You’ve probably heard the name Gartner before, but what exactly is this mysterious company all about? Gartner is one of the leading research and advisory firms out there, providing insights and guidance to all kinds of organizations across multiple industries.
With expertise in areas like IT, supply chain, HR, and more, Gartner has become a trusted name that many businesses rely on for analysis and advice.
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore Gartner’s history, business model, services, and impact to help you understand exactly what this influential company is and why it matters.
Whether you’re just getting to know Gartner or looking to learn more about how they operate, you’ll find everything you need in this introductory overview.
An Introduction to Gartner
What is Gartner?
Gartner is the world’s leading research and advisory company.
For over 40 years, Gartner has helped business leaders make better decisions through data, expert advice, and tools.
They provide actionable insights and objective advice to more than 15,000 enterprises in 100+ countries.
What does Gartner do?
Gartner offers a variety of services to help executives and their teams navigate priorities, uncover opportunities, and make smarter decisions.
Some of Gartner’s core offerings include:
Research and advisory: Gartner publishes over 15,000 research documents annually on the latest trends, technologies, and methodologies to help clients enhance business performance.
Their analysts advise clients on high-impact priorities through consulting engagements.
Peer insights: Gartner facilitates CIO and IT executive peer communities where members can connect, share experiences, and solve problems together.
These peer insights help leaders make smarter decisions based on real-world experiences.
Tools and solutions: Gartner offers tools and solutions to help organizations measure and improve IT management and operations.
These include IT benchmarking, project and portfolio management tools, and service management solutions.
Events: Gartner hosts over 75 conferences worldwide annually, including Gartner IT Symposium, Data & Analytics Summit, and Customer Experience & Technologies Summit.
These events bring clients together with Gartner experts and peers.
Executive education: Gartner provides customized education programs to help new and experienced executives strengthen leadership skills and drive business growth.
Programs span topics like digital transformation, innovation, and strategic thinking.
In summary, Gartner aims to help clients achieve their goals through unbiased advice, tools, and solutions based on the latest thinking from experts and peers worldwide.
Leveraging Gartner is a proven way for organizations to make confident decisions, accelerate growth, and gain a competitive edge.
Gartner’s Key Products and Services
Gartner is best known for their research and advisory services aimed at business leaders and technology professionals.
Their key offerings include:
Research Reports and Briefings
Gartner publishes over 16,000 research documents each year, including reports, briefings, and newsletters covering the latest trends in IT, marketing, and other business topics.
Their research is aimed at CIOs, CTOs, and other executives to help guide technology and business strategy.
Some of their most well-known reports include the Magic Quadrant, Hype Cycle, and Emerging Technologies reports.
Conferences and Events
Gartner hosts over 60 conferences each year in locations around the world.
Their flagship events are the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo and the Gartner Marketing Symposium.
These multi-day conferences feature presentations and discussions with Gartner analysts on key issues facing businesses.
The conferences also offer opportunities for networking, education, and discovering new technologies.
Consulting and Advisory Services
Gartner offers customized consulting and advisory services to help clients address their unique challenges.
Their consultants provide strategic guidance on initiatives like digital transformation, IT cost optimization, and technology modernization.
Gartner advisors work directly with clients to analyze their needs, develop roadmaps, and implement solutions.
These premium services provide tailored insights and recommendations for executives looking to gain a competitive edge.
Executive Programs
Gartner’s executive programs provide leadership development and strategic advice for senior executives.
Offerings include multi-day workshops, leadership coaching, virtual sessions, and collaboration tools.
The programs focus on high-priority topics like digital leadership, talent management, and board governance.
By participating in these exclusive programs, executives can strengthen their leadership skills, expand their professional networks, and gain new strategic perspectives.
With a combination of research, conferences, consulting, and leadership development, Gartner aims to provide a holistic set of resources for technology leaders and executives.
Their products and services are designed to help clients gain insights, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable success in a fast-changing digital world.
How Gartner Helps Organizations With Technology Decision-Making
Gartner is best known for helping large organizations make important technology decisions.
Their research and advisory services provide IT leaders with impartial guidance and advice.
If your company is evaluating new software, hardware, or services, Gartner reports can help determine the pros and cons of different options.
Unbiased Research and Reviews
Gartner employs over 1,200 analysts who are experts in various technologies and industries.
They research hundreds of vendors and solutions in detail, evaluating factors like vision, product/service, overall viability, and market share.
Gartner’s analysts don’t accept money or gifts from vendors, so their recommendations are unbiased and trustworthy.
