Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers

Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00210009, Neil Rickard, Robert F. Mason, 31 March 2011, RA1 07052011

Competition in the global network service provider market is intense. The growing interconnection of providers’ networks is diminishing the importance of coverage as a differentiator, and shifting the focus to the value-added service portfolio and customer experience.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The global network service provider (NSP) market remains highly competitive, with additional pressure from regional sourcing options. This is good news for enterprises, because, when combined with competitive purchasing strategies, it ensures continued downward pressure on pricing (of as much as 10% to 15% per year, depending on service and geography), which we expect to continue for at least the next three years, as well as the opportunity to gain more-favorable commercial terms.

The increasing use of partnerships and network-to-network interconnects (NNIs) is gradually diminishing the importance on ownership of network assets; however, such arrangements are seldom entirely equivalent to a single network solution, and enterprises need to focus on the outcomes, especially SLAs, when comparing providers with different quantities of their own infrastructures.

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Internet virtual private networks (VPNs) have been joined by Ethernet services as the standard portfolio of underlying transport services. Overlaying these services are an ever-broadening array of value-added capabilities, with WAN optimization, managed LAN, cloud (infrastructure as a service) and SIP trunking joining hosted Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, unified communications, remote access, telepresence and security services. While few organizations will take all of these services from a single provider, global NSPs are gaining credibility in supplying these strategic services. 2 Market Overview Figure 1. Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers The providers in this year’s Magic Quadrant are unchanged from the previous edition. Taken together, with the option of using regional providers, especially as enterprises challengers leaders centralize their IT into fewer larger data centers, this ensures a fiercely competitive market. Reaping the benefits of this environment, however, will still require enterprises to maximize leverage through AT&T Verizon competitive sourcing practice. Orange Business Services

BT Global Services This year saw the gradual evolution of the largest network deals, with the trend NTT Communications away from classical “your mess for less” T-Systems outsourcing, where the client’s existing Cable&Wireless Worldwide Tata Communications assets, staff and services were transferred to Telefonica a provider and run with little change, toward Global Crossing

deals built from a collection of standardized ability to execute Reliance Globalcom managed-service components, with a minimal professional service wrapper and little or no transfer of assets, existing contracts or people. This trend is increasingly blurring the lines between outsourcing and managed service sourcing approaches. The use of these standard managed service building blocks is driving lower costs and better niche players visionaries scalability, but does require enterprises to be prepared to accept off-the-shelf offerings that are “good enough,” rather than insisting on completeness of vision custom solutions, where they specify every As of March 2011 detail. A growing focus of competitive differentiation Source: Gartner (March 2011) has moved to value-added service portfolios and service quality. Transport services, like MPLS and voice, are the core services for this Magic Quadrant, but these are typically sold as part of a managed Enterprise networking has been a horizontal market, with most service bundle. Such a bundle normally includes managed routers, providers interested in winning clients from any industry sector. and often will include additional services like managed security However, we are seeing strong growth in vertical industry services, managed LANs and WLANs, and hosted IP telephony. solutions, with many providers offering unique value-added Managed video communications, especially telepresence, and solutions for a handful of sectors, such as ultra-low latency managed WAN optimization services have now become expected, networks for the financial trading community or content distribution and the frontier areas for managed services are managed unified and management for the media sector. We expect this vertical communications and “infrastructure utility” services. Increasingly, approach to become an area for increasing differentiation. these managed services will be delivered with end-to-end SLAs. Growing interest in services like Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Enterprises should focus on the critical capability to integrate trunking and enterprise video means that WAN services will network elements successfully from different sources into an end- become an even stronger point of account control for providers to-end solution. Enterprises should look for seamless SLAs and that establish credibility through service execution.

