BEIJING - Gartner Inc, a US-based information technology research and advisory company, aims to triple its revenue in the Chinese market to $30 million by 2013, according to the company's China president.

The target reflects the IT consulting giant's hopes of further shaking off the impact of the global financial crisis by exploring business opportunities outside its traditional and mature markets.

Gartner improved its annual revenue to $1.29 billion in 2010 after it dropped to a three-year low of $1.14 billion in 2009.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based company aims to double sales in China this year and hopes the market will contribute more than 60 percent of its revenue in the Asia-Pacific region by 2013, up from the present 20 percent.

Daniel Shieh, China president of Gartner, said the company has already performed well in Hong Kong and Taiwan since it entered the country in 2007. However, its business on the Chinese mainland is still in the initial stage.

"The Chinese mainland market is like a baby. He will grow up, and we would like to pay more attention to him now," Shieh told China Daily.

By the end of 2011, Gartner expects to have three times as many employees on the Chinese mainland as it did last year. The sales team may grow even faster, as the company expects to have up to 30 salespeople on the mainland by the end of this year - a sevenfold increase over last year.

In addition to services for government clients and high-tech companies, Gartner will also extend its research and consulting business to several new industries, including energy, transport and logistics.

Shieh said Gartner has made great progress in the telecom and finance industries in the first five months of this year. Those are two areas in which Gartner had previously never won a contract on the mainland, he added.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), the Chinese government and enterprises will need more outside information to make accurate decisions. "Among China's Fortune 500 companies, few of them are Gartner's clients, which means there's plenty of room for Gartner to grow," Shieh said.

Gartner entered the Chinese market through local sales agents. Its initial performance was unsatisfactory because those agents did not fully understand what Gartner was and what resources and services it could provide.

"The breakthrough in Taiwan boosted our confidence," Shieh said. Gartner cut ties with sales agents in Taiwan in 2007 and changed to a direct-sales model on the island. The strategy shift delivered encouraging results, as the company's contract value in Taiwan increased fourfold between 2007 and 2010.

Consequently, Gartner has gradually promoted the sales model in South Korea, Japan and on the Chinese mainland.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/07/2011 page15)