Gartner and the Magic Quadrant: A Guide for Buyers, Vendors and Investors

This book chronicles possibly the most interesting story of the past several decades in the enterprise software space: the lack of evidence for the benefits of ERP systems. Yes, the most popular and widely purchased application in enterprise software had a series of logics or central arguments for why it should be purchased. In the early stages of the ERP “revolution” there was no evidence, proposals regarding ERP Software were made without evidence. Three decades into the history of ERP systems, the evidence is in, and it looks quite a bit different from what was originally proposed. However, this evidence has not been synthesized and reviewed comprehensively — and then explained to corporate buyers. This book is the first to do exactly that.

The Main Book Page Can be Found at This Link

Chapter 5: The Magic Quadrant

  • The Magic Quadrant Methodology
  • Orientation of the Magic Quadrant Methodology
  • Completeness of Vision Criterion
  • Ability to Execute Criterion
  • Gartner Magic Quadrant Scenarios: Large Vendor Versus Small
  • Addressing the Product in the Vendor Profile Portion of the Gartner Magic Quadrant
  • Pricing as Criteria, but for Whom?
  • Gartner’s Large Vendor Bias
  • The Specifics of a Large Vendor Bias
  • How the Large Vendor Bias Is Introduced
  • Gartner’s IT Versus Business Bias
  • How Gartner Pushes Buyers Towards More Expensive Solutions
  • Using a Software Vendor’s Sales Strategy and Business Model
  • Using The Referenceability of Customers
  • Problems with the Magic Quadrant’s Specificity
  • Conclusion

Chapter 6: Other Analytical Products Offered by Gartner

  • Hype Cycles
  • Marketscopes
  • Vendor Ratings
  • Market Forecasts
  • Market Share
  • Market Updates
  • Conclusion
  • Chapter 7: Gartner’s Future and Cloud Computing
  • Gartner Versus Bottom-up / Crowdsourcing Alternatives
  • How Gartner is Very Well Positioned for the Future
  • Conclusion

Chapter 7: Gartner’s Future and CrowdSourcing

  • Gartner Versus CrowdSourcing Alternatives
  • How Gartner is Positioned for the Future

Chapter 8: Adjusting the Magic Quadrant

  • Gartner Report Adjustment Rules
  • Never Use Just the Gartner Magic Quadrant to Make a Purchasing Decision
  • Adjust the Rankings for the Vendor’s Size
  • Insert More Reality into Gartner’s Ratings
  • Steps to Increase Reality of the Software Selection
  • Finding Technical Fact Checkers
  • Adjust Down the Rate of Predicted Change
  • When Magic Quadrants Don’t Exist for Your Software Subcategory
  • Adjusting for Functionality and Maintainability
  • Disregarding Gartner’s Deeper Technology Insights and Predictions
  • Adjusting for Price
  • Adjusting for the Buying Company’s Size
  • Conclusion

Chapter 9: Is Gartner Worth the Investment?

  • Is Gartner Worth the Investment?
  • Investing Based Upon Gartner’s Ratings
  • Is Gartner Worth the Investment for Software Buyers?
  • Staying Away from Short Cuts
  • Is Gartner Worth the Investment for Software Vendors?
  • For Large Vendors
  • For Medium-sized Vendors
  • For Small Vendors
  • Conclusion

Go to top

Conclusion

Appendix A: How to Use Independent Consultants for Software Selection

Appendix B: What Does the History of Media Tell Us About This Topic?

Appendix C: Disclosure Statements and Code of Ethics National Public Radio and the BBC

Links in the Book

Author Profile