© 2011 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without Gartner’s prior written permission. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in such information. This publication consists of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Gartner research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Gartner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner is a public company, and its shareholders may include firms and funds that have financial interests in entities covered in Gartner research. Gartner’s Board of Directors may include senior managers of these firms or funds. Gartner research is produced independently by its research organization without input or influence from these firms, funds or their managers. For further information on the independence and integrity of Gartner research, see “Guiding Principles on Independence and Objectivity” on its website, http://www.gartner.com/technology/about/ombudsman/omb_guide2.jsp 3 global account and service management, preferably following ITIL Evaluation Criteria standards, as well as a track record and references of successful delivery. Portals giving online visibility and control over many Ability to Execute aspects of the solution are an increasingly important tool to deliver Our emphasis is on a vendor’s service quality, pricing and track this end-to-end experience. record. These elements are particularly important for global networks because the issues of infrastructure, language and The capability to provide portal-driven reporting and control, and cultural problems become more complicated and prolonged than if help enterprises manage costs continues to grow in importance. applicable to only one country (see Table 1). Many providers have launched services like managed mobility and telecom expense management (TEM), which are directly covered in Gartner’s communications outsourcing and professional services Magic Quadrant. They are important proof-points of a provider’s Table 1. Ability to Execute Evaluation Criteria willingness to deliver services involving third parties. Although Evaluation Criteria Weighting fixed-mobile convergence offerings are emerging, outside of North America the mobile service market continues to be a distinct Product/Service high market, which Gartner covers in separate Magic Quadrants. Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, standard Strategy, Organization) Market Definition/Description This Magic Quadrant assesses suppliers that can deliver fixed Sales Execution/Pricing high corporate networking services worldwide. Services to be provided include: Market Responsiveness and Track Record high

• WAN services, predominantly managed, including MPLS and Marketing Execution low IPsec VPNs and Ethernet services Customer Experience high

• Voice services, including switched and dedicated voice, SIP Operations standard trunking and IP telephony Source: Gartner (March 2011)

• Dedicated Internet services, including managed VPN offers

In addition to traditional voice services, it is highly desirable for providers to offer value-added networking services, including, but not limited to, application-fluent networking, managed LANs, Completeness of Vision hosted or managed IP telephony, unified communications and managed security services. Integrators, virtual operators and We look for a thorough understanding of what clients want in carriers are included, but only if they provide and manage offerings a global provider, which is different from the requirements of that include data networking and converged services. a domestic provider, because it inevitably includes third-party elements, and frequently includes a wider set of managed services. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria NSPs should have a clear and evolving geographic strategy to meet the changing needs of customers. The portfolio should To be considered for inclusion in this Magic Quadrant, providers be broad enough to satisfy the evolving requirements of most must meet all the following criteria: enterprises, not just a specific vertical industry or customer size (see Table 2). While not prescriptive, visionary providers should • Offer data, voice and managed network services to enterprise have a clearly articulated strategy and market traction in areas like customers, delivering service and/or having points of presence cloud computing, unified communications and emerging transport in the top 25 markets (countries) in the world options like virtual private LAN service (VPLS). Leaders • Actively sell enterprise networking to organizations in North America, Western Europe and the Asia/Pacific region, and not Leaders have a full portfolio of voice and data products, coupled just sell services in other regions for delivery in those markets with above-average service and support, wide global coverage and competitive pricing. They have a strong vision that includes adopting more information and communication technology (ICT) • Generate at least $200 million in direct global enterprise capabilities, which is a strategy they articulate clearly and openly. network service revenue annually (excluding domestic business and wholesale)

• Not simply resell network services from another global provider 4 Table 2. Completeness of Vision Evaluation Criteria Strengths

Evaluation Criteria Weighting • AT&T has broad global network coverage for its services, Market Understanding standard including MPLS, Ethernet and Internet.

Marketing Strategy low • AT&T offers a comprehensive portfolio of managed services, Sales Strategy high including offerings in areas such as telepresence and data center services. Offering (Product) Strategy standard • AT&T service quality is above average for this market. Business Model standard

Vertical/Industry Strategy low • AT&T’s BusinessDirect portal is fully featured and continues to lead in the volume of customer-driven transactions. Innovation high

Geographic Strategy high Cautions

Source: Gartner (March 2011) • Despite some improvement during 2010, Gartner customers continue to report issues with AT&T’s billing.

