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Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN

27 September 2023- ID G00778908- 45 min read

By Jonathan Forest, Naresh Singh, and 2 more

While the software-defined WAN market is maturing,

there are still significant differences between vendors.
I&O leaders responsible for networking should use
this research to help select SD-WAN vendors most
aligned with their security and cloud connectivity
requirements.

Strategic Planning Assumptions

By 2026, 60% of new SD-WAN purchases will be part of a single-
vendor secure access service edge (SASE) offering, up from 15%
in 2023.

By 2026, generative AI technology embedded in SD-WAN offerings

will be used for 20% of initial network configuration, up from near
zero in 2023.

Market Definition/Description
This document was revised on 12 October 2023. The document you
are viewing is the corrected version. For more information, see
the Corrections page on gartner.com.

Gartner defines SD-WAN offerings as primarily used to connect

branch locations to other enterprise and cloud locations. SD-WAN
products provide dynamic path selection, based on business or
application policy, routing, centralized orchestration of policy and
management of appliances, virtual private network (VPN) and zero-
touch configuration. SD-WAN products are WAN transport/carrier-
agnostic and create secure paths across physical WAN
connections.

SD-WAN products replace traditional branch routers and enable

connectivity between enterprise branch locations as well as the
cloud. They facilitate WAN connectivity’s evolution from
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-centric to public internet-
centric to support enterprise traffic shifts from private data centers
to public cloud and SaaS.

Must-have capabilities for SD-WAN offerings include the following:

 Software:
o Ability to replace a branch router (e.g., support for Border
Gateway Protocol [BGP])
o Application-aware dynamic path selection (e.g., Layer 7
traffic steering) across multiple physical interfaces
o Virtual private network (VPN)
 Form factor for branch, data center and cloud locations:
o Software that can be deployed on a branded hardware
appliance or third-party hardware
o Software deployed in the public cloud
 Orchestrator (on-premises or in the cloud) that provides a
centralized mechanism for:
o Configuration (zero-touch configuration)
o Management
o Visibility/Analytics/Troubleshooting

Standard capabilities for SD-WAN offerings include the following:

 Basic firewall
 Software delivered as a virtual network function (VNF), virtual
machine (VM) or container
 Branded turnkey hardware appliance
 API support
 Service chaining capabilities

Optional capabilities for SD-WAN offerings include the following:

  Advanced on-premises security (e.g., Layer 7 firewalls,
URL/content filtering, antivirus, data loss prevention [DLP],
sandboxing)
 Cloud gateways for service insertion and simplified cloud
connectivity
 WAN backbone/enhanced internet functionality
 Application performance optimization capabilities (e.g.,
forward error correction [FEC], packet duplication, WAN
optimization and SaaS optimization)
 Extended orchestration beyond SD-WAN to include wireless
LAN (WLAN)/LAN/security to form SD-branch
 AI networking support for proactive remediation and incident
management
 Software only solution deployable on an end-user device for
remote users

Magic Quadrant
Figure 1: Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN
Source: Gartner (September 2023)
Vendor Strengths and Cautions
Barracuda

Barracuda is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. It has two SD-

WAN products, CloudGen Firewall and SecureEdge, with hardware
appliances and software with orchestration and management.
CloudGen Firewall has been its traditional offering, with
SecureEdge a newer solution that supports the transition to a
SASE offering. Gartner estimates that Barracuda has approximately
1,500 enterprise SD-WAN customers and operates mainly in North
America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), primarily
with smaller enterprise and SMB customers and selected verticals.
Over the next 18 months, we expect Barracuda will invest in its
cloud-based reporting and analytics security service, cloud-based
XDR, and integrated edge compute capabilities with its SD-
WAN devices.

Strengths

 Pricing: Barracuda’s pricing is competitive when compared

with other vendors in this research, which is appealing for
price-sensitive organizations.
 On-premises security: Barracuda has strong, integrated on-
premises security within its SD-WAN offering.
 Midmarket focus: Barracuda is focused on midmarket
enterprise and SMB customers, and the features/functionality
required for that market segment.

Cautions

 Innovation: Barracuda’s planned innovations are unlikely to

deliver game-changing capabilities to the market, as it is
more focused on ease of use for midmarket customers.
 Market visibility: Barracuda has limited SD-WAN market
visibility among customers and prospects, based on end-user
Gartner interactions, gartner.com searches and social media
conversations.
 Viability: Due to limited financial information available about
Barracuda, there is uncertainty over its long-term viability in
this market compared to other vendors in this research.

Cisco

Cisco is a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. Its offerings include

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela) and Cisco Meraki SD-
WAN. The offerings provide separate SD-WAN appliances with
additional advanced integrated security, licensed software, and the
requisite management and orchestration. Gartner estimates that
Cisco has approximately 46,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers and
operates globally, serving clients of all sizes and verticals. Over the
next 18 months, we expect Cisco will invest in its security
dashboard, security service edge (SSE) third-party integrations in
support of dual-vendor SASE and enhanced cloud onramp for
multicloud implementations.

Strengths

 Market visibility: Cisco has strong SD-WAN market

awareness and a large, loyal installed base, which helps it
remain visible on client shortlists.
 Sales channels: The vendor has a strong go-to-market
motion, which increases the likelihood that customers will
have access to the solution.
 Product strategy: Cisco’s product strategy is aligned with the
current and future needs of enterprise SD-WAN customers in
terms of AI networking, integrated security, scalability and
cloud onramp, which bodes well for its future prospects in this
market.

Cautions

 Customer experience: Compared with other vendors in this

research, Cisco’s customer experience is below
average, based primarily on Gartner client interactions.
 Multiple SD-WAN products: Cisco’s Catalyst SD-WAN and
Meraki SD-WAN are separate offerings with different
management platforms, which increases the likelihood of an
improper product choice and/or limits investment protection
for customers.
 Market investment: Cisco’s targeted investment growth in the
SD-WAN market is uncertain due to limited available financial
information, compared with other vendors in this research.

