Industry Analyst Relations

IIAR Webinar: ‘Tis the season for Gartner Methodologies

On September 7th, the CCgroup AR team joined IIAR’s latest webinar on Gartner methodologies with David Black (LinkedIn), MVP Methodologies & Content Engagement at Gartner and moderated by Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovic, LinkedIn), from the IIAR Board.

David spoke about the firm’s research methodology behind reports such as Magic Quadrants and Critical Capabilities.

The AR community has always been tuned in to Gartner’s research calendars, with “Every season is Magic Quadrant season” being the mantra shared by many. As such, many AR professionals were keen to learn more from David.

Whilst emphasising Gartner’s move towards more openness, he was happy to answer more in-depth questions. David also offered valuable insight on Gartner’s research validation process. Our main takeaways were:

  • The Gartner Methodologies team now covers IT procurement.
  • Vendors included in a Gartner MQ are at the pinnacle of their market and inclusion criteria is now heavily weighted to how vendors market themselves, so the more SEO the better!
  • Critical Capabilities reports offer a deep dive into a particular vertical market or technology.
  • Trends for Magic Quadrants include more Peer Insights relevant for each Magic Quadrant report (currently stands at over 45,000 reviews).
  • The number of vendors included in the Magic Quadrants is determined by analysts – for BI it has now gone up to 37.
  • Gartner’s remit continues to expand due to constant M&A and organic growth.
  • Gartner will ask for specific customer references for each type of report, as criteria will vary. E.g. the customer references shared for a Magic Quadrant will not extend to vendor-specific or Vendor Profile reports.
  • NB: Gartner’s ‘magic’ benchmark for customer references for Magic Quadrants is between 5-7. Getting requests for additional references? Query why with the analyst team.
  • Gartner encourages users to raise any questions or voice concerns on the research process for different reports directly with them at [email protected].

In summary?

I was pleasantly surprised by the effort and progress Gartner is making to improve its transparency. The firm has evolved into a more approachable and open organisation which aims to help AR professionals through the Magic Quadrant season – and beyond.

(This post originally appeared on the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations on 15/9/17, here: http://analystrelations.org/2017/09/15/iiar-webinar-tis-the-season-for-gartner-methodologies/)

Written by Duncan Chapple

LinkedIn

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