In 2022 we had our first Vendor Briefing with a Gartner® Analyst. It was the best way to get essential feedback and expert advice on our SaaS for Multicloud cost management – CloudVane. The results were better than expected, as the analyst confirmed we were on the right track and provided valuable insight on what to do next.

However, before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a moment to talk about Gartner Vendor Briefing in general.

What is Gartner Vendor Briefing

Gartner Vendor Briefing is an opportunity for IT companies to showcase their products and services to analysts at Gartner, one of the leading research and advisory firms in the world. The briefing provides a unique platform for vendors to present their offerings to Gartner analysts, who offer insights and guidance to businesses seeking technology solutions.

Presenting your product, service and strategies to Gartner analysts who are influential in shaping the technology market, brings several benefits:

• Visibility: you are guaranteed to get in front of a Gartner analyst who is researching and evaluating products and services in your area of expertise.
• Market insights: Gartner analysts have a deep understanding of the technology market and can provide you with insights into market trends, customer preferences, and competitive landscapes. This can help you make informed decisions about your product development and marketing strategies.
• Credibility: a positive review or endorsement from a Gartner analyst can enhance your credibility in the market, making it easier to attract customers, partners, and investors.
• Competitive advantage: by presenting your products and services to Gartner analysts, you can differentiate yourself from your competitors and position yourself as leaders in your market.

Preparing for the Vendor Briefing

The Vendor Briefing is a 1 on 1 conversation with your assigned Gartner expert that lasts for 30 minutes. When you apply for the Briefing, you can name specific Gartner experts you wish to brief, just make sure you fall under their coverage area.

Gartner provides detailed instructions on how to prepare for a vendor briefing to say everything you need to say in the allotted time. We found that it was best to prepare a PowerPoint presentation with up to 15 slides (including the Title and Thank you slides) and have a short demo of our SaaS. The presentation covered all topics recommended by Gartner:

1. Company Overview
2. Market Positioning
3. Capabilities
4. Strategic intent

A deeper dive into Gartner resources revealed how important it is to develop a strategic narrative that helped us convey the story behind CloudVane, one that would engage and hopefully inspire our Gartner Analyst.

What we did with the feedback from our Gartner Vendor Briefing

One of the benefits of the Gartner Vendor Briefing is that they provide feedback about your products and services, go-to-market strategies, and overall positioning in the market.

Our Gartner Expert validated our vision and strategy for CloudVane, to our satisfaction. According to them, our roadmap aligns with market trends and customer needs. Continuous investment into support for Oracle users, which includes Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, DRCC and Cloud@Customer, and in the future, Alloy, is our what differentiates CloudVane on the market. Furthermore, they offered insights into potential areas of improvement, advice which we accepted wholeheartedly.

The Gartner Expert also provided competitive intelligence, which helped us identify potential areas of differentiation and innovation. To be more specific, we are now focusing CloudVane’s roadmap towards automated chargeback and specific end user segments like MSP.

Is Gartner Vendor Briefing the right step for IT companies?

Yes. That is the short and the long answer.

It’s an excellent opportunity for IT companies to gain exposure to industry experts, get insights into market trends, validate their products and services, and gain a competitive advantage. Who could pass on that?