Black Book Research

What Black Book Research does

Black Book Research is a privately held, vendor-neutral healthcare market research and competitive intelligence firm founded in 2011 by Doug Brown and headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The company operates a crowdsourced survey methodology collecting feedback from over 2.5 million healthcare professionals across 147 countries, including 14,000 hospitals and IDNs, 300,000 physician practices, 250 health plans and payers, 40 government agencies, and 1+ million healthcare consumers. Its core output is annual vendor rankings across 18 healthcare IT categories (EHR, RCM, interoperability, population health, cybersecurity, payer IT, analytics, behavioral health, and others) evaluated against 18 KPIs of operational excellence. Reports span a flagship 700+ page global benchmark plus country-specific studies for Denmark, Norway, Finland, UK, Germany, France, Brazil, India, Canada, and 140+ other nations.

Underlying the rankings is a governed longitudinal database of over 4 million historical data points collected prior to the broad availability of generative AI, combined with an AI-Era Research Integrity Framework featuring bot-ballot resistance, tiered verification, and standardized audit documentation. Recent product development extends this foundation into AI governance benchmarks (in partnership with Pedone AI Advisors), AI-in-RCM market reviews, US Hospital Cyber Resilience, openEHR adoption analysis, and a Competitive Intelligence Platform built with Google Looker covering 8,000+ vendors and 20,000+ products. Compliance certifications include ISO 20252, AAPOR, ESOMAR, Insights Association, and SCIP, reinforcing vendor-neutral positioning.

Black Book monetizes through a mix of complimentary gated reports (for eligible providers, government, and investors), paid premium research reports (one-time and annual subscriptions), customized data services under multi-year contracts, and competitive intelligence scorecards for vendors. Distribution is direct via the company's research store and website, amplified through PR Newswire releases (50+ in 2025-2026) and exhibitor presence at HIMSS, AHIP, HFMA, NAACOS, and other major healthcare conferences. The firm has been recognized with seven consecutive years on the Inc. 5000, consecutive SAMMY Awards (2023-2024), and multiple 2024 industry awards, and maintains founder-led, independent ownership without disclosed external investment.

Name

Black Book Research

Legal name

Black Book Market Research LLC

Website

https://blackbookmarketresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Black Book Research is a vendor-neutral healthcare market research firm providing crowdsourced vendor rankings, benchmarking, and competitive intelligence across 18 healthcare IT categories to hospitals, health plans, vendors, investors, and government agencies in 147 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Market Research

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB), Health Equity Analytics & Disparities Measurement (HLACAHAK)

Keywords

• Healthcare market research
• Competitive intelligence
• Vendor benchmarking
• Opinion mining
• Healthcare IT surveys

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Report Sales: Black Book sells market research reports covering specific healthcare IT segments, countries, and technologies. Reports range from complimentary downloads (with registration) to paid premium reports in their research store.
2. Customized Data Services: Provides customized data services for technology buyers seeking tailored competitive intelligence and benchmarking analysis specific to their market segment or geographic focus.
3. Competitive Intelligence Scorecards: Offers competitive intelligence scorecards for vendors seeking clarity, benchmarking, and market insight on their performance relative to competitors.
4. Survey Participation: Survey participants remain uncompensated, ensuring unbiased results. Free participation in surveys while revenue is generated from report buyers and data subscribers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Black Book Research provides vendor-agnostic healthcare IT market intelligence built on crowdsourced surveys of over 3 million healthcare professionals across 110+ countries. Its core offerings include annual vendor rankings across 18 healthcare IT categories evaluated against 18 operational KPIs, country-specific digital healthcare IT reports spanning 147 nations, customized competitive intelligence scorecards for vendors, and tailored data services for technology buyers.