Cradlepoint

Cradlepoint is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. Its offering

includes the Cradlepoint NetCloud Service, E Series SD-WAN
routers and the NetCloud Exchange Service Gateway, as well as
licensed software. Gartner estimates that Cradlepoint has
approximately 3,500 enterprise SD-WAN customers and operations
primarily in North America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region,
focusing on wireless WAN use cases in specific verticals such as
retail, transportation and public safety. Over the next 18 months,
we expect Cradlepoint will invest in AIOps, adaptive SD-WAN with
forward error correction (FEC) and link bonding, as well as
integrating Ericom to deliver a single-vendor SASE offering focusing
on the 5G market.

Strengths

 Vertical strategy: Cradlepoint has a strong focus on

traditional cellular wireless verticals with mobile and backup
use cases in retail, transportation and public safety.
 Sales strategy: Cradlepoint has a focused sales strategy to
reach organizations that are consistent with its target market,
which will improve its chances to grow.
 Geographic strategy: Cradlepoint is focused on specific
expansion in Japan, India, the UAE and Thailand that is
consistent with where wireless WAN technology will be in
highest demand.

Cautions

 Product: Cradlepoint’s product has limited appeal for

enterprise buyers that are not interested in a wireless WAN
offering.
 Sales execution: Cradlepoint has low SD-WAN market share
and narrow channels, which limits the vendor’s ability to grow
in this market.
 Market investment: Cradlepoint has lower
expected investment growth in the SD-WAN market
compared with other vendors in this research.

Forcepoint

Forcepoint is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. It offers the

FlexEdge Secure SD-WAN physical or virtual appliance with
FlexEdge Secure SD-WAN Manager and integrated next-generation
firewall (NGFW). Gartner estimates that Forcepoint has
approximately 3,500 SD-WAN enterprise customers and it operates
globally (with a strong presence in Europe), focusing on the retail,
government and financial verticals. Over the next 18 months, we
expect the vendor will invest in single-vendor SASE, cloud-based
centralized SD-WAN management-as-as-service and multifunctional
distributed enforcement at network WAN edges.

Strengths

 On-premises security: Forcepoint has a broad set of

integrated on-premises security capabilities with its SD-WAN
solution.
 Customer base: Forcepoint has existing security customers
that are targets for upgrading to SD-WAN.
 Geographic strategy: Forcepoint has a focused plan
for regional expansion in the Asia/Pacific and Latin America
regions, looking to take advantage of the growing demand
outside of North America and Europe.

Cautions

 Market visibility: Forcepoint has low SD-WAN market visibility

among customers and prospects, based on end-user
Gartner client interactions, searches on gartner.com and
social media conversations.
 Product: Forcepoint’s product has limited performance
optimization and cloud onramp features, which limits its
ability to address enterprise use cases beyond security.
 Innovation: Forcepoint’s planned innovations in application
steering and single-vendor SASE management are unlikely to
deliver a game-changing capability to the market.

Fortinet

Fortinet is a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. Its Fortinet Secure SD-

WAN product includes FortiGate physical and virtual appliances
with on-premises security software licenses managed with
the FortiManager Orchestrator. Gartner estimates that Fortinet has
approximately 31,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers and it
operates globally, addressing customers across most verticals and
company sizes. Over the next 18 months, we expect the vendor
will invest in unified management of digital experience monitoring
with SD-WAN, an AI-based assistant powered by ChatGPT, and
enhanced internet and application performance, providing
customers with an improved experience.

Strengths

 Product: Fortinet offers a strong set of features centered on

integrated security with its SD-WAN offering that provides a
simplified consumption approach for customers.
 Innovation: Fortinet’s planned innovations in GenAI and “as a
service” consumption models have an above-average chance
of delivering game-changing capabilities to the market.
 Sales execution: Fortinet has strong market share, robust
channels and extremely competitive pricing.

Cautions

 Customer experience: According primarily to Gartner client

interactions, Fortinet’s customer experience is below
average.
 Networking capabilities: Some large global clients express
concerns regarding Fortinet’s ability to meet the requirements
of complex enterprise networking configurations and
architectures.
 SSE integrations: Fortinet has limited integrations with third-
party SSE vendors, which reduces enterprise choice when
deploying a dual-vendor SASE architecture.

HPE (Aruba)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Aruba) is a Leader in this Magic

Quadrant. Its SD-WAN offerings include Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN
(with optional WAN optimization) and Aruba EdgeConnect SD-
Branch, which include physical and virtual
appliances, and software licenses with management and
orchestration. Both products are managed through the Aruba
Central platform. Gartner estimates that HPE (Aruba) has
approximately 5,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers and its
operations are global, addressing clients of all sizes and verticals.
Over the next 18 months, we expect the vendor will invest in
integrating its recent Axis Security acquisition for single-vendor
SASE, a unified fabric across all its SD-WAN products and expand
its cellular WAN offerings.

Strengths

 Customer experience: Compared with other vendors in this

research, the vendor’s customer experience is high, based
primarily on Gartner client interactions and Gartner Peer
Insights data.
 Product: HPE (Aruba) has an above-average product when
compared with other vendors in this research, based on its
performance optimization, cloud onramp and operational
capabilities, which align with current customer needs.
 Market responsiveness: HPE (Aruba) has a proven track
record of delivering capabilities such as cloud integrations,
SSE integrations and new consumption models to the SD-WAN
market when they are needed.

Cautions

 Innovation: The vendor’s planned innovations in its unified

fabric and single-vendor SASE functionality are unlikely to
deliver game-changing capabilities to the market.
 Geographic strategy: The vendor’s geographic strategy lacks
details, compared with other vendors in the research,
which may limit its ability to reach certain customers based
on location.
 Multiple SD-WAN products: HPE (Aruba) has multiple products
that service different use cases. This may result in customer
or prospect confusion, and introduce the risk of selecting the
wrong offering.

Huawei

Huawei is a Challenger in this Magic Quadrant. It offers Huawei SD-

WAN Solution, which includes the NetEngine AR series physical and
virtual routers and software licenses, as well as the iMaster NCE-
Campus controller. The vendor also offers HiSecEngine USG
security gateways that address some SD-WAN use cases where
strong security is required. Gartner estimates that Huawei has
approximately 35,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers. It focuses on
China specifically, and select countries in the Asia/Pacific
region, EMEA and Latin American regions, addressing customers of
all sizes and verticals. Over the next 18 months, we expect Huawei
will invest in its cloud router, AI predictive route selection, and AI-
based IoT terminal authorization and access.

