IHS Inc. has acquired Infonetics Research, an international market research firm that serves the global communications market.

Based in Silicon Valley, Infonetics Research provides market intelligence on equipment, software and services to clients in more than 20 countries. Its intelligence services span 21 markets across the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) space, including cybersecurity, core and transport networking, broadband, mobile, digital TV, data center, cloud, the Internet of Things and others. Infonetics is frequently first to market with intelligence on emerging technology segments, such as the rapidly evolving software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) markets.

Combined with its other recent acquisitions, the addition of Infonetics gives IHS a global, end-to-end view of the ICT supply chain, from semiconductors, components and digital displays to enterprise and service provider networking, to consumer electronics and mobile devices.

The acquisition of Infonetics presents a significant opportunity for IHS Technology to establish a strong presence in the ICT space, an arena with high strategic value for IHS, says Scott Key, president and chief executive officer of IHS.

“Infonetics’ unique area of research represents non-overlapping growth potential for us,” Key says. “Its focus on telecomm and IT markets is a good fit with other IHS Technology products and services. Importantly, Infonetics also has a proven, 25-year track record of strong revenue growth, with 80% of its revenue being recurring in nature. Clearly, Infonetics represents an excellent match for IHS as we advance our capabilities in the growing sector for ICT products and services.”

Infonetics -- along with IHS -- are ranked by Apollo Research as two of the top five most quoted analyst firms that cover the U.S. technology sector. Infonetics maintains an office in the Boston area as well as a presence in Europe and Asia. A total of 46 Infonetics employees will join IHS, including four members of the company’s founding family.