On July 1, 2014 Gartner released its annual update to the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing (AST), which was published by its analysts Joseph Feiman and Neil MacDonald. We’re pleased to announce that IBM maintained its position in the “Leaders” Quadrant for Application Security Testing in a report that spanned 17 total vendors.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the Magic Quadrant, Gartner performs extensive research to determine which vendors will be positioned in the Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries and Niche Players quadrants in its reports.
Big-picture, vendors are evaluated on their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision.
**UPDATED** 2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing (AST)
“Ability to Execute” Evaluation Criteria in Magic Quadrant Report
When evaluating Application Security Testing (AST) vendors on their Ability to Execute, Gartner analyzed the following criteria in this report:
- Product(s) and/or Service(s) Capabilities
- Overall Viability, from Business Unit, Financial, Strategy and Organizational perspectives
- Sales Execution and Pricing
- Market Responsiveness and (Track) Record
- Customer Experience
The following “Ability to Execute” criteria weren’t evaluated by Gartner in this review cycle: Marketing Execution and 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
- Sales Strategy
- Offering and Product Strategy
- Innovation
- Geographic Strategy
The following “Completeness of Vision” criteria weren’t evaluated by Gartner in this review cycle: Vertical/Industry Strategy, Business Model and Marketing 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.
For a complete copy of the Gartner Magic Quadrant report for Application Security Testing, which provides an overview of all Application Security Testing vendors in the report (including IBM) and outlines their Strengths and Cautions, click on the box below:
**UPDATED** 2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing (AST)
The above graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from IBM (link above). Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Major Events Content Strategist for IBM Security