market-research, data, market-sizeI’m looking to purchase consumer data on desktop app usage. Specifically, I wanted to come up with a list of desktop apps (i.e. Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, Excel, etc.) then answer the following questions about these software programs:
What percentage of users have each of these types of software on their laptop/desktop? When did they download it? How frequently do they use it? When they use it, for what duration of time do they use it? And other questions along these same lines.
Anyone able to point me in the right direction as to where I can find this data?
I doubt you’re going to have much luck, because what you’re looking for is very proprietary (and closely-guarded) data. I seriously doubt that Microsoft would want anyone to have hard data of the kind you’re after on their users’ habits, especially competitors.
That being said, many companies do put out marketing literature that will answer some of your questions, such as the installed user base (a generalized number, sometimes inflated to make them look better) and perhaps the longevity of their customers.
Actual usage data (how long people a particular product for or how frequently) wouldn’t be made public because it could lead to lawsuits over privacy violations. It would require these companies to essentially spy on their clients (no doubt they do it anyway, but very surreptitiously!) and then publicize the data on it.
My suggestion would be perhaps to contact the public relations departments of the companies who make the apps you want to track, tell them what you’re after (in very general terms, of course!) and ask if there’s any kind of information they can provide to help you. You never know, it just might pan out!
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