Reports provide multi-dimensional ratings and comparisons between options so you can find the best fit for your needs.
Tailored Advisory Services
In addition to published reports, Gartner offers personalized advisory services and consulting to help organizations with technology planning and decision making.
They can give tailored guidance on topics like IT strategies, architecture, security, sourcing, and more.
Gartner advisors have deep expertise and leverage best practices from working with many clients.
Engaging their advisory services helps ensure you have an objective third-party perspective.
Industry Trends and Insights
Staying on the cutting edge of digital innovation is challenging but critical.
Gartner tracks the latest technology trends, market shifts, and best practices across various industries.
Their reports and events look at how trends like cloud, AI, digital business, and cybersecurity will impact businesses in the coming years.
Gartner’s future-focused insights help technology leaders anticipate changes, identify key opportunities, and gain competitive advantage.
In summary, Gartner’s unbiased research, advisory services, and future insights provide invaluable guidance for any organization navigating complex technology decisions.
Leveraging their expertise helps minimize risk, optimize investments, and future-proof your business.
Gartner’s Thought Leadership and Research Methodology
Independent and Objective Insights
As an independent research and advisory firm, Gartner provides unbiased insights and advice to help leaders make the right decisions for their organizations.
Their research methodology is designed to eliminate bias and provide objective analysis.
Gartner analysts have no ties to vendors or other entities that could influence their evaluations.
Gartner’s independence allows them to be transparent in their research process and recommendations.
Their advice and evaluations are based solely on what they believe will benefit their clients, not any external parties.
This objectivity and lack of bias sets Gartner apart from other research firms.
Data-Driven Analysis
Gartner takes an evidence-based approach to developing their insights and recommendations.
Their analysts leverage hard data, facts and metrics – not opinions or anecdotes.
They gather information from multiple sources, including but not limited to:
Surveys of thousands of end users
Vendor briefings and product demonstrations
Public company filings and financial reports
Interviews with subject matter experts
Hands-on evaluations of technologies and services
Gartner analysts synthesize all this data to identify trends, best practices, strengths, weaknesses, and other insights that will help guide their clients’ decisions.
Their advice is backed by data, not conjecture.
Anticipating Future Trends
A key part of Gartner’s value is their ability to anticipate the future trajectory of technology, business models, and other drivers of change.
Their analysts continuously evaluate current market forces and extrapolate potential future scenarios that could impact their clients.
This includes emerging technologies that could significantly disrupt current products, services and workflows.
By understanding trends on the horizon, Gartner is able to provide strategic advice to help clients future-proof their business and gain a competitive advantage.
In summary, Gartner’s thought leadership and recommendations are built on a foundation of independence, objectivity, data-driven analysis and a forward-looking view of the market.
Their approach to research aims to provide insights and advice clients can trust to make critical business decisions with confidence.
Gartner FAQs: Answering Common Questions About the Research Company
Gartner is the world’s leading research and advisory company, but what exactly do they do? Here are some frequently asked questions about Gartner to help demystify this influential organization.
What services does Gartner provide?
Gartner offers a variety of services to help their clients make better decisions, including:
Research and advisory: Gartner publishes thousands of reports each year on the latest technology trends and best practices.
They advise organizations on everything from IT strategy to digital transformation.
Consulting: Gartner consultants provide customized guidance and recommendations to help organizations solve their most pressing challenges.
They offer consulting services for IT strategy, program management, and more.
Events: Gartner hosts many industry-leading conferences each year, including the Gartner IT Symposium.
These events give attendees insight into key technology issues and access to Gartner experts.
Benchmarking: Gartner conducts primary research to provide data-driven comparisons of organizations against competitors.
Clients can benchmark their IT spending, digital business efforts, and other metrics.
Who are Gartner’s clients?
Gartner serves more than 15,000 organizations across all major industries, including:
Global technology companies like HP, Cisco, and IBM
Leading companies in sectors like financial services, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing
Government agencies and not-for-profit organizations
Midsize businesses looking to optimize their technology investments
How much does Gartner cost?
Gartner services are subscription-based, and pricing varies depending on the type of services, number of users, and the size/complexity of the client organization.
Many large organizations pay millions of dollars per year to access Gartner’s research, analysts, and events.
For smaller businesses, a basic research subscription may start around $30,000 per year.
Consulting engagements are priced separately based on the specific scope of work.
In summary, Gartner aims to help organizations make smarter technology decisions through trusted guidance, benchmarking data, and a peer community.
By anticipating how technologies will evolve and affect business in the future, Gartner has established itself as an essential strategic partner for companies navigating digital transformation.
