The IT road is filled with pitfalls and unexpected curves. And for 20 years, ZDNet and TechRepublic have helped IT pros successfully navigate that roadway with 24/7 news coverage, analysis on tech trends, dialog among IT peers, and practical how-to advice. Today, we’re expanding our industry-leading IT content by launching a new site, Tech Pro Research.

IT decision support for business leaders

Built on the foundation of TechRepublic Pro, Tech Pro Research has the high-quality content IT decision makers need to do their jobs better and more efficiently. As a member, you’ll get full access to our extensive library of research, analysis, pre-made templates, and more.

  • Original, in-depth research reports on global IT trends: We survey IT business decision makers around the world to learn what matters most. Download our Windows 8 Business Intentions report for an example of this type of insightful resource.
  • Exclusive content from leading IT columnists: Get industry analysis, actionable advice, and expert opinion from seasoned tech journalists like Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, Larry Dignan, and Jason Hiner. You won’t find this content anywhere else.
  • Analyst briefings from industry experts: Who knows more about the problems facing IT than the real-world industry leaders? Find out what problems they’ve dealt with at top companies around the world and how they’ve fixed them.
  • Time-saving policies, templates, and tools: Don’t waste time creating new forms. Use ours. Download our ready-made IT policies, templates, and tools and customize them to fit your needs of your business.
  • Comprehensive ebooks: Get the best of TechRepublic and ZDNet compiled in one convenient package. Our comprehensive ebooks are full of info on the most relevant topics. Even better, they’re absolutely free with a Tech Pro Research membership.

No third-party advertising on the site

We don’t want anything to distract you from finding the content you need as quickly as possible. So Tech Pro Research has no display ads. Just simple, clean features that make it easy to access the resources you need.

To further simplify your search, our content is organized by topic and by what we call the IT buying cycle – those stages you work through when you’re looking for game-changing technologies, tweaking old solutions, or preparing to replace obsolete equipment.We’ve broken down the buying cycle into five stages:

  • Discover
  • Investigate
  • Compare
  • Justify
  • Optimize

Every piece of content on Tech Pro Research is mapped to these stages and flagged with an icon to let you know which part of the buying cycle it addresses. Using these icons, you can quickly find resources based on the stage you’re in at any given time.

Tech Pro Research is just getting started

Tech Pro Research gives you indispensable tools to solve today’s toughest IT problems and make informed decisions. We distill complex tech topics into concise, yet comprehensive packages. Our ready-made policies, templates, and tools will save you valuable time and effort. And we’re just getting started. In the coming months we’ll be launching even more exciting features, such as members-only forums.

I encourage you to explore the site. Once you see all we have to offer, you’ll be hooked. And if you have feedback about the site, don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Bill Detwiler

Managing Editor, Tech Pro Research