Informa Tech, a provider of market insight and market access to the global business technology community, has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Canalys, the global Channel and Mobility technology market research and events firm.

The acquisition will see Informa Tech further expand its Omdia research capabilities into Channel (distributors, value added resellers, systems integrators and managed service providers) and Mobility (consumer and business devices), while creating a global platform for networking in the Channel by bringing together both Canalys and Informa Tech’s Channel events franchises.

Gary Nugent, CEO of Informa Tech, comments, “Channel and Mobility are two incredibly exciting areas for our industry, where technology, supply chains and ways of going to market are ever-evolving. Over 70% of all business technology is sold via the Channel and this is why it is of huge importance to our customers.

“Our mission with our research group Omdia is to connect the dots for our customers across the technology landscape and Canalys brings leading insight into Channel and Mobility markets on a global scale while enabling us to strengthen our presence in Asia. We also have the opportunity to accelerate global networking opportunities for our customers in Channel by combining Canalys events with our leading events brand Channel Partners.”

Canalys is a known technology research provider in Channel and Mobility markets. The company’s team of analysts has a keen understanding of the enterprise and consumer technology, and automotive sectors, and its subscription services and projects are widely used by vendors and industry professionals, the company states.

Canalys CEO, Steve Brazier, says, “We are excited to join forces with Informa Tech and its leading research, events and media portfolio.

“At Canalys we have lived and breathed Channel and Mobility for 25 years while growing into other spaces such as Automotive. Now by combining with Informa Tech, and specifically leading brands Omdia, Channel Partners and Channel Futures, we have the platform to offer our clients even greater breadth and depth of expertise on a global scale. We are looking forward to working together to shape the future of technology research.”

The acquisition of Canalys is expected to close in Q3 2023.

Through in-depth expertise and an audience community, Informa Tech is focused on helping business professionals make better technology decisions and marketers reach the tech buyers and influencers. Informa Tech Channels is a provider of media, events, research and consulting services for the entire channel spanning the information and communications industries.

Canalys is an independent analyst company delivering smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world.

Omdia was formed in 2019 with the combination of Informa Tech's research brands (Ovum, Heavy Reading, and Tractica) and the acquired IHS Markit technology research portfolio. Omdia has a global team of over 400 analysts and consultants located across the globe, covering 150 markets and publishing over 3,000 research reports a year.