Product overview

Black Book Research is a healthcare-centric competitive intelligence, surveying, and independent opinion research company that provides vendor-agnostic market intelligence through crowdsourced surveys. Founded in 2011, the company operates as a comprehensive research platform that collects feedback from over 3 million healthcare professionals across 110 countries including 14,000 hospitals and IDNs, 300,000 physician practices, 250 health plans, over 1 million healthcare consumers, and 40 government agencies. The core offering consists of annual rankings across 18 healthcare IT categories (including Coding, RCM, EHR, Analytics, Population Health, Cybersecurity, Interoperability, and more) evaluated through 18 key performance indicators of operational excellence. Reports span global markets including the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa, with dedicated country-specific reports covering 147 countries. The company also publishes specialized research on AI in healthcare, cybersecurity resilience, payer technology, and healthcare IT investment trends. A new Competitive Intelligence Platform developed with Google Looker provides subscribers real-time access to data on 20,000+ healthcare products and services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Black Book of Global Healthcare Information Technology: Annual comprehensive global market report covering healthcare IT across multiple countries and vendors
• State of Global Digital Healthcare Technology Report
• Competitive Intelligence Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 91% of organizations outside the U.S. prioritize regional or non-U.S. vendors in procurement shortlists, with 92% satisfaction rates for regional/multi-national EHRs versus 66% for U.S.-based platforms in non-U.S. markets
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Pedone AI AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2025Black Book Market Research partnered with Pedone AI Advisors to release the Healthcare AI Operational Control-Plane Benchmarks 2026, a provider-side survey examining whether AI programs in hospitals scale safely or stall under governance failures. The partnership combined Black Book's survey infrastructure with Pedone AI Advisors' AI governance expertise to produce industry benchmarks on AI inventory coverage, audit trail gaps, and hidden supervision burdens.
• Google LookerflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Black Book announced a collaboration with Google Looker to launch a Competitive Intelligence Platform in 2025, revolutionizing healthcare insights with real-time performance data on 20,000+ healthcare products and services. The platform provides historical and trend analyses, supporting informed decision-making for investors, buyers, media, analysts, and healthcare leaders.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PitchBook: PitchBook is the dominant private capital markets data provider used by healthcare-focused VC and PE firms. It overlaps with Black Book on the investor-intelligence buyer segment but provides capital markets data rather than vendor rankings or operational healthcare IT benchmarks.
• Frost & Sullivan (Healthcare): Frost & Sullivan is a global growth consulting and market research firm with a substantial healthcare practice covering digital health, life sciences, and provider technology. It competes with Black Book on syndicated and custom healthcare IT market intelligence, especially for international and emerging markets.
• Gartner (Healthcare Industry Research): Gartner is the largest IT research and advisory firm globally, with a dedicated healthcare industry research practice covering EHR, payer IT, and provider technology. It competes with Black Book for enterprise healthcare IT buyers but offers bundled advisory services and Magic Quadrants rather than crowdsourced vendor rankings.
• Forrester Research: Forrester is a major global research and advisory firm serving healthcare technology buyers with Wave evaluations, forecasts, and advisory. It overlaps with Black Book on healthcare IT vendor evaluation but at significantly higher price points and with consulting-led monetization.
• IDC (Health Insights): IDC's Health Insights practice delivers market sizing, forecasts, and vendor assessments for the healthcare technology industry. Like Gartner and Forrester, IDC is a broad incumbent serving enterprise buyers with syndicated research plus custom consulting — directly competing for the same healthcare IT intelligence budget.
• HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society): HIMSS is the dominant healthcare IT industry association, producing proprietary market intelligence (HIMSS Analytics) and operating the largest healthcare IT conference globally. It overlaps with Black Book on industry research and conference-driven buyer engagement, but operates as a member-driven nonprofit rather than independent research firm.

Emerging players

• Chilmark Research: Chilmark Research is a boutique healthcare IT advisory firm producing targeted research on interoperability, population health, and value-based care. It competes with Black Book on specialty healthcare IT research depth but at much smaller scale and with a narrower topic focus.
• CB Insights: CB Insights is a tech market intelligence platform serving investors and strategics with vendor mapping, market sizing, and predictive analytics. It overlaps with Black Book on the VC/PE buyer segment (Healthcare IT Capital Signals) but covers all industries, not just healthcare IT.
• Definitive Healthcare: Definitive Healthcare provides healthcare commercial intelligence, including provider databases, analytics, and vendor targeting tools. It overlaps with Black Book on healthcare buyer/vendor intelligence but is more data-product-focused (SaaS platform) rather than survey-driven vendor rankings.

Direct peers

• KLAS Research: KLAS Research is the closest direct competitor to Black Book, producing vendor-neutral healthcare IT research and rankings based on surveys of healthcare providers. Both firms operate a similar crowdsourced-evaluation model and target hospital CIOs, CFOs, and procurement teams, but KLAS focuses primarily on US enterprise health systems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blackbookpolls
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/272910

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Book Research