• AT&T lacks the deep in-country infrastructure in major markets Challengers outside the U.S., such as the U.K., France and Germany, of Challengers exhibit good capabilities in the areas of service and some of its competitors, affecting its pricing and service delivery support, pricing and coverage. However, long-term plans are for networks needing substantial density of sites in these sometimes vague. They may not understand the requirements of markets. enterprises or the market, but what they offer tends to be good quality. • Global, managed MPLS customers report the need for consistent oversight of change management. Visionaries Visionaries have a clear understanding of the market and where it is • Customers may need to migrate within the AT&T MPLS product going. However, they often lack the financial and people resources portfolio (AVPN, EVPN, PNT) to take advantage of offers like to execute on these directions. SIP trunking. While AT&T has developed migration tools to minimize disruption, customers may experience some disruption Niche Players due to reprovisioning. Niche Players are often strong in a specific element of execution (such as service and support) or part of the product portfolio, or BT Global Services they offer low pricing. However, they usually lack comprehensive BT Global Services has begun the process of rationalizing vision and resources. its heterogeneous network infrastructure and has stabilized its organizational structure. As a result, reports of customer Vendor Strengths and Cautions dissatisfaction have significantly reduced. BT is strongest when addressing larger managed-service opportunities, where its AT&T extensive footprint can be brought to bear. It is also very focused AT&T combines broad geographic coverage, a strong product on capturing a greater proportion of its customers’ networking and portfolio and financial stability to achieve a strong position in the IT infrastructure expenditures. global network service market. Although strongest for clients with substantial U.S. market needs, AT&T is willing to bid for networks Strengths with little or no U.S. content. However, it remains selective about the clients it will pursue, principally addressing larger enterprises for • BT Global Services has an extensive global MPLS network, which it will offer a variety of sourcing options, from basic transport with additional networks in the U.K., several Western European through managed services to full outsourcing. Multinational countries, India and South America. organizations with U.S. locations should strongly consider AT&T for global network services. • BT has a broad portfolio of managed service options, from application-aware networking, through security and data center services, to LANs, including managed video communications where BT is a market leader.. 5 • BT has developed a particularly strong focus on certain vertical Global Crossing sectors, including financial services, consumer packaged Global Crossing has focused on being the primary provider to goods, government and healthcare, and global commerce. midsize multinationals, or a secondary provider to the largest multinationals. While executing well on the basics in its core Cautions markets, Global Crossing is still challenged by the need to simultaneously expand its coverage into emerging markets and • Although making progress in the rationalization of its global enhance its managed-service portfolio. It is making some progress networks and service portfolio, BT still has multiple networks in this regard, opening additional data centers and acting as the and service portfolios, resulting, for example, in different prices, networking partner for the telepresence vendor Teliris and also service levels and service management capabilities, depending as a telepresence partner for Cisco. Global Crossing should be on the network used. considered by midsize multinational enterprises seeking connectivity or basic managed services where needs are primarily in the U.S., Western Europe and South America. • BT is behind other leading global providers in a number of areas, including Ethernet services. Strengths

• Some Gartner clients outside the U.K. have reported a high • Global Crossing continues to compete aggressively on price for level of churn in their delivery teams, leading to inconsistent core transport services, including Ethernet services. service.

Cable&Wireless Worldwide • Strong network coverage in the U.K. and South America, and good coverage of the North American market, continue to Cable&Wireless Worldwide is now separated from Cable & Wireless provide differentiation for Global Crossing. Communications (which operates incumbent telecom operators in a variety of smaller markets), allowing it to focus on serving the communications needs of large enterprises. However, it’s very • Gartner customers continue to report high levels of satisfaction U.K.-centric, with many of its offerings only available in the U.K. with account management and pre-sales technical support. Cable&Wireless is at its best where the enterprise needs services in major global markets, rather than deep capillarity in a particular Cautions market (apart from the U.K.). Enterprises that need managed services in the U.K. and/or Asia/Pacific, and in the major global • Apart from South America, Global Crossing’s network coverage markets, as opposed to deep capillarity in multiple regions, should lacks depth in emerging markets, and it is not as strong at consider Cable&Wireless. network partnering for reach extension as some of its rivals.

Strengths • Global Crossing has gained ground in areas like SIP trunking, but still trails peers in productizing services in areas like data • Cable&Wireless’ MPLS network covers the largest markets in center services and video. the world, with especially strong coverage in the U.K., India and the Asia/Pacific region. This is combined with a large number of NNIs, to cover smaller markets. • Global Crossing is a follower in terms of market innovation. It trails the market leaders in areas such as security, unified communications and managed LANs. • It is innovative and flexible in terms of the solutions it offers and the commercial arrangements it is prepared to construct, NTT Communications including a willingness to aggressively compete on price. NTT Communications (NTTC) has very little brand recognition in Cautions the global NSP marketplace, although its network is strong in Asia/ Pacific and reaches the top markets elsewhere. In addition, NTTC provides managed services for many enterprises on top of other • Cable&Wireless is very focused in U.K.-headquartered providers’ networks, and gains excellent feedback for the quality of companies. It has reasonable strength in Asia/Pacific, but is less these and the other services it provides. NTTC’s parent company, visible and active in other markets, especially North America. NTT, has acquired network-centric system integrator Dimension Data, providing NTTC with the opportunity to significantly improve • Its managed-service portfolio, although covering the most its offerings, provided it can successfully integrate Dimension Data’s important areas, is not as extensive or innovative as Leaders in capabilities with its own. However, NTTC’s previous acquisitions, this market. such as Verio and Integralis, have tended to be kept at arm’s length, resulting in a dilution of the potential benefits. • Outside the U.K., Asia/Pacific sales coverage is limited, and Cable&Wireless lacks the scale to implement very large, complex deals, such as network outsourcing. 6 NTTC should be considered for networks with considerable • In addition to having a very broad portfolio of managed network coverage needs in Asia/Pacific, and where high quality is a priority. and data center services, Orange is growing its ICT business, Enterprises needing high-quality services, with strong coverage of with offerings such as VPN Gallery for cloud services. It’s Asia/Pacific markets, should consider NTTC. also trying to globalize solutions in areas such as machine- to-machine communications, which it has developed for the Strengths French market.

