Usage Policy
This Usage Policy defines what you are entitled to do with Elev8 Group's research content, advisory services, and access credentials — depending on how you access them and what your relationship with Elev8 is. It is the operational counterpart to the Research Usage Policy, which focuses on what is not permitted. This policy focuses on what is — setting out your entitlements clearly so you can get the most value from your relationship with Elev8 while staying within its terms. Elev8 monitors use of its content and services and will act on violations of this policy. Refer to Section 1 for the non-compliance process.
This policy applies to everyone who accesses or uses Elev8 Group content or services — whether as a practitioner, vendor, research client, advisory client, or casual visitor to elev8group.io or thisischrislong.com. The entitlements available to you depend on your access tier and the nature of your relationship with Elev8. Where a specific engagement agreement or service contract contains terms that differ from this baseline policy, those terms take precedence for that engagement.
Elev8's content is accessible across five distinct tiers. Each tier carries a different baseline entitlement. The sections below define what you may do within each tier.
Open access
Access form required
LinkedIn only
Licence required
Engagement required
Elev8 monitors access to and use of its content and services, including use of its research in external publications, marketing materials, and digital channels. Where Elev8 identifies use that is inconsistent with this policy, it will act through the process below.
Non-Compliance Notice & Cure Process
Internal use means use within your own organisation — not shared externally, not used in client-facing, public-facing, or vendor-facing materials. The following entitlements apply to internal use of Elev8 content across all access tiers.
Permitted for all access tiers — no approval needed
- Read and consult any Elev8 content you have legitimately accessed for your own professional development, strategic planning, or decision-making.
- Share a direct link to any publicly accessible Elev8 research page with colleagues via email, internal messaging, or intranet — linking is always encouraged and always permitted.
- Include a short excerpt — no more than two consecutive sentences, one data point, or one pull-quote — in an internal presentation, briefing note, or planning document, provided the excerpt is attributed correctly to Elev8 Group, the publication title, and the date.
- Save or print any freely published Elev8 page for personal, offline reference use.
- Retain a personal copy of the gated Master Research Paper PDF for the duration of your engagement with the relevant research topic.
The following internal uses go beyond baseline entitlement and require Elev8's prior written approval:
These require approval before proceeding
- Forwarding the gated Master Research Paper PDF to any colleague — even within your own organisation.
- Posting Elev8 content — in whole or in substantial part — on an internal intranet, SharePoint, document management system, or knowledge base accessible to a large or unrestricted internal audience.
- Importing or entering any Elev8 research data, findings, or framework structures into an internal data warehouse, business intelligence tool, or system of record.
- Systematically or routinely circulating Elev8 excerpts across a team or organisation in lieu of purchasing research access, an advisory engagement, or a licensed internal distribution arrangement.
- Using any Elev8 content — in any form — as input into any AI, machine learning, or automated system for any purpose, including internal summarisation, synthesis, or analysis tools.
Permitted — internal use with correct attribution
Not permitted — contact Elev8 to discuss a licensed internal distribution arrangement or direct briefing session
Not permitted — inputting Elev8 content into any AI or automated system is prohibited under all circumstances
Permitted — sharing links to publicly accessible content is always permitted without restriction
External use is any use of Elev8 research content outside your organisation — in press, media, publications, presentations, social media, client communications, marketing materials, or any other channel visible to audiences beyond your own organisation. All external use of Elev8 content requires prior written approval from Elev8, with the exception of sharing direct links to publicly accessible content.
The following types of external use may be approved on request. Approval is at Elev8's sole discretion and will be confirmed in writing with any conditions attached. Do not proceed with any external use until written approval has been received.
Potentially approvable external uses
- Press and media citations referencing a specific Elev8 finding with full attribution — publication title, Elev8 Group, month and year — in an article, broadcast, or media release.
- Academic citations in peer-reviewed papers or research publications, using correct citation format with attribution and a direct link to the source.
- Conference presentations referencing a specific Elev8 finding — not a full publication — with clear on-slide attribution and the source URL.
- Industry reports or benchmarking studies including a brief attributed reference to Elev8's published position on a market topic.
- Vendor marketing use — subject to full compliance with the Citation & Content Compliance Policy and a separate written approval. For vendor marketing use of Articul8™ evaluative research, a Reprint licence is required — see the Reprints page.
Absolute prohibitions — no approval can be granted
- Reproducing full or substantial portions of any Elev8 publication in any external document, platform, or communication.
- Using Elev8 research to imply endorsement of any organisation, product, vendor, or service beyond what the cited research explicitly states.
- Embedding or hosting Elev8 research content — including PDFs or excerpted graphics — on any external website, landing page, or public platform without a Reprint licence.
- Publishing or distributing translated versions of any Elev8 content without Elev8's prior written approval of the translated version.
- Misrepresenting a partial citation as Elev8's overall position on a topic, vendor, or market.
- Using Elev8's name, logo, or branded framework names in a way that implies co-sponsorship, co-authorship, or endorsement beyond the specific scope of any approved use.