Strengths

 Customer experience: Huawei has above-average customer

experience, based on Gartner interactions and Gartner Peer
Insights data.
 Product strategy: Huawei’s product strategy is aligned with
the current and future needs of enterprise SD-WAN customers,
including integrated security, scalability, small platform
flexibility and deployment flexibility, which bodes well for its
future prospects in this market.
 Sales execution: Huawei’s sales execution is strongly driven
by a robust channel and a comparably lower-priced option,
when compared with other vendors in this research, which is
attractive for price-sensitive organizations.

Cautions

 Market presence: Huawei doesn’t address organizations in the

U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and India markets due to
geopolitical issues. The vendor has limited market awareness
outside the Asia/Pacific region, which limits its ability to grow.
 Innovation: Huawei’s recent and planned innovations in SD-
branch, cloud and videoconferencing optimization functionality
are unlikely to deliver game-changing capabilities to
the market.
 Market investment: Huawei has lower
expected investment growth in the SD-WAN market
compared with other vendors in this research.

Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks is a Visionary in this Magic Quadrant. It offers

Juniper AI-Driven SD-WAN, which includes the Session Smart
Router, Session Smart Networking software, WAN Assurance and
Marvis Virtual Network Assistant. It also offers the SRX Series for
specific use cases. Gartner estimates Juniper has approximately
3,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers, and focuses its operations in
the North American, EMEA and Asia/Pacific regions. The
vendor addresses companies of all sizes in most verticals, primarily
focusing on its full-stack offering that integrates SD-WAN, LAN,
WLAN and security into a common orchestration. Over the next 18
months, we expect Juniper Networks will invest in AI-based
functionality and both single-vendor and dual-vendor SASE.

Strengths

 Product strategy: Juniper Networks has a solid product

roadmap that aligns with emerging SD-WAN customer
requirements driven by a focus on AIOps
to optimize operations.
 Innovation: The vendor’s planned innovations in AIOps
functionality have an above-average chance of delivering a
game-changing capability.
 Customer experience: Juniper Networks has solid customer
experience, according primarily to Gartner SD-WAN
interactions.

Cautions

 Sales execution: Juniper Networks has narrow SD-WAN

channels and limited SD-WAN market share.
 Market visibility: The vendor has limited SD-WAN market
visibility, based on end-user Gartner interactions and searches
on gartner.com.
 Market responsiveness: Juniper Networks has been slow to
address certain key features in this market, such as cloud
provider integrations.

Nuage Networks

Nuage Networks from Nokia is a Niche Player in this Magic

Quadrant. Its offering includes Virtualized Services Platform (VSP),
which is typically deployed as a cloud-managed service
(Nuage Cloud Managed SD-WAN service), but can also be deployed
on-premises (Nuage Managed SD-WAN Service). It includes Network
Services Gateways (NSG) with corresponding software. Gartner
estimates that Nuage Networks has approximately 3,500 SD-WAN
enterprise customers and operates globally, primarily through
carrier channels, addressing customers of all sizes and most
verticals. Over the next 18 months, we expect Nuage Networks will
invest in an SD-Internet service for the SMB market.

Strengths

 Customer experience: Nuage Networks has above-average

customer experience, compared with other vendors in this
research.
 SSE integrations: The vendor has solid third-party SSE
integrations, compared with other vendors in this Magic
Quadrant, which supports dual-vendor SASE architectures.
 Viability: Nuage Networks has high viability, with a likelihood
to invest going forward when compared with other vendors in
this research.

Cautions

 Innovation: Nuage Networks’ planned innovation in an SD-

Internet offering for SMB customers is unlikely to deliver a
game-changing capability to the enterprise market.
 Market visibility: Nuage Networks has low market visibility
among enterprises, based on end-user Gartner client
interactions, searches on gartner.com and Google, and overall
evaluation of social media conversations.
 Product: The vendor has a below-
average product compared with other vendors in this
research, based on limited performance optimization, routing
and application steering, as well as cloud onramp capabilities.

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks is a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. Its leading

offering is Prisma SD-WAN, which includes Instant-On Network (ION)
edge appliances and orchestration. It also offers the PAN-OS
branch firewall with limited SD-WAN capabilities as an upgrade
option for existing NGFW customers. Gartner estimates the vendor
has approximately 3,500 SD-WAN enterprise customers and
operates globally, focusing on enterprises in all vertical industries
and sizes. Over the next 18 months, we expect Palo Alto Networks
will invest in application acceleration, SASE enhancements and line
conditioning, including FEC and packet duplication.

Strengths

 Innovation: Palo Alto Networks’ recent and planned

innovations in AIOps, visibility and granular policy control have
a high chance of delivering game-changing capabilities to the
market.
 Customer experience: Palo Alto Networks has above-average
customer experience, based primarily on Gartner interactions
and Gartner Peer Insights data, compared with other vendors
in this research.
 Market understanding: Palo Alto Networks has demonstrated
a strong market understanding of both current and future
customer requirements when compared with other vendors in
this research.

Cautions

 Pricing: Palo Alto Networks has high SD-WAN pricing, as

observed via Gartner client interactions.
 Performance optimization: Palo Alto Networks has limited
performance optimization, such as TCP protocol optimization,
FEC, packet duplication and broader WAN optimization
capabilities.
 Multiple SD-WAN products: The vendor has two different SD-
WAN products, which introduces market confusion.
Customers are required to choose between a strong on-
premises security offering with limited SD-WAN functionality
or a strong SD-WAN offering with limited on-premises security
functionality.

Peplink
Peplink is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. It has two product
families in this market: Balance for enterprise branch SD-WAN, and
MAX for industry and mobility SD-WAN requirements. Both offerings
include SpeedFusion software technology and InControl 2
orchestration for management. Gartner estimates Peplink has
approximately 6,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers and operates
globally, focusing on midmarket organizations, with specific
verticals targeting wireless WAN use cases. Over the next 18
months, we expect Peplink will invest in Peplink Connectivity
Controller to improve application performance, SpeedFusion cloud
service and long-range antenna integration into its 5G routers.

