Fully two-thirds (67%) of North American information technology (IT) professionals say they find vendor-produced content such as whitepapers "extremely useful" or "useful," according a new study from IDG Connect.
IT professionals say thought-leadership content is the most useful, followed by analysis and survey and research statistics.
Below, additional findings from the Global IT Content Survey of 2011, based on an online survey of 3,217 IT professionals worldwide.
On the Look-Out for Content
Nearly one-half of IT pros (47%) say they are always interested in consuming vendor-produced content, whereas 53% tend to seek out content on an as-need basis, when it's relevant to a specific project.
Most Receptive Audiences Outside North America
Emerging economies place a higher value on access to vendor-produced content. For example, in Africa, the Middle East and South America, well over 80% of IT professionals say vendor-produced content is extremely useful or useful.
The highest ratings are in Asia (94%). Such approval ratings are also high in Europe (74%) and Australia/New Zealand (75%).
Local Content Valued, but Scarce
Though 72% of IT professionals worldwide find vendor-produced content useful, most prefer localized content that focuses on challenges in a particular country. For example:
- In Asia, 74% of IT pros say they prefer localized vendor content, but 79% say they struggle to find such content.
- In Europe, 50% of IT professionals say they prefer localized vendor content, but 54% have a hard time finding it.
The main exception is North America, where demand for localized content is fairly high (56%) but appears to be largely satisfied, with only 33% of North American IT professionals saying they struggle to find such content.
About the data: The Global IT Content Survey 2011 is based on an online survey of 3,217 IT professionals worldwide, conducted in June 2011 by IDG Connect.
