Black Book Research
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersTampa, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
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.
Black Book Research firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Black Book Research industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Black Book Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tampa
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Black Book Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- Competitive Intelligence Scorecards: Offers competitive intelligence scorecards for vendors seeking clarity, benchmarking, and market insight on their performance relative to competitors.
- 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
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time | Complimentary Reports - Free download with eligibility verification |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Reports - Paid market intelligence reports |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Customized Data Services - Tailored competitive intelligence |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Black Book Research product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Black Book Research
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Black Book Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
Black Book Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Pedone AI AdvisorscoreBlack 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 LookerflagshipBlack 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
Black Book Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
Black Book Research social profiles
Digital presenceBlack Book Research compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Black Book Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Black Book Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Black Book Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Black Book Research M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Black Book Research
What does Black Book Research do?
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.
Is Black Book Research a public or private company?
Black Book Research is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Black Book Research founded?
Black Book Research was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Black Book Research based?
Black Book Research is headquartered in Tampa, United States, in the North America region.
How does Black Book Research make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Research Report Sales are the primary driver. The others are customized Data Services, competitive Intelligence Scorecards and survey Participation.
Who are Black Book Research's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PitchBook, Frost & Sullivan (Healthcare), Gartner (Healthcare Industry Research), Forrester Research, IDC (Health Insights) and HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society). Emerging players are Chilmark Research, CB Insights and Definitive Healthcare. KLAS Research is listed as a direct peer.
Does Black Book Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for Black Book Research.
What industry is Black Book Research in?
Black Book Research's product category is Healthcare Market Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHALAE, Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom), with a secondary code of MPAAALAB, Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies). Its NAICS code is 541910 and its SIC code is 2741.