Strengths

 Viability: Peplink has strong viability, with a likelihood to

invest going forward, which increases its chance for future
growth.
 Vertical strategy: Peplink is focused on its targeted verticals
to reach organizations that fit its target profile of wireless-
WAN-first use cases.
 Marketing strategy: Peplink has a focused marketing strategy
that targets wireless WAN use cases for enterprise
customers.

Cautions

 Product and product strategy: Peplink’s product and product

strategy are not aligned with current and future enterprise
buyer requirements that don’t require a wireless WAN
offering.
 Market visibility: Peplink has limited market visibility, based
on end-user Gartner interactions, searches on gartner.com and
social media conversations.
 Sales execution: The vendor has limited SD-WAN market
share and limited direct sales resources, which may impact its
ability to grow in the market.

Sophos
Sophos is a Niche Player in this Magic Quadrant. It offers Sophos
Firewall, which integrates both SD-WAN and NGFW capabilities on a
single XGS Series appliance as part of an orchestrated offering.
Gartner estimates that the vendor has approximately 18,000 SD-
WAN enterprise customers and operates globally, focusing
primarily on smaller and midmarket organizations with security-first
use cases. Over the next 18 months, we expect Sophos will invest
in integrating its ZTNA connector on the Sophos Firewall, adding
scale to its SD-WAN offering and also adding adaptive FEC.

Strengths

 On-premises security: Sophos has a strong on-premises

security capability integrated with its SD-WAN offering that
simplifies consumption for smaller organizations.
 Midmarket focus: Sophos focuses on midmarket and smaller
customers with features and functionality that address that
target buyer. It also has a strong incumbency of security
customers that can be upgraded to SD-WAN.
 Pricing: The vendor offers competitive SD-WAN pricing when
compared with the other vendors in this research, which is
attractive to price-conscious organizations.

Cautions

 Market visibility: Sophos has limited SD-WAN market visibility

with enterprise customers and prospects, based on Gartner
interactions, searches on gartner.com and social media
analytics.
 Product: Sophos’ product lacks functionality such as limited
third-party SSE integrations, cloud onramp and operational
features.
 Product strategy: The vendor’s go-forward product strategy is
not aligned with many larger
enterprise organizations with complex requirements,
including performance optimization and routing and traffic
steering.

Versa Networks
Versa Networks is a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. It has two
offerings: The primary one is Secure SD-WAN, and the second
offering is Versa Titan, built on the same platform as Secure SD-
WAN and delivered as a cloud-based offering. Both include Cloud
Services Gateway appliances or virtual appliances, software
licenses, and orchestration. Gartner estimates that Versa Networks
has approximately 24,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers and
operates globally, addressing clients of all sizes and in all vertical
industries, primarily through service providers. Over the next 18
months, we expect the vendor will invest in expanding its AI
capabilities, observability and extending multicloud support
integrated with SD-WAN orchestration.

Strengths

 Product: Versa Networks provides a fully capable SD-WAN

offering with strong routing and application steering, security,
cloud onramp, and deployment flexibility functions.
 Product strategy: The vendor has a strong roadmap of planned
product capabilities that align with current and emerging
customer requirements, such as AI networking, observability
and multicloud support.
 Market responsiveness: Versa Networks has demonstrated
the ability to deliver new capabilities on time and to respond
to competitive market dynamics.

Cautions

 Pricing: Versa Networks has higher pricing for Secure SD-

WAN, based on Gartner analyst assessment and Gartner Peer
Insights data, which makes the offering more difficult to
procure for some buyers.
 Multiple SD-WAN products: The vendor offers two products
with different capabilities, so there is a risk of choosing the
wrong product based on customer requirements.
 Geographic strategy: Versa Networks has a limited
geographic strategy, which reduces its appeal to customers in
some regions/countries.

VMware
VMware is a Leader in this Magic Quadrant. It offers VMware SD-
WAN, which includes Edge appliances, optional gateway points of
presence (POPs), software licenses and a cloud-based orchestrator.
Gartner estimates that VMware has approximately 18,000 SD-WAN
enterprise customers and operates globally, serving clients of all
sizes and in all vertical industries, with a go-to-market focused on
service providers. Over the next 18 months, we expect VMware to
make future investments in SD-WAN Cloud Transport (enterprise
private connectivity); integrating security, edge computing, private
5G and SD-WAN into a single platform, and AI-based digital
experience assurance and analytics.

Broadcom announced its intention to acquire VMware on 26 May

2022. At the time of this evaluation, however, Broadcom and
VMware operate as separate entities. Gartner will provide further
insight as more detail becomes available.

Strengths

 Product strategy: VMware has a strong roadmap of planned

product capabilities that align with current and emerging
customer requirements, such as cloud transport and AI
functionality. The pending Broadcom acquisition did not
factor into this analysis.
 Customer experience: VMware has strong customer
experience, according to Gartner client interactions, Gartner
Peer Insights data and the vendor’s Net Promoter Score.
 Market visibility: The vendor has strong SD-WAN market
visibility, based on end-user Gartner client interactions,
searches on gartner.com and Google, and overall evaluation
of social media conversations.

Cautions

 On-premises security: VMware lags behind other vendors in

this research in terms of integrated security features natively
available in its on-premises appliances. The pending
Broadcom acquisition, which includes the Symantec security
assets, did not factor into this analysis.
  Market investment: VMware has lower expected
investment growth in the SD-WAN market, compared with
other vendors in this research. The pending Broadcom
acquisition did not factor into this analysis.
 SD-branch: The vendor doesn’t have a native SD-branch
offering integrating WLAN, LAN, network security and SD-WAN
into a single platform. This limits VMware’s ability to sell to
small branch locations where customers are looking for
operational simplicity.

