This Magic Quadrant is designed to assist global enterprise customers in selecting vendors that supply a large number of notebooks in multiple regions. The results of this analysis combine evaluations of the vendor attributes that matter most to large-enterprise customers when selecting notebook suppliers: product portfolio, global capability, financial health, service and support.

Each vendor's position is accurate for the factors included in this analysis, but we encourage notebook buyers not to use these results as the sole criterion in requests for proposals or selection processes. Instead, customers should assess their priorities and apply these while performing due diligence as part of the vendor evaluation process. It is not uncommon for customers with unique requirements to find that a lesser-known vendor is best-suited to meet their needs.

The Magic Quadrant for Global Enterprise Notebook PCs (see Figure 1) is updated each year to reflect changes in market dynamics. We evaluate vendors' positions based on (1) the quantitative parameters we obtain from vendors through a questionnaire response, (2) a qualitative analysis based on vendor interviews and a range of submitted case studies, and (3) subjective evaluations based on feedback from Gartner clients. These subjective evaluations are based on scores given by each of Gartner's user-facing client computing analysts against a range of criteria. For our 2009 update, we have used the same evaluation process as in 2008, with the exception of adding the subsegment "green IT solutions" under the innovation segment. As the global economic downturn has affected many vendors' financial condition, more consolidation will take place in the near term. The 2009 Magic Quadrant has more emphasis on vendors' financials and sustainability in the market, compared with the 2008 Magic Quadrant.

For large-enterprise customers, price is an important consideration but not usually the primary purchase criterion. Instead, the purchase decision process considers various criteria, including the ability to provide appropriate services and support globally. Working with notebook vendors that can meet these requirements helps reduce the total cost of notebook ownership.

Gartner regards global presence as a significant criterion for evaluating potential notebook suppliers. The leaders in this Magic Quadrant are all international vendors that can provide consistent products and services across multiple regions. While smaller vendors can also play effectively in this market, a lack of global capabilities for delivery and/or support would put them into a niche or challenger's position. Such smaller vendors are typically specialized in certain vertical markets.

The market is defined by the following descriptions:

• The main products in this market are notebook PCs with screen sizes over 5 inches in various form factors and configurations. Mobile thin-client terminals, mobile phones, and smartphones are not included in this Magic Quadrant. For more information about notebook definitions, see "Computing Hardware Worldwide Definitions, 2008."
• The main customers in this market fall into three private-sector segments:
  • Enterprises that operate globally
  • Enterprises that operate regionally but have some global presence
  • Midmarket or large enterprises that operate in one or more countries and have more than 1,000 employees

This Magic Quadrant focuses on notebook PC suppliers that work directly or indirectly with enterprise buyers. The set of vendor inclusion criteria covers up to 90% of the total notebook market for enterprises. To appear in this Magic Quadrant, vendors must satisfy the following criteria:

• Offer notebook PCs for professional users
• Operate notebook PC business globally
• Hold over 4% of market share in the enterprise market in one of the major regions

No vendor has been added.

MPC has been dropped because it exited from the market.

This axis evaluates notebook vendors on the quality and efficiency of the processes, systems, methods or procedures that enable their performance to be competitive, efficient and effective, and to positively impact revenue, retention and reputation. Ultimately, global enterprise notebook providers are judged on their ability and success in capitalizing on their vision. The ability to execute consists of the following criteria:

• Product availability, which includes product portfolio and range
• Overall viability, which includes product quality and availability, service, and support, as well as the vendor's financial strength
• Sales execution, which includes the availability of special sales teams
• Market execution, which includes the vendor's market share in the global enterprise market
• Customer experience, which includes the vendor's ability to provide support and services
• Operations

This axis evaluates notebook vendors on their ability to convincingly articulate logical statements about current and future market direction, innovation, customer needs, and competitive forces and how well they map to the Gartner position. Ultimately, global enterprise notebook providers are rated on their understanding of how market forces can be exploited to create opportunity for the provider. From 2009, "green IT" has been added in response to increasing interest among users. The completeness of vision consists of the following criteria:

• Market understanding, which includes mechanisms for customer feedback
• Marketing organization, which includes the vendor's ability to provide various professional services
• Sales strategy, which includes the vendor's capability to work with customers through its sales force and sales tools
• Product strategy, which includes the vendor's strength of R&D and capability of product design and the ability of the vendor to offer image stability
• Vertical/industry strategy, which includes the capability of providing vertical-specific services
• Innovation, which includes product innovation, an approach to providing alternative application delivery models and green IT solutions
• Geographic strategy, which includes the capability of providing products and services globally

Notebook PC vendors in the Leaders quadrant register the highest scores on Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. These vendors have wider geographic coverage, comprehensive sales organizations, financial stability, comprehensive customer support, broader product portfolios, longer product availability and larger market presence.

