Vendor comparisons by analysts – e.g. Gartner Magic Quadrant – offer invaluable insights that help businesses make informed, strategic, and confident decisions. Hence, mitigating risks, enhancing negotiation power, and aligning solutions with business goals, ultimately leading to better outcomes and competitive advantages in the market.
Assignment:
November 2017: build relationship with the leading Analysts, such the brand becomes global visible.
Results:
- Summer 2018: First time being mentioned in Gartner’s MQ.
- 2020: Part of Tolly Best Practices
Public available materials
- First time in Gartner Wired & Wireless LAN Magic Quadrant.
- Tolly Best Practices.
Participation
How was the assignment approached?
After years of advocating towards the Management Team to leverage the power of the analyst community to enhance global visibility, approval was finally granted in 2017. Where the begining building these relationships has started. While being a customer of Gartner, we received well-guided introductions on how to effectively work with the analyst community.
What were the biggest challenges encountered?
Building strong analyst relationships requires a strategic approach and consistent effort. Therefore, effective engagement with analysts can significantly enhance a vendor’s presence and credibility. However, from a vendor’s perspective, it is often assumed that analysts should prioritize the interests of their paying customers. Hence, consistently defending the analysts’ independence becomes a recurring effort.
What was fundamentally new about the project?
Engaging with the analyst community was entirely new. Hence, resulting in a steep learning curve for everyone involved. This approach was fundamentally different from working with tech media and served a distinct purpose.
What percentage of time was spent on this project?
For 3 years on average, 10% of available time was dedicated to this project.