Vendors Added and Dropped

We review and adjust our inclusion criteria for Magic Quadrants as
markets change. As a result of these adjustments, the mix of
vendors in any Magic Quadrant may change over time. A vendor's
appearance in a Magic Quadrant one year and not the next does not
necessarily indicate that we have changed our opinion of that
vendor. It may be a reflection of a change in the market and,
therefore, changed evaluation criteria, or of a change of focus by
that vendor.

Added

 Sophos was added because it met the inclusion criteria, based

on our assessment and data provided by the vendor.

Dropped

 Citrix was dropped because it publicly announced its intention

to exit the market in late 2022.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

For Gartner clients, Magic Quadrant research identifies and
analyzes the most relevant providers and their products in a market.
Gartner uses, by default, an upper limit of 20 providers to support
the identification of the most relevant providers in a market. On
some specific occasions, the upper limit may be extended where
the intended research value to our clients might otherwise be
diminished.
The inclusion criteria represent the specific attributes that analysts
believe are necessary for inclusion in this research.

To qualify for inclusion, vendors need to show relevance to Gartner

clients by:

 Providing products/services that address the enterprise SD-

WAN requirements outlined in the Market
Definition/Description section.
 Producing and releasing enterprise SD-WAN products for
general availability as of 9 June 2023. All components must be
publicly available, be shipping and be included on the vendors’
published price list as of this date. Products shipping after this
date, and any publicly available marketing information may
only have an influence on the Completeness of Vision axis.
 Providing commercial support and maintenance for their
enterprise SD-WAN products (24/7) to support deployments on
multiple continents. This includes hardware/software support,
access to software upgrades, security patches, and
troubleshooting and technical assistance.

Product Capabilities

Vendors must have generally available products that support all of

the following capabilities:

 The ability to operate as the branch office router (including

BGP, OSPF, support hub and spoke, mesh, and partial mesh
topologies with automation for a minimum of a 250-site
network) with traffic shaping and/or QoS
 Centralized management/orchestration and automation for
devices (with GUI), including reporting, troubleshooting,
configuration changes and software upgrades
 Zero-touch configuration
 VPN (Advanced Encryption Standard [AES] 256-bit encryption)
with basic Layer 4 firewall
 Application-aware path selection based on business or
application policy (not limited to only DiffServ Code Point
[DSCP]/ports, IPs/circuits or 5tuple) that responds to network
 conditions (e.g., changes in packet loss, latency, jitter, etc.) in
an active/active configuration
 Autodiscover at least 200 well-known application profiles
 Visibility of application performance data of traffic delivered
across the WAN (e.g., packet loss, latency, jitter, etc.)
 Demonstrated service chaining capabilities with third-party
solutions
 Ability to completely/fully support a do-it-yourself (DIY)
customer
 Software that can be deployed in at least two cloud providers
(such as AWS and Azure)

Business/Financial Performance

Vendors must show relevance to Gartner’s enterprise clients by

meeting the following with their SD-WAN solution(s) that meet the
product capabilities inclusion criteria (from above):

 Proven success in addressing at least three of the five use

cases identified in Critical Capabilities for SD-WAN.
 Meet either of the following criteria:
o At least 50,000 SD-WAN enterprise sites deployed and
under active support contracts*
o At least 1,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers deployed
and under active support contracts*
 Demonstrate baseline scalability and customer adoption by
servicing at least 50 enterprise customers with active
support contracts that have at least 100 sites each.*
 Show relevance to Gartner’s enterprise clients on a global
basis with at least 150 SD-WAN enterprise customers under
active support contracts and headquartered in two or more of
the following geographic regions: North America, South
America, EMEA or Asia/Pacific. This means 150 enterprise
customers with headquarters in one region and another 150
enterprise customers with headquarters in a different region
for a total of at least 300 enterprise customers between the
two regions.*
 Rank among the top 20 organizations in the Customer Interest
Indicator (CII) defined by Gartner for this Magic Quadrant. Data
 inputs used to calculate SD-WAN CII included a balanced set
of measures:
o Gartner end-user inquiry volume per vendor
o Gartner.com search data
o Vendor mentions in Peer Insights as a competitor
o Google Trends data
o Social media analysis

* Enterprise is defined as an organization with at least $50 million

in revenue and/or 100 employees. It can be a private for-profit
organization or not-for-profit entities such as charitable
organizations, government and education institutions.

Sites are defined as organization locations of customers.

Customers are entities paying for an SD-WAN solution under active

support contracts with features defined in the product inclusion
criteria section. This excludes trials, proofs of concept (POCs),
paid pilots, “try and buys,” lab trials, etc.

Evaluation Criteria
Ability to Execute
Product or Service: This evaluates vendors by looking at their
overall SD-WAN networking portfolios across the following areas:

 Routing and application steering

 On-premises security (local)
 Partner-integrated cloud security
 Performance optimization
 Operational capabilities
 Deployment flexibility
 Small platform flexibility
 Scalability
 Cloud onramp
 Integrated WAN backbone

We focus on the vendor’s products that meet the inclusion criteria.

Overall Viability: This is an assessment of the overall organization’s
financial health, and the financial and practical success of the
business unit. It includes our evaluation of the likelihood that the
individual business unit will continue investing in the product, and
offering the product, and will advance the state of the art within the
organization’s portfolio of products.

Sales Execution/Pricing: This assesses the vendor’s capabilities in

all presales activities and the structure that supports them. This
includes deal management, pricing and negotiation, presales
support, and the overall effectiveness of the sales channel. The first
aspect evaluates sales effectiveness and go-to-market activities
along with the depth and breadth of sales channels. The second
aspect of this criterion includes our evaluation of the cost-
effectiveness of the solutions for purchase and support over their
useful life, and the ability to recognize and position the most
appropriate solution in specific sales situations. These aspects are
weighted roughly the same in our analysis.

Market Responsiveness/Record: This assesses the vendor’s track

record in delivering new capabilities when the market needs them
in terms of on-time with the right scope. This criterion also
considers the vendor’s history of responsiveness in terms of
changing market demands and addressing limitations. This
evaluation is not limited to products, as it also involves pricing,
licensing, operating models, go-to-market and overall competition
dynamics.

