Canalys is a leading provider of consulting and market analysis for the converged high-tech industry, its work spanning IT, consumer electronics and telecommunications. Recognised globally, its team members are respected and influential across such diverse sectors as smart mobile devices, IP telephony, enterprise security and computing. The Canalys brand has become synonymous with quality, timeliness and accessibility among a prestigious client base that includes most of the world's leading technology brands.

Founded in 1998, Canalys has grown fast and continues to do so. The twin focus areas of convergence and routes to market are at the heart of all Canalys does. Canalys recognised early on that the digital and IP network revolutions would drive a number of previously distinct industries together and that this would have a profound impact on the business models of all involved. Market participants that rely on traditional consultancy firms will find themselves working with a vertically structured, industry-specific team. Alternatively they can engage with Canalys, which is structured around customer groups and behaviour, such as consumer, SMB, mobility and enterprise. Canalys analysts cover all the converging industries that affect its clients' customers, from TV broadcasting to private VPN networks and from navigation devices to servers. Canalys clients can be confident that they will be taken beyond their standard eco-system and receive guidance regarding all the trends that may affect their future business plans.

The Canalys name, derived from the Latin word for 'channel', emphasises its unique understanding of the challenges faced by those marketing and selling high-technology products and services. Many consultancies can help you design the next product, but few have Canalys’ capability to develop marketing, channels, services and supply chain programmes. A great channel programme will not reverse the prospects of a poor product, but it is pivotal to the success of a good one. Canalys studies routes to market in their broadest sense and enjoys unparalleled channel relationships. All its services have channels at their core - Canalys has already studied your channel issues, whether they relate to network integrators selling enterprise telephony solutions, retailers selling flat TVs, or the strategy and capabilities required for a direct sales web site. Canalys analysts continually leverage this channel access and expertise to deliver unique insight regarding opinions and trends at end customers across the spectrum, from consumers through SMBs to large enterprises. It offers a far broader view of the industry than analyst firms that live only within the CIO community of the largest global companies.

Canalys is privately-owned, headquartered in the UK and managed with the objective of consistently delivering profitable growth. Canalys is not venture capital based, its business plans have been realistically developed to deliver long-term global expansion. It knows that it will only achieve this by continuously delivering excellent value to its growing customer base, across hardware and software vendors, content developers, professional services firms, channels, service providers and broadcasters. Its ownership structure allows it to protect its independence: it does not have a related interest in selling advertising space to its clients, nor do its clients own shares in the company. Canalys does not produce sponsored white papers, so all material it releases to the press has already been distributed widely as part of a multi-client service. Canalys conducts confidential consultancy work on a single-client basis, but as the material delivered is confidential it is used almost exclusively for internal planning purposes. On the rare occasion that a client wishes to use custom material externally, it must first receive formal written approval from Canalys following strict independence checking procedures, and ensure the material is marked appropriately. Its structure and long-term focus mean that Canalys does not have a vested interest in hyping a particular new technology or producing hopelessly over-optimistic forecasts of the kind that helped inflate the dotcom bubble.