Submit all external use requests to Elev8 via elev8group.io/contact before the intended use proceeds. Include: the specific publication; the passage, finding, or asset you wish to use; the channel and audience; your organisation name and role; and whether the use is editorial, commercial, or vendor-facing. Elev8 responds to external use requests within five Business Days.
| External use type | Free content | Gated PDF | Research Memos | Articul8™ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a direct link publicly | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ via LinkedIn | ✗ |
| Press / academic citation | ||||
| Conference presentation reference | ||||
| Vendor marketing materials | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Host or embed on external platform | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Full reproduction of publication | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI training or automated input | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Approval required — submit request before use. Press citations with correct attribution are typically approved.
Not permitted — all external vendor use of any Elev8 content requires prior written approval, including use by agencies
Permitted — within the scope of an active Reprint licence
Elev8 provides access to Chris Long's direct analytical expertise through a structured set of session types, available across two tracks — vendor access and client advisory. This section defines what each session type is, who can access it, and what it can and cannot be used for. Full terms for each session type are set out in the Analyst Access & Engagement Policy.
Permitted use across all session types
- Receiving Chris Long's current analytical perspective on a specific strategic, market, or organisational challenge relevant to the session type.
- Sharing factual information about your organisation, product, or strategy to provide context for the advice or research input being sought.
- Discussing market dynamics, category trends, buyer behaviour, and competitive context at an appropriate level for the session type.
- Applying Elev8's published research frameworks — including Calibr8™ outputs and Articul8™ market intelligence — to your specific situation, within the scope of the session.
Prohibited across all session types
- Discussing, seeking information about, or attempting to influence any in-progress or forthcoming Articul8™ evaluative research — including its scope, criteria, scoring, or outcomes.
- Requesting guidance on how to improve a vendor's score, position, tier, or inclusion in any Articul8™ evaluation — before, during, or after publication.
- Asking Elev8 to disclose the scores, positions, or confidential information of any other vendor.
- Providing a product briefing as a primary purpose of the session, in lieu of a formal Vendor Briefing.
- Negotiating, scoping, or renegotiating Elev8 service terms or fees during session time.
- Requesting written Deliverables, reports, or public-facing content not agreed in the original engagement scope.
- Recording any session without Elev8's prior written consent.
Elev8 enforces a closed period for all advisory sessions during any active Articul8™ evaluation. The closed period spans the three months prior to and including the publication date of the relevant evaluation. During the closed period, advisory sessions with vendor clients included in that evaluation may not be scheduled or conducted. Vendor Briefings are not subject to the closed period restriction. The closed period applies regardless of client status, engagement history, or commercial terms.
Permitted — go-to-market and buyer messaging are valid advisory topics outside the closed period
Not permitted — guidance on improving evaluative positions is prohibited in all session types, at all times
Permitted — vendor evaluation in a client advisory context is a core use of Decision Workshops
Certain Elev8 content — including the gated Master Research Paper and any licensed Articul8™ publications delivered via secure link — is accessible through a personalised access mechanism. This section defines how that access is granted, how it must be managed, and what constitutes a violation of access terms.
You must
- Keep all access credentials — including download links, booking links, and platform login details — secure and confidential.
- Use access credentials only for the purposes for which they were issued and only within the access tier and entitlement applicable to your relationship with Elev8.
- Notify Elev8 promptly at legal@elev8group.io if you believe any access credential has been shared, compromised, or accessed by an unauthorised person.
- Ensure that any person accessing Elev8 content or services through your credentials is aware of and complies with this policy.
You must not
- Share, forward, transfer, or otherwise provide any Elev8 access credential — including download links, booking links, or platform logins — to any other person without Elev8's prior written consent.
- Use credentials to access content or services beyond the scope of the access tier or entitlement applicable to your relationship with Elev8.
- Use any automated tool, script, or process to access Elev8 content through any credential-protected system.
- Attempt to circumvent any access restriction or security measure on Elev8's website, content delivery systems, or client platforms.
- Post, publish, or otherwise make publicly available any credential-protected Elev8 content obtained through your access.
Credential sharing — including forwarding a personalised download link, sharing a booking link with an unregistered attendee, or passing platform login details to a colleague — constitutes a violation of this policy and of the applicable access terms. Where credential sharing is identified, Elev8 reserves the right to revoke access immediately, without a prior cure period, and to treat the violation as a non-compliant use under Section 1 of this policy.
Not permitted — personalised access links are non-transferable. Contact Elev8 to discuss a licensed internal distribution arrangement.
Not permitted — booking links are issued to confirmed individuals. Contact Elev8 to transfer the booking before the session date.
Not permitted — automated access to Elev8 content using any scraper, bot, or monitoring script is prohibited regardless of purpose
Research Independence Statement
Elev8's research and advisory services are editorially independent of all commercial relationships. The entitlements and restrictions in this policy exist to protect that independence — ensuring that Elev8's content reaches the audiences it is intended for, in the ways it is intended to be used, without misrepresentation or misappropriation. Any use that falls outside the terms of this policy will be acted on, regardless of the commercial relationship involved.
Contact Elev8 via elev8group.io/contact. For Reprint licence enquiries, visit elev8group.io/articul8/reprints. For vendor engagement, visit elev8group.io/vendors. For matters relating to non-compliance or access violations, write to legal@elev8group.io.