Research Methodology

Introduction

We extensively use secondary and primary research methodology to conduct our studies. The initial step of our research process is to identify all important terms and processes related to the market. We analyze each of these terms and based on their definitions, we establish relationships among them in the form of parent, child, and peer market. Next step involves analysis of the entire value chain to identify players in its different phases and the role played by these players.

For deriving the market size, we ensure that the terminologies are unique, have no overlapping, and their revenue can be derived through invoices. Our research process then involves analysis of the revenue of key market players to derive the market share of segments at country, regional, and global level. The derived market shares are also validated through primary research. Our secondary and primary research approaches are explained below.

Secondary Research

In this approach, we perform a detailed study of the data available on the internet, paid databases, and public domain. These sources include company websites, product descriptions, whitepapers, audit reports, survey papers, annual reports, investor presentations, press releases, news, journals, magazines, blogs, and articles published by associations, as well as paid databases, such as Factiva, D&B Hoovers, and Bloomberg Businessweek. Through secondary research, we analyze different market segments, recent developments, upcoming opportunities, end-users, evolution, value chain, number of players operating in the market, and any other important factor that is impacting the market. These collected research findings are then validated through primary research.

Primary Research

In primary research, we interact with numerous industry experts from both supply and demand side of the market as well as associations and forums. The key objective of primary research is to validate our secondary research findings, and obtain information on vendor shares, pricing strategies, future prospects for market growth, key strategies, and industry trends. We reach out to industry experts such as CXOs, Vice Presidents, Technology Directors, Marketing Directors, and Business Development Managers.

Market Size Estimation and Forecasting

For market size estimation and forecasting we follow two approaches— top-down and bottom-up approach. The entire process includes in-depth study of financial reports, and paid databases to find the revenue and its split across various business segments of the companies operating in a market. All these data are consolidated and processed through our proprietary market intelligence tools to prepare final market numbers that includes market size information in terms of value and sales volume.

Top-Down Approach

In the top-down approach, we analyze the revenue of the major players and understand their contribution in the global market size. Apart from the top players revenue contribution, the global size also includes an additional share to cover the remaining players of the market. The revenues of top players are further analyzed to derive the share of different regions and countries.

Bottom-Up Approach

Follwing the top-down approach, we apply bottom-up approach where we estiamte the size and share of different market segments and end-users at the country level (For e.g. the US, Canada, Mexico). These country level numbers are then added to derive the regional size (For e.g., North America, and Europe), and finally the sum of regional sizes gives the global size of the market segments.

Data Triangulation

Data triangulation is the processing of data from the secondary and primary sources as well as the MAARECO repository of market research reports. These data are carefully analyzed and weighted based on the authenticity and power of the source. For instance, we give higher weightage to the data received from top shareholders of the market, followed by other players, associations, government organizations, and blogs. This data triangulation process helps us in minimizing errors and delivering the most accurate data with the right set of justifications to our clients.