• NTTC has the best network coverage in Asia/Pacific, and has • Orange is beginning to offer fixed mobile convergence solutions. been gradually improving its network coverage in the major global markets. It uses NNIs to supplement its own network Cautions coverage. • Apart from France, Poland and Russia, Orange Business • NTTC enjoys very high levels of customer satisfaction. Services lacks its own deep national infrastructure in the major markets, such as the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, and has been less willing than other providers to exploit the assets of • NTT’s acquisition of Dimension Data gives it the potential to other Orange group companies or use NNIs, limiting its ability to enhance its managed service portfolio and sales coverage. deliver cost-effective, high-capacity transport services in these markets. Cautions

• Orange has low brand recognition among U.S.-headquartered • NTTC’s network coverage and in-country sales and support multinationals. outside of the Asia/Pacific region continue to be significantly less extensive than those of the Leaders in this Magic Quadrant. • Orange has a reputation for being expensive, although this is often due to it bidding over engineered solutions (e.g., MPLS • NTTC is not generally cost-effective for networks without an where Internet VPNs would be sufficient). extensive Asia/Pacific component.

• Orange still struggles to gain mind share in new service areas, • NTTC has a complex organizational structure. Its strong data such as Ethernet services, video/telepresence and cloud center offerings are not well-integrated with its networking services, despite having reasonable capabilities in most of these offerings, and there are distinct differences in its approach in areas. different geographies. Reliance Globalcom Orange Business Services Reliance Globalcom positions itself as offering a hybrid VNO Orange is able to serve enterprises with the broadest scope needs approach to enterprise networks; however, with its own global thanks to its leading geographic coverage, combined with a broad backbone network and about the same number of access partners service portfolio. Orange focuses on delivering managed services, as the other global providers, its approach is not fundamentally rather than basic connectivity, and although it will undertake different from the other providers on this Magic Quadrant. However, network outsourcing, it tends to be quite cautious in pursuing the ability to combine low-cost sourcing of network access, these types of engagements. Orange has developed a number of especially DSL, with its own long-haul capacity can result in very very innovative solutions in the French domestic market, including cost-effective networks, especially when deep in-country coverage vertical industry offers in a number of sectors. However, like many is required. operators, it has only managed to globalize a small fraction of these offers. Orange Business Services should be considered for Reliance is combining its global business with its domestic Indian most global networking requirements where a managed service enterprise business, which will give it better access to Reliance’s approach is required. infrastructure in India and shared/hosted services developed in India, including data center services. Enterprises requiring a large Strengths number of branch sites in multiple countries should consider Reliance Globalcom. • Orange Business Services has the broadest geographic network reach of any provider in this Magic Quadrant, with Strengths special strength in France, Poland and Russia, and a growing position as a regional operator in Africa. • Reliance Globalcom has a reasonably broad portfolio of managed network services, with particular strength in high • Gartner clients rank Orange Business Services very highly for capillarity branch networks. the quality of its network services. 7 • Reliance makes extensive use of NNIs to supplement its own • T-Systems’ portfolio of standard network-related managed coverage, including its unique VSIP interconnection points. services is more limited than its leading competitors.

• Reliance Globalcom has extensive national capabilities in the • Outside Germany, the company has lower marketing visibility Indian market. for its network services than for its IT services. As a result, T-Systems is often overlooked for network-only deals, which Cautions limits its growth potential.

