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

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31269059

by cebert • 4 years ago

8 13 4 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

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• 4 years ago

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

ID1452319• 4 years ago

This times 1,000. The old adage "No one got fired for buying IBM" is alive and well in most companies.

b200002• 4 years ago

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

alephnerd4• 4 years 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

b200002• 4 years ago

ok, so big tech co’s get to define what is truth

thewileyone• 4 years 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.

alephnerd4• 4 years 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.

alephnerd4• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

This is a bot.

codingdave• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

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

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