Marketing Execution: This focuses on how the vendor is perceived

in the market, and how well its marketing programs are recognized.
The evaluation focuses on how well the vendor is able to influence
and shape perception in the market through marketing activities
and thought leadership that drives awareness. An additional
indicator for this criterion is how often Gartner clients inquire about
a specific vendor in terms of capabilities/reputation or in a shortlist
evaluation process.

Customer Experience: This looks at all aspects of the customer

experience inclusive of pricing, setup, day-to-day production,
product features and support. This includes the customer’s
experience with the vendor’s SD-WAN products and services used in
their production environments. It also includes the ability to
upgrade software and work with technical support to solve
problems. Hardware and software quality and how existing
customers describe their experience with the vendor’s products are
also evaluated. Additionally, we assess customer satisfaction,
customer loyalty/retention, brand reputation and advocacy,
operational quality, and employee engagement.

Table 1: Ability to Execute Evaluation Criteria

Enlarge Table

Evaluation Criteria Weighting

Product or Service High

Overall Viability Medium

Sales Execution/Pricing High

Market Responsiveness/Record Low

Marketing Execution Medium

Customer Experience High

Operations NotRated

Source: Gartner (September 2023)

Completeness of Vision
Market Understanding: This assesses the vendor’s ability to look
into future needs and drive new ideas into product roadmaps and
offerings, taking into account market needs and competitor
strengths/weaknesses, and identifying new competitors and vendor
core competencies. It also involves vendor self-reflection to
determine gaps as well as strengths and weaknesses. We look at
the vendor’s ability to address the challenges associated with
distributed branch office locations. This may include, but isn’t
limited to, specific functionality required such as simplifying
operations, enhancing application performance, providing robust
security, enhancing connectivity to the cloud, how to reach/attract
end customers and pricing models.

Marketing Strategy: This evaluates the ability of the vendor to

influence the market through its messaging and marketing
campaigns. This includes the extent to which the vendor articulates
a forward-looking marketing message that is clear, consistent,
relevant and differentiated, as well as aligned with future end-user
needs. We look for new and effective ways that vendors reach
customers and evolving customer personas, and how they plan to
communicate their message to drive market demand.

Sales Strategy: This assesses the vendor’s current and proposed

use of direct and indirect sales to extend the scope and depth of its
market reach. Further, this includes the extent to which the vendor
articulates a clear, consistent, relevant and differentiated sales
strategy that engages with defined customer profiles. This also
includes development of effective go-to-market strategies, alliances
and partnerships, leveraging value-added resellers (VARs), systems
integrators (SIs), ISP aggregators, master agents, network service
providers (NSPs), managed network service providers and OEM
resellers, as appropriate. In addition, it includes how the vendor
leverages new pricing, consumption and business models that are
emerging due to market and technology transitions.

Offering (Product) Strategy: This evaluates the vendor’s product

roadmap around existing and future SD-WAN functions. It includes
not just the raw features and capabilities, but also the vendor’s
overall architecture across the portfolio, the uniqueness of the
capabilities and the value to the end customer. We evaluate product
strategy in terms of various capabilities, including (but not limited
to) simplicity, automation, cloud connectivity, visibility, AI
networking, application performance and security. This also
includes the overall portfolio across different products.

Vertical/Industry Strategy: This measures the vendor’s ability to

address the unique requirements of particular verticals/industries
and to employ the associated sales channels, messaging and
product features to build a sustainable business advantage.

Innovation: This evaluates the plans to bring future differentiated

capabilities to market that will enhance the vendor’s ability to
interact with customers and drive business. We assess the vendor’s
ability to add value to customers in new, unique ways and/or to
solve existing challenges in a more effective manner. Innovation is
not simply a list of new features/functionality or product
improvements. Instead, it is the ability to bring capabilities to the
market that dramatically alter or shift the conversation among
buyers. True innovation often changes the “tenor” of a market in
terms of customers. Innovation can be created across multiple
areas, including product, packaging, pricing, sales, marketing,
models and use cases.

Geographic Strategy: This measures the vendor’s ability to address

any unique requirements of particular geographies and to employ
the associated messaging, partnerships and product features, as
well as sales channels, to build a sustainable business advantage.

Table 2: Completeness of Vision Evaluation Criteria

Enlarge Table

Evaluation Criteria Weighting

Market Understanding Medium

Marketing Strategy Low

Sales Strategy Medium

 Evaluation Criteria Weighting

Offering (Product) Strategy High

Business Model NotRated

Vertical/Industry Strategy Low

Innovation High

Geographic Strategy Low

Source: Gartner (September 2023)

Quadrant Descriptions
Leaders
A Leader has demonstrated a sustained ability to address changing
end-user requirements in the SD-WAN market as well as long-term
viability. A Leader can drive, shape and transform the market in
areas such as AI networking, SASE or NaaS, as well as maintain
strong relationships with its channels and customers. Leaders
typically have solid products that address most use cases across
various verticals globally, maintain high visibility among Gartner
clients and demonstrate success while at the same time innovating
to drive the market forward.

Challengers
A Challenger has demonstrated sustained execution in the SD-WAN
market, and has clear, long-term viability in the market. Typically,
Challengers have solid products that address most use cases
across multiple verticals in various geographies. However, a
Challenger has not shown the ability to drive, shape and transform
the market.

Visionaries
A Visionary has strong potential to drive and shape the market
going forward in some key areas of SD-WAN, such as AI networking,
SASE or NaaS. Visionaries often help transform the market — from
driving new ideas/innovations, including new business models, to
solving enterprise challenges. Although Visionaries often transform
the market, they typically lack market share, viability, global
coverage and/or complete product capabilities to address most use
cases.

Niche Players
A Niche Player has a complete or near-complete SD-WAN product
offering, but is more focused, such as on geographic reach or
vertical market concentration, typically resulting in limited market
share or limited addressable use cases. Niche Players have a viable
product offering, but have not shown the ability to transform the
market or sustain execution.

Context
Market Forecast
The SD-WAN market is forecast to generate a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6% in end-user spending from 2022
through 2027 (see Forecast Analysis: Enterprise Network
Equipment, Worldwide). This is based on a current SD-WAN market
penetration of about 60% in 2023.

