This survey provides an annual review of key indicators and trends in the world of software and technology for market research from the perspective of research companies. Commissioned and sponsored by Future Information Research Management (www.confirmit.com), a leading MR software supplier, and carried out independently by Meaning, and now in its second year, the survey is now beginning to chart the developing and changing role of software and information technology within research agencies worldwide.

The 2005 survey is based on a representative sample of 212 research agency senior managers and business owners worldwide. Further details on the sample composition can be found at the end of this report. Key findings from this report will be published in Quirk’s Review in the United States and Research magazine in the UK in early 2006.FIRM and meaning are most grateful to the many respondents who so willingly participated in this survey.