Outsell, Inc., the world’s only research and advisory firm focused on media, information, and technology, today announced publication of a new report, 2016 Information Pricing Study. Outsell’s research indicates planned price increases by content vendors will outstrip flat buyer budgets, leaving information managers with tough decisions, and content sellers with a battle for market share.
Outsell’s 2016 Information Pricing Study is the eighth annual report providing guidance on anticipated pricing changes for paid content. As content buyers and sellers prepare for the next round of contract renewals, the report provides helpful benchmarks to consider in making renewal and purchasing decisions. Drawing on data from Outsell’s annual Information Management Benchmarking survey, alongside qualitative research with vendors and buyers, the report tackles four main themes:
- Pricing benchmarks for 2016;
- Trends in information budgets;
- Current buying strategies and negotiation tactics;
- Actionable recommendations to help both buyers and sellers prepare for the coming year’s negotiations.
According to Jim Hydock, VP & Lead Analyst of Outsell’s Information Management service, “Libraries and information managers are facing tough choices — they will either have to leverage down content price increases through savvy negotiating, or trim content and service offerings. The trend of anemic budget increases for libraries is short-sighted — in the long run, research and quality will suffer.”
For 2016, Outsell’s survey respondents predicted a 0.9% increase in aggregate spending on overall vendor portfolios. Many respondents indicated no change at all between 2015 and 2016. At the same time, directional findings from the survey indicate an average predicted price increase across all content categories of around 2.9%.
Given this prediction of a slight squeeze on budgets for 2016, information managers must anticipate having to leverage prices downwards and/or cut some services. Once again they will be turning to their suite of information product evaluation tools to support their negotiations. While our research indicates information buyers are increasingly savvy in this regard, Outsell’s report recommends steps to help both buyers and sellers ease the decision-making process.