• Gartner clients continue to report service delivery issues • The company’s offerings can appear to be expensive, especially with Reliance Globalcom, and Gartner is aware of Reliance for basic network deals, due to the tendency to include Globalcom customers seeking alternative suppliers as a result additional professional services. of service-level agreement (SLA issues). Tata Communications • Reliance is reluctant to accept commercial terms, such Tata Communications is gradually extending its portfolio, building as benchmarking clauses, appropriate to its status as an upon its extensive undersea cable assets. While it has developed infrastructure-owning operator with limited partners, preferring a number of innovative service offerings, it is still limited in its its active negotiation process, which can result in customer continental coverage and on-site service options. As a result, Tata dissatisfaction with price controls during the lifetime of the deal. Communications is best placed to address networks needing a small number of connections (especially high-speed connections) in • Its offerings in a number of areas beyond the converged WAN, the major markets, and/or needing deep coverage in India, South such as fixed and mobile voice, managed LANs and unified Africa or the Middle East. communications, are still immature. Strengths T-Systems • Tata Communications’ extensive network of undersea cables Although still often thought of as an IT service company, T-Systems give it the ability to deliver high-capacity services, especially has been strengthening its networking business, both network Ethernet service, to the major markets at very competitive outsourcing and managed network services, such as MPLS. prices. T-Systems is benefiting from the convergence of IT and network services, and is even offering a growing portion of its IT, as well as its networking services, in a unitized subscription manner, rather • The company’s significant point-of-presence (POP) density than classical outsourcing. The company should be considered in India, extensive presence in the Middle East and growing by enterprises that have significant requirements for managed coverage of Africa (including majority ownership of Neotel in and professional services as part of their deals, and whose South Africa) make it especially attractive for enterprises seeking requirements are weighted toward Europe, where T-Systems’ coverage in these regions. infrastructure is strongest. T-Systems also has a number of vertical industry offerings in sectors such as healthcare and automotive, • Gartner customers consistently cite flexibility in account many of which are linked to its networking offers. management and responsive trouble resolution as strengths for Tata Communications. Strengths

• Tata Communications has developed some innovative service • Its network has good global coverage, and is especially strong offerings, including vertical industry offerings for the media in Germany and Central Europe. sector, managed security services, data center services and telepresence exchange capabilities. • As a result of being an IT service provider, T-Systems tends to have a broader view of corporate needs, and can bring Cautions innovative or even transformational ideas to its customers. • Outside of India and South Africa, Tata Communications lacks • T-Systems has proved to be commercially innovative in areas deep in-country infrastructure. Network coverage is especially such as utility pricing. limited in regions such as South America and Central and Eastern Europe, with coverage in these regions principally Cautions provided by partnerships, making Tata less competitive for networks requiring dense coverage of these markets. • Although growing, T-Systems’ own network is significantly smaller than those of leading facilities-based competitors. • Tata Communications’ managed service portfolio trails that of its larger rivals in areas such as unified communications. 8 • While Tata is a well-known brand, it is not strongly associated Unlike many of the other network service providers in this research, with the telecom market; therefore, Tata Communications Verizon should be considered by a wide range of enterprises, from struggles to gain mind share with large enterprises. those with small networks, to those with large networks and those seeking sourcing models from high-capacity transport through Telefonica managed services to full outsourcing. Networks requiring extensive coverage of emerging markets, however, remain a challenge. Telefonica Multinational Solutions, the business unit addressing multinational enterprises, comprises both its own resources and Strengths matrixed resources from Telefonica’s various operating entities around the world. As a result, many opportunities have to be addressed by pulling together custom solutions. Starting with large • With its own fibre networks in major countries worldwide, outsourcing deals, this unit has now evolved to address managed including metropolitan networks in the major cities, Verizon has network service opportunities. Telefonica Multinational Solutions been able to offer very attractive pricing, especially for high- should be considered by enterprises requiring large managed capacity services, such as Ethernet. service networks or network outsourcing, especially where strong coverage of the America’s and Western Europe is required. • Verizon continues to gain mind share in SIP trunking, both domestically and internationally, with a combination of sales, Strengths marketing and engineering execution.

• Telefonica is one of the strongest providers for Latin American • The company is continuing to broaden its already extensive coverage, and also has good coverage in North America and array of managed and data center services, with offerings Western Europe, which it combines with NNI partnerships for in areas such as security, managed mobility and application other markets. assurance, supported by a very strong portal capability.

