Positioning Technology Players Within a Specific Market
Who are the competing players in the major technology markets? How are they positioned to help you over the long haul? Gartner Magic Quadrants are a culmination of research in a specific market, giving you a wide-angle view of the relative positions of the market's competitors. By applying a graphical treatment and a uniform set of evaluation criteria, a Gartner Magic Quadrant quickly helps you digest how well technology providers are executing against their stated vision.
- Challengers
- Execute well today or may dominate a large segment, but do not demonstrate an understanding of market direction.
- Leaders
- Execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.
- Visionaries
- Understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules, but do not yet execute well.
- Niche Players
- Focus successfully on a small segment, or are unfocused and do not out-innovate or outperform others.
How Do You Use Magic Quadrants?
Clients use Magic Quadrants as a first step to understanding the technology providers they might consider for a specific investment opportunity.
Keep in mind that focusing on the leaders' quadrant isn't always the best course of action. There are good reasons to consider market challengers. And a niche player may support your needs better than a market leader. It all depends on how the provider aligns with your business goals.
How Do Magic Quadrants Work?
Magic Quadrants provide a graphical competitive positioning of four types of technology providers, where market growth is high and provider differentiation is distinct:
Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.
Visionaries understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules, but do not yet execute well.
Niche Players focus successfully on a small segment, or are unfocused and do not out-innovate or outperform others.
Challengers execute well today or may dominate a large segment, but do not demonstrate an understanding of market direction.
