Stamford Research retired founder and research fellow, Albert Case, is a former division president and corporate senior vice president for world-renowned research company, Gartner Inc. While at Gartner, Case was intrigue by the Gartner Magic Quadrant, a process developed by Gideon Gartner for ranking vendors according to certain criteria. The problem was, vendors didn't understand the criteria, analysts didn't share it, and vendors were often ill prepared to respond to analysts questions.
After leaving Gartner, Case became an independent consultant and ultimately founded Stamford Research. It was his desire to re-create and share the analytical process. Why keep it a secret from vendors? The process of selling and buying should be one of partnership, not one of confrontation. Case firmly believed that by sharing the analytical decision-making criteria with both buyers and sellers, a more streamlined, less costly and more profitable buyer-seller relationship could be developed.
Climbing the Magic Quadrant was Case's contribution to the lubrication of the gears of commerce. It is a guide on how to buy, how to sell, and how to present your concepts, methods and procedures to the analytical community.
Climbing the Magic Quadrant should be on the required reading list for all product and service providers and is highly recommended reading for buyers as well.