• Telefonica Multinational Solutions offers a reasonably broad Cautions portfolio of managed services for enterprise customers. • Verizon has been improving its network presence in smaller • Its financial position is strong and includes investments in other markets and emerging regions, such as Eastern Europe, the operators, such as China Unicom and Telecom Italia, which Middle East and Africa, but is still behind some other providers could be leveraged in the future for global capabilities, although, in this regard. at present, these have little direct impact on its ability to deliver global enterprise networks. • Compared with other leading NSPs, Verizon is not as strong at partnering with other industry players, ranging from other Cautions operators to IT service companies.

• Telefonica Multinational Solutions has yet to industrialize and • Gartner customers continue to report a lack of communication globalize all of its offerings, still making extensive use of custom between Verizon’s different organizational units, such as solutions. This particularly affects areas such as data center project management and operations, resulting in inconsistent services. performance at hitting installation dates, especially for Ethernet services. • Its network footprint and sales coverage are limited outside Europe and the Americas. Vendors Added or Dropped We review and adjust our inclusion criteria for Magic Quadrants • Telefonica has limited brand awareness in the enterprise market and MarketScopes as markets change. As a result of these outside Latin America and Southern Europe, although its O2 adjustments, the mix of vendors in any Magic Quadrant or brand is recognized in a number of European markets, including MarketScope may change over time. A vendor appearing in a the U.K. and Germany. Magic Quadrant or MarketScope one year and not the next does not necessarily indicate that we have changed our opinion of that Verizon vendor. This may be a reflection of a change in the market and, therefore, changed evaluation criteria, or a change of focus by a Verizon has strengthened its position in the global market, vendor. improving its coverage of emerging markets, adding a solutions layer to its extensive array of point products and improving the customer experience, especially through enhanced portal capabilities. It is also making headway in network outsourcing. 9

Evaluation Criteria Definitions Ability to Execute Product/Service: Core goods and services offered by the vendor that compete in/serve the defined market. This includes current product/service capabilities, quality, feature sets and skills, whether offered natively or through OEM agreements/partnerships as defined in the market definition and detailed in the subcriteria.

Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy, Organization): Viability includes an assessment of the overall organization’s financial health, the financial and practical success of the business unit, and the likelihood that the individual business unit will continue investing in the product, will continue offering the product and will advance the state of the art within the organization’s portfolio of products.

Sales Execution/Pricing: The vendor’s capabilities in all pre-sales activities and the structure that supports them. This includes deal management, pricing and negotiation, pre-sales support and the overall effectiveness of the sales channel.

Market Responsiveness and Track Record: Ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve competitive success as opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolve and market dynamics change. This criterion also considers the vendor’s history of responsiveness.

Marketing Execution: The clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programs designed to deliver the organization’s message to influence the market, promote the brand and business, increase awareness of the products, and establish a positive identification with the product/brand and organization in the minds of buyers. This “mind share” can be driven by a combination of publicity, promotional initiatives, thought leadership, word-of-mouth and sales activities.

Customer Experience: Relationships, products and services/programs that enable clients to be successful with the products evaluated. Specifically, this includes the ways customers receive technical support or account support. This can also include ancillary tools, customer support programs (and the quality thereof), availability of user groups, service-level agreements and so on.

Operations: The ability of the organization to meet its goals and commitments. Factors include the quality of the organizational structure, including skills, experiences, programs, systems and other vehicles that enable the organization to operate effectively and efficiently on an ongoing basis.

Completeness of Vision

Market Understanding: Ability of the vendor to understand buyers’ wants and needs and to translate those into products and services. Vendors that show the highest degree of vision listen to and understand buyers’ wants and needs, and can shape or enhance those with their added vision.

Marketing Strategy: A clear, differentiated set of messages consistently communicated throughout the organization and externalized through the website, advertising, customer programs and positioning statements.

Sales Strategy: The strategy for selling products that uses the appropriate network of direct and indirect sales, marketing, service and communication affiliates that extend the scope and depth of market reach, skills, expertise, technologies, services and the customer base.

Offering (Product) Strategy: The vendor’s approach to product development and delivery that emphasizes differentiation, functionality, methodology and feature sets as they map to current and future requirements.

Business Model: The soundness and logic of the vendor’s underlying business proposition.

Vertical/Industry Strategy: The vendor’s strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of individual market segments, including vertical markets.

Innovation: Direct, related, complementary and synergistic layouts of resources, expertise or capital for investment, consolidation, defensive or pre-emptive purposes.

Geographic Strategy: The vendor’s strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of geographies outside the “home” or native geography, either directly or through partners, channels and subsidiaries as appropriate for that geography and market.