International Research Center

What International Research Center does

International Research Center (IRC) is a privately held, Arizona-based custom research and consulting firm founded in 1992 by Mark Goldstein. The firm delivers targeted market research, competitive intelligence, strategic planning support, legal and public policy research, and technology assessment to business, government, and legal clients across telecommunications, information technology, eContent, eLearning, the Internet, and biotechnology domains. Service delivery is built on three principals (Mark Goldstein, Dr. Oris D. Friesen, Mike Keeling) supported by an extended network of specialists and consultants, and on a combination of primary and secondary research, strategic landscape mapping, M&A due diligence, litigation support, and IP/domain-name research. Notable published outputs include the 1995 'Universal Service To Universal Access' report for the State of Arizona and the 2000 Multi-Tenant Building Telecommunications Access Study for ATIC.

The business model is project-based professional services: each engagement is custom-scoped with the client, billed against the budget agreed with that client, and delivered through the firm's principals and associates. No public pricing, subscription tiers, or software licensing applies. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven — referrals, professional association involvement (AIIP, Arizona Technology Council, ATIC), speaking engagements, and earned media quoting the President in outlets such as Forbes and the Business Journal of Phoenix. Distribution is direct enterprise and government engagement only; there is no intermediary channel, no self-serve product, and no API. Notable end customers include State of Arizona agencies, City of Phoenix, Maricopa Association of Governments, ASU, Cox Communications, Fujitsu Business Communications Systems, Citibank, Silicon Valley Bank, Anheuser-Busch, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The firm is small, headquartered at a single Tempe, AZ PO-box address, with headcount in the 11–50 band, no outside funding, no subsidiaries, and no public listing. Web presence and news coverage in the source data trail off around 2006–2008. There is no evidence of a software platform, no proprietary AI/ML capability, and no public pricing surface; competitive advantage sits in principal relationships, domain knowledge accumulated over thirty-plus years, and incumbency in Arizona policy and telecom advisory work.

Name

International Research Center

Legal name

International Research Center

Website

https://researchedge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Research Center is a privately held, Arizona-based boutique consulting firm founded in 1992 that provides custom market research, strategic intelligence, and public-policy research to business, government, and legal clients across telecommunications, IT, and content domains.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research and Consulting Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

Keywords

• Market research consulting
• Competitive intelligence services
• Telecommunications policy research
• Strategic research advisory
• Public policy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tempe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Research and Consulting: Providing targeted and timely custom research and consulting services primarily in the communications, content and technology arenas. Services include market research, competitive intelligence, strategic planning support, and public policy research. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

International Research Center provides targeted and timely custom research and consulting services for business, legal, and public policy clients across telecommunications, information technology, eContent, eLearning, the Internet, and biotechnology sectors. Core engagements include market research and competitive intelligence, strategic planning support, legal and public policy support (including IP research), and research/education services such as training and custom presentations. The firm also produces specialized research publications and operates a biotech domain name auction service.

Product overview

International Research Center (IRC) is a professional consulting and custom research services firm established in 1992, offering a unified portfolio of research and strategic advisory services rather than a software product platform. The core offering consists of custom research and consulting across telecommunications, IT, eContent, eLearning, the Internet, and biotechnology sectors. These services are delivered through three integrated modules: Market Research and Intelligence (including competitive intelligence, strategic planning, and M&A due diligence), Legal and Public Policy Support (including regulatory analysis and IP research), and Research, Analysis and Education (including training and presentations). IRC also produces specialized research publications such as the Multitenant Building Telecommunications Access Study (MBTAS) and Universal Service To Universal Access report. Additionally, IRC operated a Biotech Domain Name Auction service for domain name transactions. All services are delivered through experienced principals and associates with expertise spanning government, industry, and academic sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Research and Consulting Services

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council (ATIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Long-standing strategic partnership with ATIC, an Infrastructure Foundation of the Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development. IRC principals led major ATIC initiatives including the Multi-Tenant Building Telecom Access Study, DHS Wi-Fi Security Project for First Responders, Arizona Telecom Directory development, and various policy events.
• Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005IRC led development of eLearning Research Portal (ELRP) findings for IDA in Alexandria, VA. Strategic Planning Consultants (SPC) team led by Mark Goldstein developed ELRP findings and presented to IDA in Washington D.C.
• Greater Arizona eLearning Association (GAZEL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005IRC participates in GAZEL Research Committee activities. Collaborative partnership on eLearning research initiatives including the Strategic Research Directions Symposium.
• Cox Business ServicesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003IRC provided content for CBS Hy-Life Enterprise Telework Guide. Co-produced and facilitated Cox Business Services events including Distance Doesn't Matter: Telework for Real Symposium and High-Bandwidth Symposium.
• Arizona Technology CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001IRC works closely with Arizona Technology Council (formerly AZSoft.net) on technology events, presentations, and policy initiatives. Mark Goldstein prepares studies on collaboration and consolidation among regional technology councils.
• Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999IRC completed MAG's Electronic Highway Infrastructure Development and Information Services Report for the Telecommunications Advisory Group (MAGTAG). Ongoing collaboration on regional telecom planning.
• University of Arizona South Continuing EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRC principal Mark Goldstein serves as instructor for Advanced Training Class on Telecommunications: Evolution, Applications, and Emerging Technologies for UASCE in Sierra Vista, AZ.
• University of Advancing Technology (UAT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRC Associate Todd Blackwood is IT Development Manager at UAT. Collaboration on wireless network assessment and security research projects.
• Information Today, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMark Goldstein moderates and presents at Information Today conferences including Taxonomy Boot Camp, Enterprise Search Summit West, and Buying & Selling eContent Conference. Active contributor to Online Magazine and other ITI publications.
• The Sedona Conferences & ConversationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMark Goldstein presents at Sedona Conferences on content value chain and digital media topics. Collaboration on conference sessions and publications.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TeleGeography: Specialist telecommunications research and consulting firm producing primary research on global telecom networks, infrastructure, and policy. Highly comparable on telecom-policy research focus.
• Plunkett Research: Independent research and publishing firm of comparable size producing custom industry and sector research, with similar mix of syndicated reports and bespoke client studies. Closely comparable to IRC's boutique custom-research model.
• Coleman Parkes Research: Boutique custom research firm specializing in enterprise IT, telecommunications, and emerging-technology markets for global vendors and service providers. Direct match on custom-research model, sector focus, and enterprise buyer base.
• Outsell: Research and advisory firm focused on the information industry, publishing, media, and technology sectors — closely aligned with IRC's eContent, telecom, and Internet research practice.
• Burton-Taylor International Consulting: Small specialist advisory and research firm serving the financial-services, market-data, and technology industries with custom research and strategic consulting — closely aligned in scale and bespoke-engagement model.

Broad incumbents

• Omdia (formerly Ovum): Global research and advisory group with deep roots in telecommunications and digital media research (formerly Ovum) — directly comparable on telecom sector coverage and policy/regulatory research.
• Forrester Research: Large-scale research and advisory firm covering technology, digital, marketing, and customer experience — overlapping with IRC's market-research and strategic-consulting service lines at enterprise buyer level.
• Research Now (Dynata): Large-scale data and research services platform supporting market-research and survey-based studies for enterprises. Comparable to IRC's survey development, market research, and competitive intelligence offerings, but at institutional scale.
• IDC: Global provider of market intelligence, advisory, and consulting for IT, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets — directly adjacent to IRC's research offerings but at vastly larger scale.
• Gartner: Largest technology research and advisory firm globally, covering IT, telecom, and adjacent sectors that overlap with IRC's core domains — sets the price/reference point for any technology research engagement IRC competes for.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 International Research Center