[GUEST POST] IIAR Webinar: ‘Tis the season for Gartner Methodologies

Gartner IIAR logosOn September 7th, the CCgroup AR team joined IIAR’s latest webinar on Gartner methodologies with by David Black (LinkedIn), MVP Methodologies & Content Engagement at Gartner and moderated by Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovicLinkedIn), 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 which have unsurprisingly focused on the Magic Quadrant and Gartner’s perception of itself amongst other firms.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 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 Profiles 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 methodologies@gartner.com.

In summary?

I was pleasantly surprised by the progress made by Gartner to increase its clearness and transparency. The firm has evolved into a more approachable and open organisation which aims to help AR professionals throughout the Magic Quadrant season – and beyond.

Want to hear more?

The slides and recordings are available on Huddle for IIAR Members > 1709_Gartner_methodologies Suzannah Archibald (LinkedIn, @suzannah_a) is the Head of AR at CCgroup, a full-service marketing and communications agency based in Central London. 

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1 thought on “[GUEST POST] IIAR Webinar: ‘Tis the season for Gartner Methodologies”

  1. Pingback: [GUEST POST] Engaging with mobile analysts … now’s the time! | Institute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR)

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