and their investee companies track the gaps that exist in the major technology providers’ product offerings.

“Forrester’s 20-year heritage of researching emerging technologies and modeling their impact on business and society is a crucial component of the VC Program’s value proposition. This, combined with Giga’s tactical IT guidance, provides the VC Program with a foundation of unparalleled depth and strength,” said J. Carl Allen, director of the Forrester Research VC Program.

A new “innovation ecosystem” lies at the heart of Forrester’s VC Program — the interrelationships between the technology buyers, major vendors, service providers, and integrators that use the emerging technology community as an incubator to outsource their own R&D initiatives. According to Forrester, this ecosystem changes in real time, is impacted by every change in vendor strategy and CIO buying decisions, and is ultimately fueled by global consumer demand across all industries. Under the VC Program, Forrester addresses this ecosystem through the creation of a new stream of written research deliverables in tandem with tailored consulting services.

“Typically, investors make four key appraisals in their evaluation of any deal: First, there is an assessment of the entrepreneur, CEO, or management team,” Allen added. “Second, VCs must perform an evaluation of the actual technology and related IP. The third part concerns the deal itself — its term sheet, share structure, valuation, and equity stake. Finally, the investor must truly understand how the deal will play out in the market. Forrester’s VC Program is uniquely targeted to provide the technology investment community with the insight, guidance, and counsel required at every step of this process.”

The VC Program will mirror Forrester’s core research coverage, including:

  • Enterprise applications.
  • Networking and communications technology.
  • Security.
  • Computing infrastructures.
  • Servers, storage, and data management.
  • Enterprise mobility.
  • Collaboration, knowledge, and content management.
  • Development and testing.