On March 19, 2018, Gartner released its periodic update to the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing, which analyzes vendors’ DevSecOps capabilities. We’re pleased to announce that IBM sustained its position in the “Leaders” Quadrant for Application Security Testing in a report that spanned 12 total vendors.

Gartner performs extensive research to determine which vendors will be positioned in the Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries and Niche Players quadrants in its reports.

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Ultimately, vendors are evaluated on their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision.

‘Ability to Execute’ Evaluation Criteria in Magic Quadrant Report

When evaluating application security testing vendors on their Ability to Execute, Gartner analyzed the following criteria in this evaluation cycle:

• Product or Service: Assessment of vendor’s current product and service capabilities, quality, feature sets and skills;
• Overall Viability: Assessment of vendor’s overall financial health, as well as the financial and practical success of the business unit;
• Sales Execution/Pricing: Vendor’s capabilities in all presales activities and the structure that supports them;
• Market Responsiveness/Record: Vendor’s ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve success as opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolve and market dynamics change;
• Marketing Execution: Assessment of vendor’s clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programs designed to deliver the organization’s message in order to influence the market, promote the brand, increase awareness of products and establish a positive identification in the minds of customers; and
• Customer Experience: Vendor’s quality of supplier/buyer interactions, technical support or account support.

The following “Ability to Execute” metric wasn’t evaluated by Gartner in this review cycle: Operations.

‘Completeness of Vision’ Evaluation Criteria in Magic Quadrant Report

When evaluating vendors on their Completeness of Vision, the following evaluation criteria were utilized:

• Market Understanding: Assessment of the vendor’s ability to understand buyers’ needs and translate them into usable SAST, DAST, IAST and MAST products and services;
• Marketing Strategy: Vendor’s ability to provide clear, differentiated messaging consistently communicated internally, externalized through social media, advertising, customer programs and positioning statements;
• Sales Strategy: Vendor’s ability to offer a sound strategy for selling that uses the appropriate networks, including direct and indirect sales, marketing, service and communication;
• Offering (Product) Strategy: Evaluation of the vendor’s development and delivery of a solution that’s differentiated from the competition in a way that uniquely addresses critical customer requirements;
• Innovation: Assessment of how vendors are innovating to support enterprise security intelligence, as well as developing methods to make security testing more accurate; and
• 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.

The following “Completeness of Vision” metrics weren’t evaluated by Gartner in this evaluation cycle: Business Model and Vertical/Industry Strategy.

Characteristics of ‘Leaders’ in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing

Leaders provide mature offerings that meet market demand. They’ve demonstrated the vision necessary to sustain their market positioning, especially as technology requirements evolve. The hallmark of Leaders is that they focus on and invest in their technology offerings to lead the market and affect its overall direction.

Leaders can be the vendors to watch as you try to understand how new offerings might evolve. Leaders typically possess a significant, satisfied customer base and enjoy high market visibility. Their size and maturity enable them to remain viable under constantly evolving market conditions. Leaders typically respond to a wide market audience by supporting broad market requirements. However, they may fail to meet the specific needs of vertical markets or other more specialized segments.

So these evaluation criteria clearly present high bars for achievement.

Get Your Complimentary Copy of 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing

For a complete copy of the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant report for Application Security Testing, which provides an overview of all application security testing vendors, including IBM, and outlines their Strengths and Cautions, click on the box below.

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