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Ask HN: Do managers make purchasing decisions based off Gartner’s Magic Quadrant

8 points by cebert 5y ago

I have seen a few comments in various HN threads suggesting individuals in leadership positions make purchasing decisions based on whether products or solutions are listed in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant market research listings. I’m not yet in a position where I get to help much with purchasing decisions, but was curious how common this practice is from folks in these positions or in the room when these decisions are made. As an outsider, it surprises me that those in leadership positions wouldn’t prioritize feedback and guidance from team members rather than relying on a quadrant list from a market research firm.

paulmendoza 5y ago
When the project fails that manager can say “but Gartner said they were good.” That’s why they use it.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- ID1452319 5y ago
  This times 1,000. The old adage "No one got fired for buying IBM" is alive and well in most companies.
b20000 5y ago
I always wonder where these companies like Gartner get the material they need to produce their reports.
- alephnerd 5y ago
  Companies like Gartner communicate with industry leaders in a segment to gain an understanding about the technology. These companies always have a couple ICs dedicated to Analyst relations, plus associated SEs, PMMs, and Engineering Leads spending time and educating analysts about the market space and associated features. Source - worked on the last 2 Magic Quadrants at an industry SME. Edit - grammar
  - b20000 5y ago
    ok, so big tech co’s get to define what is truth
    - alephnerd 5y ago
      Not necessarily. The firm I work at has been collaborating with firms like Gartner since we exited stealth, and most of our competitors also started chatting with them at similar stages (Series A-C). It's not that difficult for early stage companies to be a part of the conversations ASSUMING they made sure to make analyst relations an important part of their GTM strategy. edit: typo
- thewileyone 5y ago
  Many reports by Gartner, Forrester, etc are sponsored reports. Companies work with these reviewers to put themselves in a magic quadrant that they define for themselves. I know cause I've been approached to do the same.
  - alephnerd 5y ago
    99% of the time yes, but there are certain companies that have been Magic Quadrant leaders despite having a steadfast rule against chatting with analysts due to their lack of understanding (which is a fair critique). A leader in the SSE segment is one of these companies for example.
alephnerd 5y ago
Most companies are not tech companies. They may not have the expertise or ability to make informed procurement decisions. In order to make a decision on (say) which ERP software to buy, they’ll often work with Analysts at firms like Gartner to understand the pros and cons of software in a specific segment. Think of companies like Gartner as a concierge G2 or ProductHunt experience, minus all the spammy crap and with a lot more handholding and support. The Magic Quadrant (and other similar products) act as a conversation starter and product validation that can give the buyer some confidence that there is some semblance of support, because their ass is on the line if a product they bought turns out to be garbage. Edit: added additional context
Parker_Powell 5y ago
As a manager, I can say that I do make purchasing decisions based off Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. The reason I use this is because it helps me to easily identify potential vendors and products that can help me achieve the goals of my company. The Magic Quadrant allows me to see how different companies compare to one another in terms of their position in the market and how they perform compared with their peers. The quadrant also includes a brief description of each vendor or product so that I can get a better understanding of what each one does before deciding whether or not it would be beneficial for my business.
- mywaifuismeta 5y ago
  This is a bot.
codingdave 5y ago
I've never seen the actual decision made based on the magic quadrant, but I absolutely see the list of candidates at the start of a research effort come from it.
arrmn 5y ago
As a Solutions Engineer I've talked with a lot of companies, we're selling software to enterprises. A lot of prospects take Gartner as a starting point and evaluate multiple solutions from there.

8 points by cebert 5y ago

paulmendoza 5y ago

When the project fails that manager can say “but Gartner said they were good.” That’s why they use it.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
ID1452319 5y ago
This times 1,000. The old adage "No one got fired for buying IBM" is alive and well in most companies.

b20000 5y ago

I always wonder where these companies like Gartner get the material they need to produce their reports.

alephnerd 5y ago
Companies like Gartner communicate with industry leaders in a segment to gain an understanding about the technology. These companies always have a couple ICs dedicated to Analyst relations, plus associated SEs, PMMs, and Engineering Leads spending time and educating analysts about the market space and associated features. Source - worked on the last 2 Magic Quadrants at an industry SME. Edit - grammar
- b20000 5y ago
  ok, so big tech co’s get to define what is truth
  - alephnerd 5y ago
    Not necessarily. The firm I work at has been collaborating with firms like Gartner since we exited stealth, and most of our competitors also started chatting with them at similar stages (Series A-C). It's not that difficult for early stage companies to be a part of the conversations ASSUMING they made sure to make analyst relations an important part of their GTM strategy. edit: typo
thewileyone 5y ago
Many reports by Gartner, Forrester, etc are sponsored reports. Companies work with these reviewers to put themselves in a magic quadrant that they define for themselves. I know cause I've been approached to do the same.
- alephnerd 5y ago
  99% of the time yes, but there are certain companies that have been Magic Quadrant leaders despite having a steadfast rule against chatting with analysts due to their lack of understanding (which is a fair critique). A leader in the SSE segment is one of these companies for example.

alephnerd 5y ago

Most companies are not tech companies. They may not have the expertise or ability to make informed procurement decisions. In order to make a decision on (say) which ERP software to buy, they’ll often work with Analysts at firms like Gartner to understand the pros and cons of software in a specific segment. Think of companies like Gartner as a concierge G2 or ProductHunt experience, minus all the spammy crap and with a lot more handholding and support. The Magic Quadrant (and other similar products) act as a conversation starter and product validation that can give the buyer some confidence that there is some semblance of support, because their ass is on the line if a product they bought turns out to be garbage. Edit: added additional context

Parker_Powell 5y ago

As a manager, I can say that I do make purchasing decisions based off Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. The reason I use this is because it helps me to easily identify potential vendors and products that can help me achieve the goals of my company. The Magic Quadrant allows me to see how different companies compare to one another in terms of their position in the market and how they perform compared with their peers. The quadrant also includes a brief description of each vendor or product so that I can get a better understanding of what each one does before deciding whether or not it would be beneficial for my business.

mywaifuismeta 5y ago
This is a bot.

codingdave 5y ago

I've never seen the actual decision made based on the magic quadrant, but I absolutely see the list of candidates at the start of a research effort come from it.

arrmn 5y ago

As a Solutions Engineer I've talked with a lot of companies, we're selling software to enterprises. A lot of prospects take Gartner as a starting point and evaluate multiple solutions from there.