Are Gartner Magic Quadrants Missing Key Cybersecurity Players?
This Deep Dive from Richard Stiennon's "Top 10 Unicorns you won't find in a Gartner MQ" analyses the claim that Gartner Magic Quadrants (MQs), while influential, fail to adequately represent the full spectrum of leading cybersecurity companies, particularly fast-growing, highly valued "unicorns."
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Key Points:
Gaps in Coverage: Despite tracking 25 cybersecurity-related MQs covering 144 vendors, Gartner overlooks many significant players. This is particularly noticeable with unicorn companies achieving significant market traction and valuation.
Unicorn Omissions: The author highlights ten cybersecurity unicorns absent from MQs, despite their market impact and billion-dollar valuations:
Wiz: Dominant in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), a category Gartner coined but lacks an MQ for.
Tanium: Valued at $9 billion, yet excluded from relevant MQs.
Lacework: Aligns with Gartner's Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), but no MQ exists.
Fireblocks: A Web3/blockchain security specialist, highlighting the need for Gartner to address emerging tech sectors.
1Password: A leading password management solution in a space surprisingly lacking an MQ.
Socure & Transmit Security: Both identity verification unicorns, further demonstrating a category with significant players missing from MQs.
Arctic Wolf: A top Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider, absent from the MQ for Managed Security Service Providers.
Abnormal Security: A leading email security solution in a space with numerous vendors but no dedicated MQ.
Illumio: A major player in the booming micro-segmentation space, which lacks MQ representation.
Market Relevance Questioned: The author questions whether Gartner's limited coverage adequately meets the market's need for comprehensive vendor guidance.
Quantitative Evidence: IT-Harvest's database tracks 3,764 cybersecurity vendors, vastly exceeding the 144 included in MQs. This discrepancy emphasizes the potential for oversight.
Key Quotes:
"These are the hottest, fastest-growing, cybersecurity solutions that address the latest enterprise needs. If you are a large enterprise how are you making sure you are using best of breed? How do you research and track these companies?"
"I am beginning to question whether Gartner is fulfilling the demands of the market for guidance in purchasing decisions. I am sure their customers can schedule inquiries about all these vendors and get good guidance. But I am concerned about the paucity of coverage."
Methodology: The analysis is based on a comparison of Gartner's published MQs and the extensive vendor database compiled by IT-Harvest.
Implications:
Businesses relying solely on Gartner MQs for vendor selection may miss out on innovative and effective solutions.
The rapid evolution of the cybersecurity landscape necessitates a more dynamic and comprehensive approach to market analysis.
Alternative research methods and databases like IT-Harvest may be necessary to ensure access to the full spectrum of available vendors.
Further Research:
Investigate the criteria used by Gartner for MQ inclusion.
Explore alternative vendor evaluation resources and methodologies.
Analyze the growth and market impact of the highlighted unicorn companies.
