HACKER Q&A
📣 cebert

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


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.

  👤 alephnerd Accepted Answer ✓
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

👤 paulmendoza
When the project fails that manager can say “but Gartner said they were good.” That’s why they use it.
👤 b20000
I always wonder where these companies like Gartner get the material they need to produce their reports.
👤 arrmn
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.
👤 codingdave
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.
👤 Parker_Powell
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.