Gartner Magic Quadrant (Gartner MQ)

Definition - What does Gartner Magic Quadrant (Gartner MQ) mean?

The Gartner Magic Quadrant (MQ) is a series of market research publications produced by Gartner Inc. These reports use an evaluation matrix to analyze the positioning of technology-based companies, rate technology vendors based on a defined criteria and display vendor strengths and weaknesses. The Gartner MQ is used to evaluate a vendor before a specific technology product, service or solution is purchased.

Techopedia explains Gartner Magic Quadrant (Gartner MQ)

The Garner Magic Quadrant evaluates each vendor based on vision completeness and execution ability. It further classifies each vendor into four different quadrants:

Leaders: Ranked at the top of the matrix and score higher on both criteria. Generally, these vendors are established businesses with large customer bases and strong market positions.
Challengers: Close to or on par with leaders. These vendors tend to lack vision but have the potential to transform into leaders if future plans are improved.
Visionaries: Usually smaller companies with reasonable visions. However, these vendors lack the ability to execute such visions.
Niche players: Typically startups or newer companies lacking both vision and execution.