Gartner expects some aspects of the SD-WAN market to evolve into

the single-vendor SASE market (see Magic Quadrant for Single-
Vendor SASE), with integrated network security (SSE) delivered
from the cloud. More broadly, we see five technologies converging:

 SD-WAN
 SSE
 Enhanced internet/WAN backbone
 Cloud onramp
 Multicloud networking

Trends
Current Trends
Convergence of Networking and Security
Today, we primarily see SD-WAN and SSE offerings being integrated
and deployed as dual-vendor SASE. This is largely driven by
the move to distribute internet access to support cloud
applications and change the security perimeter. This goes along
with the deployment of SD-WAN at branch locations to manage the
internet transport. As part of a desire to minimize branch
sprawl and support access to the cloud, we observe more
organizations looking for integrated cloud-delivered security
and thin branch SD-WAN solutions (see 2022 Strategic Roadmap
for SASE Convergence). Dual-vendor SASE is more popular in the
near term since there is a significant deployment of either SD-WAN
or SSE and buyers are looking to add the offering not currently
deployed. Oftentimes, a different vendor is chosen from the original
deployment to complete the solution due to different
requirements. Over time, we expect this to evolve into single-
vendor SASE (see the Future Trends section).

Cloud Onramp
There are various ways to connect to cloud workloads (IaaS, PaaS
or SaaS) where SD-WAN offerings enable integration, automation
and orchestration (see How to Optimize Network Connectivity Into
Public Cloud Providers) to simplify configuration and management.
Options include:

 Connecting via carrier-neutral colocation providers, such as

Equinix, in a DIY model primarily for multicloud connectivity.
 Leveraging software-defined cloud internet (SDCI) providers,
such as Megaport, to connect to various cloud workloads with
a turnkey managed service.
 Using cloud hubs by backhauling traffic to a centralized
location, leveraging a high-quality connection to a cloud
service provider (e.g., Direct Connect or ExpressRoute).
 Internet access from the branch to connect to cloud service
providers. SD-WAN offerings can be virtualized and deployed in
public cloud providers to provide visibility and terminate traffic
in the cloud by treating the instance as a node on the WAN.
Internet as WAN
Many Gartner clients hope to fund their WAN expansion/updates by
replacing or reducing the bandwidth of MPLS connections with
internet-based WANs. However, the suitability of internet
connections varies by geography, access type and oversubscription
levels, and service providers mixing connections from multiple
vendors increases management complexity. Furthermore, in some
regions, dedicated internet can be roughly the same price as MPLS,
so the driver is as much about agility and flexibility as it is about
price. While we observe that most SD-WAN migrations include
hybrid WANs with MPLS and internet connectivity, there is
increasing adoption of all internet-based WANs.

SD-Branch
Gartner increasingly sees vendors building a common orchestration
among LAN, WLAN, WAN and network security, which is known as
SD-branch (and also universal ZTNA). It offers simplicity in
managing LAN, WLAN, WAN and network security policies and
profiles with a single orchestrated solution. Integrating these
domains will increasingly be a differentiating factor for some
vendors in specific verticals such as retail. Although Gartner still
sees customers procuring LAN/WLAN separate from WAN, there is
evidence that this may change for certain customer environments.

Future Trends
AI Networking
There is a trend toward more autonomous and self-driving networks
in which AI/ML technologies can be leveraged to make networking
decisions without or with limited human intervention
(see Innovation Insight: AI Networking Has the Potential to
Revolutionize Network Operations). While much of this is
aspirational today, the objective is to make networking easier for
design and configuration/deployment, with simplified ongoing
management to reduce operating expenditures (opex), increase
speed/agility and improve uptime/performance. Although it is still
early in many vendors’ product development, we are seeing this
functionality incorporated into an increasing number of vendor
solutions offering differentiation. The longer-term challenge will be
customer trust in using such solutions.

Convergence of Five Adjacent Technologies

Formerly, applications were hosted in the data center, and
demarcation points were the branch to the data center and the
organization had control over the data center. With the move of
more applications to the cloud (SaaS, IaaS and PaaS), we have
identified five adjacent markets that we envision converging:

 SD-WAN
 SSE (see Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge)
 Enhanced internet/integrated WAN backbone (see Include
Enhanced Internet as a Viable Option for the Global SD-WAN
Backbone)
 Cloud onramp (see How to Optimize Network Connectivity
Into Public Cloud Providers)
 Multicloud networking software (see Market Guide for
Multicloud Networking Software)

We already see SD-WAN and SSE converging to form SASE as part of

the overall technology convergence with the aim of providing a
simpler and integrated solution for the end user. Beyond that, the
other technologies are converging in multiple ways as there is no
single combination that is dominant. Buying patterns are
inconsistent, as well; we don’t see demand for all five together
today, but expect it to increase with supplier availability.

Single-Vendor SASE
Enterprise SASE adoption is currently dominated
by multivendor solutions (one vendor for networking and one for
security), with some type of orchestration tying it together. Over
time, we expect to see more single-vendor, integrated SASE
solutions incorporating the SSE and SD-WAN branch components
(see Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE). As the single-vendor
SASE market matures, we expect the capabilities gap to close with
best-of-breed dual-vendor SASE architectures and organizations to
consolidate networking and network security roles, which will drive
the purchase of a single offering. We also expect to see new pricing
models as SD-WAN and network security offerings converge to more
of a per-user model. This will simplify sourcing and offer a tighter
technical integration, ultimately offering a better user experience.

NaaS
While not specific to SD-WAN per se, we do see new consumption
options that can take advantage of a pure
usage/metered/consumption model in terms of per-user or unit of
bandwidth, in addition to more traditional subscription models.
NaaS incorporates hardware, software and management as a
consumption model where the customer doesn’t own the equipment.
It includes turnkey self-service and elastic demand options,
including network refreshes to simplify consumption (see What Is
NaaS, and Should I Adopt It?). While we don’t expect this to be a
dominant consumption model, we do see this as an option for
organizations that want simplicity and a pure operating expenditure
(OPEX)-friendly model.

