Earlier this week, Gartner announced a new pilot update to the Magic Quadrant methodology that will run from February 2020 to July 2020. Known as the “Corporate Transaction Notifications” pilot, this new methodology will impact 11 markets, with the potential for greater market impact in the future. So what is it and what does it mean for AR pros?

The What:

The Corporate Transaction Notifications pilot is a complementary document to the Magic Quadrant meant to further assist end-users in the vendor selection process. The notification will reflect any merger, acquisition, or divestiture to a vendor who is featured in said MQ. The notification will highlight only significant technology-related corporate transactions that are most relevant in the buying process. The document is intended to be no more than three pages and will include three key sections:

• Overview of the transaction
• Considerations for tech and service selection:
  • Why the transaction is significant
  • If it is consistent with market trends 
  • Who is impacted most regarding the announcement
  • How buyers should change their approach (if at all) and why
• Recommended reading, including Gartner’s best practice documentation on sourcing & vendor management

The Why: 

Gartner believes arming end-users with notifications regarding corporate transactions will help them be well-prepared for the implications of acquisitions, operational IT costs, and more that may impact their buying purchases.

The Vendors: 

Gartner has outlined these qualifications and rules for vendors affected:

• The Corporate Transaction Notification will be a new write-up of a vendor featured in the MQ, however, it will not be the write-up already published in the MQ. It will be updated as the transaction closes or ceases, per the analysts’ discretion. 
• MQ scoring will remain unchanged regardless of if a Corporate Transaction Notification is given to a vendor or not
• Honorable mention vendors are excluded from receiving Corporate Transaction Notifications
• If a vendor is included in multiple MQs, the notification will not appear in all MQs. It will only be included in the MQ(s) that will be most significantly impacted by the transaction news. 

The Markets:

The pilot program will impact the MQs in these markets:

• Endpoint Protection Platforms
• Access Management
• Meeting Solutions
• Digital Commerce
• Data Integration Tools
• IT Service Management Tools
• Enterprise low-code application platforms
• Unified Endpoint Management Tools
• Business Continuity Management Program Solutions, Worldwide
• Insight Engines
• IT Risk Management

The Methodology:

Gartner will monitor provider releases to learn about the transaction, but providers can also alert Gartner to changes using Gartner’s standard vendor briefing process.

Should a vendor be selected, Gartner will notify the vendor of its intention to publish a Corporate Transaction Notification. The vendors will receive a draft of the write-up with an accelerated fact review process, including two days to review. All vendors featured in the MQ will receive courtesy copies upon publication. Should a vendor need to escalate, the process remains the same as it would for any other publication. 

The Manifestation:

The Corporate Transaction Notification will be viewable in two places on the Gartner website. The supplemental note will appear to the right of the interactive MQ graphic in the “Additional Perspectives” section. Also, the note will appear on the Magic Quadrant overview and download page at the bottom in the “Additional Perspectives” section. 

What it Means for AR Pros

This new pilot process means AR pros need to proactively manage their communications with relevant analysts. Gartner will be monitoring for significant transactions, but we encourage AR pros to keep their MQ authors informed by sharing M&A announcements via briefings. Doing this will arm the analyst with the correct information about the transaction, which will only help you get through that two-day fact check easier. If the information is sensitive, you can always request a confidential briefing. 

Should Gartner allow reprint rights (to be determined), this supplemental document to the MQ may also be leveraged by the sales team to utilize in conversations with their prospects. Therefore, the onus is on AR pros to not only manage the notification process, but also to alert sales and marketing of this new powerful asset in between MQ publishes. 

The Impact to AR:

The new Corporate Transaction Notification means buyers will now have more up-to-date information on significant moves in the market outside of the traditional MQ timelines. This is great news for vendors that have big announcements because they won’t have to wait for the next MQ to have Gartner recognize the impact of a major transaction. 

Should this pilot be successful, all markets could eventually be impacted by these new Corporate Transaction Notifications. However, if this fully rolls out, you may not see these notifications as often as you may expect. Some MQ markets will have many mergers and acquisitions while others may have few to none. 

If you are in a pilot market, you will likely be tapped to provide feedback on the new methodology. Gartner is open to feedback from all stakeholders, and we encourage all those involved in the pilot to be open and honest about the experience. 

We’re looking forward to seeing how this program is received by buyers and vendors alike. We anticipate this notification will not only be a helpful item for buyers, but it has the possibility to be another win for AR, too.