Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud IaaS: Does It Matter?

By samdizzy

The Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is now published for 2012. Which companies are in Gartner’s Cloud IaaS coverage — and does the magic quadrant really matter to CIOs and channel partners who are researching cloud services? Here’s Talkin’ Cloud’s spin on the situation.

First, just the facts. Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Cloud IaaS includes the following companies (alphabetized by Talkin’ Cloud):

Who’s Missing?

Among the noteworthy names missing from Gartner’s list…

Does It Matter?

Some skeptics dismiss the value of Gartner Magic Quadrant research, findings and statements. A few folks allege that it’s a pay-for-play system — become a Gartner research subscriber and your company stands a better chance of qualifying to magic quadrant research.

Generally speaking I think Gartner does a good job with most of its Magic Quadrant research. I did take the company to task about a year ago, when Gartner honored CSC as a top managed services provider — while CSC was busy cleaning up an accounting error in its managed services business.

Bottom line: I think Gartner Magic Quadrant lists should be used as a starting point for CIOs and channel partners who are exploring potential business engagements. Don’t treat the Gartner Magic Quadrant as a Bible or a faultless document. Instead, use it as a springboard to perform your own discovery. Take note who’s on the list, who’s off — and potentially why.

But in the end, engage a cloud services providers that most closely aligns with your business. Gartner doesn’t know what you need from an IaaS partner. You do. Move forward accordingly.