We help IT decision makers connect the dots.

Starfleet Research benchmarks best practices in technology-enabled business initiatives in niche industries, including hospitality, retail and healthcare, and across enterprises.

Independent IT market research & strategic advisory

Independent research.
Better technology decisions.

Starfleet Research helps industry practitioners and technology leaders understand what works, what distinguishes stronger performers and how to make better-informed technology decisions.

Our best-practices benchmarking and custom research connect technology decisions with business results across hotels, restaurants, retail, healthcare and enterprise markets.

Patterns into insight.Best-practices research
96%

Hotel revenue management

Integrating historical bookings, reservations, transactions, competitive insights, and other relevant data

Hoteliers rating this success factor “important” or “very important.”

Source: Starfleet Research, Smart Decision Guide to Hospitality Revenue Management, “Must-Ask Questions.”

How Top-Performing Hotels Harness the Power of Technology to Turbocharge Operations coverHotels
The Restaurant Optimization Playbook coverRestaurants
How Top-Performing Convenience Retailers Speed Up Checkout and Bring Shoppers Back coverRetail
Everything You Need to Know About Next-Generation Medical Practice Management Solutions coverHealthcare

A few of the 100+ leading technology solution providers that have supported our published research over the past 14+ years.

  • Oracle
  • Square
  • Palo Alto Networks
  • GE Healthcare
  • Infor
  • Epicor
  • SolarWinds
  • PAR

Industry expertise, demonstrated

Deep knowledge of the markets we study.

Technology creates value in the context of an industry’s people, workflows and priorities. Our published research and confidential engagements bring that operating context to the decisions that matter.

Hotels

Property management, revenue optimization, guest engagement and operations. We examine how connected systems, staff capabilities and management practices support better hotel performance.

How Top-Performing Hotels Harness the Power of Technology to Turbocharge Operations cover

Restaurants

POS, ordering, payments, food costs, workforce and operating intelligence. Our research explores how restaurants improve profitability, service and execution across formats and locations.

The Restaurant Optimization Playbook cover

Retail

Store technology, unified commerce, inventory, customer engagement and cybersecurity. We study the systems and practices that help retailers connect channels, serve customers and manage risk.

How Top-Performing Convenience Retailers Speed Up Checkout and Bring Shoppers Back cover

Healthcare

Practice management, revenue cycle, administrative workflows and connected-device security. Our work addresses the technology decisions shaping operational, financial and patient-service performance.

Everything You Need to Know About Next-Generation Medical Practice Management Solutions cover

Enterprise & Cross-Industry Research

Our Benchmark Reports and custom studies also examine enterprise software, cybersecurity, analytics and technology management across sectors.

Explore enterprise research

Best-practices benchmarking

What are stronger performers doing differently?

That question sits at the heart of our research. Where a study supports performance comparisons, we identify stronger performers using business outcomes relevant to the initiative, then examine how their practices differ from those of comparable peers.

The analysis looks beyond software features to the people, processes, data and measurement disciplines surrounding the technology. Findings become practical benchmarks, evaluation criteria and recommendations for improving performance.

See how we benchmark best practices
Technology
Capabilities, architecture, integration and effective adoption.
Processes
Workflows, execution and day-to-day operating practices.
People & Organization
Skills, staffing, ownership, training and governance.
Data & Intelligence
Visibility, analytics and informed decision-making.
Metrics & Measurement
Relevant KPIs, peer comparisons and improvement disciplines.
Business Outcomes
Revenue, profitability, productivity, experience and risk.

Custom research & strategic analysis

Focused research for complex technology questions.

Our custom studies investigate technology requirements, operating practices, buyer priorities and market developments across the industries we cover.

Ongoing practitioner research, industry relationships and solution-provider briefings give our analysts a front-row view of technology innovation. We connect what organizations need with how platforms are evolving, helping clients evaluate opportunities, test assumptions and set priorities.

Industry and operating perspectives

Technology buying guidance, requirements definition, solution evaluation, peer benchmarking and modernization priorities.

Technology and market perspectives

Buyer requirements, competitive analysis, platform capabilities, adoption patterns and emerging technology priorities.

Research built for action. Deliverables can include comprehensive reports, comparative assessments, recommendations and executive presentations delivered in person or remotely. We do not disclose confidential client names or findings.

Published research & decision guidance

Research people can put to work.

Smart Decision Guides™

Industry-specific resources that combine research findings with buying considerations, evaluation criteria, must-ask questions and implementation guidance.

Explore published Smart Decision Guides

Benchmark Reports & Research-Based eBooks

Comparative studies and focused analysis of technology initiatives, operating practices and business priorities, drawing on research suited to each question.

Explore published research & analysis

Studies may be initiated independently, supported by disclosed underwriters or commissioned for a specific purpose. Starfleet Research maintains editorial control of its published research. Learn about our research standards.

Explore the evidence behind better decisions.

Read our findings, understand the methodology and follow the technology questions we are investigating. Starfleet Research is the IT market research division of Starfleet Media.