Twice a year, during the spring and fall, IBM conducts a tracking study in 14 languages in 27 countries throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia. One of every six sites where an IBM S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server is in use is sampled. With the basic purpose of capturing trend data on enterprise server, or mainframe, computing, the study tracks information on a variety of topics, including perceptions of IBM and competitive products, product demand, future acquisition plans, preferred marketing channels and preferred product information sources.

Respondents are asked about the computing equipment they have installed, their future acquisition plans, and their impressions of the various vendors. "This study is the most extensive sampling of the view of large customers inside or outside IBM," says Ed Hogarty, manager of market research and business support, System 390 brand marketing, IBM, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. "We track how we’re doing on an ongoing basis, anything from sales and service to product capabilities, announcement effectiveness, and awareness and purchase intent. We keep it broad because the primary purpose is to track trends, not to get a deeper understanding of customer wants and needs."

The study helps IBM see how successful it is in penetrating key industries and also gives an idea of how IBM and competitive equipment is used at both large and small businesses. "The survey represents solid, quantitatively supported data points. We analyze it and then review it with the sales force in each of the countries and get their interpretations, and come back with a set of the top 10 issues that the field is wrestling with, to which we then respond," Hogarty says.

The respondents, both IBM customers and non-customers, have responsibility for making computer system acquisition decisions at their respective companies. For the most part, the interviews are conducted by telephone, but some ...