Challengers have high scores in Ability to Execute, but their Completeness of Vision scores are not as high as those of the leaders. Challengers often have a good market presence and financial stability, but they may have less geographic coverage or they lack an innovative view of the products.

Visionaries have high scores in Completeness of Vision; however, their Ability to Execute scores are not as high as the scores of vendors in the Leaders quadrant. Their market presence may be less than that of the leaders, and their financial stability may not be as solid. Also, their sales organization and customer support mechanism may not be as comprehensive as those of the leaders.

Vendors in the Niche Players quadrant do not have high scores on either axis. They have a low market share, and their market coverage of different regions is limited. It is important to note that a notebook PC vendor's position in this quadrant is not a value judgment on suitability. That vendor may specialize in particular areas in a vertical-market segment or have product portfolios in which leaders may not have much focus.

• Ongoing organizational stability
• Growing market visibility
• Global product offerings, with a highly efficient supply chain and a strong market presence across many regions but limited to transactional business

• Lack of a large-enterprise-focused product offering — more transactional-focused (small business and retail).
• Lack of global service and support capabilities, as well as account management.
• Limited capabilities for delivering standardized products across multiple regions.
• Customers requiring high levels of service and support with their notebooks should expect inconsistent execution, especially if operating in multiple countries.

• Excellent product design and innovation
• Ongoing financial and organizational stability
• Strength in selected vertical sectors in which high-end media creation tools are necessary

• Lack of consistent global service and support capability.
• Lack of an enterprise-focused global sales organization and account management capability.
• Lack of an enterprise-focused product offering.
• Organizations that have multiple-country operations should consider Apple only for tactical implementation, or if the organizations have decentralized IT management.

• Good-quality products and high levels of customer support for global enterprise customers in mature markets
• Very high levels of account management for global enterprise customers
• Viable supplier for all business notebook requirements, particularly for global and large-enterprise organizations

• Organization changes through the restructuring process since 2007 have yet to generate significant positive results.
• For smaller enterprises that do not achieve "global account status" with Dell, the vendor's service and support levels may be inconsistent.
• Uneven service and support levels in some regions, especially emerging countries.
• Software and service offerings are developing but not yet mature.
• Limited channel to market while channel partners play a more important role in enterprise business compared with the past.
• Inconsistent in global service/support.

• Broad range of high-quality, enterprise-class notebooks, in particular pen-tablet products for vertical solutions.
• Fujitsu's acquisition of Fujitsu Siemens Computers in late 2008 will provide a more global approach compared with the past operation.
• Integrated customer feedback mechanisms and service offerings.

• Ability to handle large-scale global rollouts still unproven.
• Recent consolidation of Fujitsu and Fujitsu Siemens Computers may potentially create confusion in business operations.

• Good understanding of market and execution of market strategy
• Excellent account management for largest global enterprise customers
• Broad product offering, with a variety of form factors
• Best in class for efforts to understand changing user requirements and levels of customer satisfaction
• Viable supplier for global enterprise customers, regardless of the size of the business

• Complexity of contracts when channel partners are used still creates confusion for some customers.
• Users with complex, multilocation requirements that involve use of third parties should expect complex contracts.
• As margin pressure increases, HP will likely look to reduce the costs of its product and service or even withdraw from some markets; withdrawal could adversely affect enterprise customers.

• Strong product design, with continued investment in development capabilities
• Established, well-known ThinkPad brand
• High level of meaningful innovation, including well-regarded ThinkVantage technology for PC deployments
• Continuous improvement in sales strategy, with completion of the separation of the sales organization from IBM
• ThinkVantage utilities, which can be extended to non-Lenovo PCs
• Viable supplier for all business notebook requirements

• Lack of coherency between business strategies inside and outside of China
• Lack of an established global channel program
• Slow penetration into several emerging economies with the ThinkPad brand

• Excellent engineering capabilities
• Strong understanding of selected vertical markets
• Viable supplier of "ruggedized" and "semiruggedized" products with a long history of being in the leading-supplier position
• Ongoing improvement of global account management capability, albeit a much more rudimentary offering than those of the leading companies
• Continued investment in global operation expansion

• Lacks consistent global presence
• Can provide global service and support, but levels of service are limited, and the coverage is not at the level of leading vendors' global coverage yet
• Limited experience with mainstream users outside of vertical solutions

• Good product design and development capabilities, with highly regarded engineering

• Company has more focus on the nonenterprise notebook business.
• Inconsistent operations among regional subsidiaries.
• Customers requiring high levels of service and support for their notebooks may experience inconsistent execution, especially if operating in multiple countries.