Market Overview
The market is mainstream and maturing. The supply side remains a
crowded, fragmented vendor landscape, with large established
vendors and smaller providers from multiple segments competing
for market share. There is separation from the top vendors in this
space as we estimate that the top 10 vendors make up over 80% of
the market and the top six vendors make up over 60% of the
market (see Market Share: Enterprise Network Equipment by
Market Segment, Worldwide, 2Q23).

Market Drivers
The SD-WAN market is primarily driven by the following factors:

 Refresh of existing branch office router equipment (or first-

generation SD-WAN equipment) that is at the end of support or
lacks the desired capabilities.
 Renewal of NSP or managed service contracts, where a new
service provider also means new equipment. This can drive
the move off of MPLS in favor of internet access to the
 branch, with security perimeter changes that typically drive
new solutions.
 Application rollouts with changing traffic patterns resulting
from increased use of cloud and multicloud resources that
render the traditional hub-and-spoke from remote branch to on-
premises data center WAN architecture obsolete.
 The desire to increase scalability, agility and automation to
address the needs of digital business transformation and
reduce opex.
 The desire to consolidate more than one branch function, such
as routing and security (e.g., SASE and zero trust).

Vendor Differentiation
Differentiation is mostly based on:

 Feature-based — This includes, for example, AI networking,

cloud onramp, ease of use, security (on-premises, in-the-cloud
or third-party SSE integrations), scale
or performance optimization.
 Go-to-market — Vendors can focus by selling through a small
number of large service providers, or focus on a large number
of channel partners. Some focus more on DIY and others more
on managed network services, while others are more balanced
between the two. Still others are focused more on NaaS-based
opex options over traditional capital expenditure (capex)
pricing models.
 Vertical focus — These are vendors that focus on specific
verticals, such as retail, financial, state and local government,
etc., based on specific use cases and product focus.
 Geographical focus — These vendors focus on specific
geographies where they can compete most effectively based
on where they have resources, channels and unique product
capabilities to meet the requirements of end users

Vendor Landscape Changes

We estimate that the SD-WAN market has about 70 suppliers, and
more vendors are entering the market. Specifically, we anticipate
multiple SSE vendors adding SD-WAN to their product portfolio
within the next 18 months in order to compete for single-vendor
SASE or differentiate among SSE competitors. We expect this
market to remain crowded over the next few years, with continued
merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.

Acquisitions are likely to continue primarily around SD-WAN and

network security vendors consolidating to form single-vendor
SASE. As we look out three years in the SD-WAN market, more than
10 mainstream suppliers are likely to remain. However, we do see
increasing separation by the top six or eight vendors from the rest
of the market, and an evolution to SASE as the primary use case.

Recent M&A activity in this market includes the announcement of

Broadcom’s intent to acquire VMware (announced in 2022), HPE
(Aruba) buying Axis Security and Cradlepoint buying Ericom.
Furthermore, Check Point Software Technologies launched its SD-
WAN offering and Cloudflare announced plans to launch one as well.

Market Recommendations
I&O leaders responsible for building and managing WANs should:

 Build a WAN architecture that aligns with end users, branches

and applications. This may mean a hybrid WAN with MPLS and
internet, or internet only with dual internet. This depends on
how many on-premises workloads versus cloud workloads
exist, the types of applications, the number of users at a site
and the locations of end users.
 Cloud-first organizations that heavily utilize public cloud and
SaaS services should determine SD-WAN offering suitability by
validating depth and/or breadth of cloud provider and cloud
onramp integrations.
 When implementing a dual-vendor SASE architecture, lean
toward SD-WAN/SSE combinations with deep explicit
integration by performing a POC and focusing on the GUI
integration as well as automatic traffic redirection.
 Operationally focused organizations should evaluate SD-WAN
vendors by analyzing network automation and AI networking
 capabilities as a core requirement to improve support
efficiency.
 Choose SD-WAN vendors to optimize application performance
by evaluating performance optimization capabilities for real-
time and non-real-time traffic, whether the applications are
delivered on-premises or from the cloud.
 Shortlist at least two SD-WAN product vendors, whether for a
new deployment or large renewal/refresh.
 Quantify the total cost of hardware, software and maintenance
for an SD-WAN deployment. SD-WAN solutions more commonly
have opex-friendly business models, with a strong shift from
upfront capex to annual license subscriptions. To perform a
proper evaluation and comparison, quotes should include all
platform, license and support costs over a three-year baseline.
 Prefer SD-branch solutions to simplify the management of
LAN, WLAN, SD-WAN and security for small branch offices.
 Run a pilot to test the SD-WAN solution in a production
capacity to validate performance in a real-world environment.
Ensure that at least one critical site is tested with the solution
deployed before any final decision is made.

Evidence
 Gartner analysts conducted about 2,000 Gartner end-user
client interactions on the topic of WAN between June 2022
and June 2023.
 Gartner analysts conducted more than 1,500 Gartner end-user
client interactions on the topic of SD-WAN between June 2022
and June 2023.
 Gartner analysts conducted about 1,200 Gartner end-user
client interactions on the topic of SASE between June 2022
and June 2023.
 Vendors included in this research responded to an RFI created
by Gartner analysts.
 Market size forecast sources are from Forecast Analysis:
Enterprise Network Equipment, Worldwide.
 Analysts reviewed Gartner Peer Insights data for this
market. Gartner Peer Insights is a free peer review and
 ratings platform designed for enterprise software and service
decision makers. Reviews go through a strict validation and
moderation process in an effort to ensure they are authentic.
Reviews from the SD-WAN market, submitted from June 2022
through June 2023, have been analyzed for the purpose of this
research.
 Gartner analysts reviewed publicly available information
online.

 Social Media Analysis Methodology: Gartner conducts social

listening analyses leveraging third-party data tools to
complement or supplement the other fact bases presented in
this document. Due to its qualitative and organic nature, the
results should not be used separately from the rest of this
research. No conclusions should be drawn from this data
alone. Social media data in reference is from 1 June 2022
through 13 June 2023 in all geographies (except China) and in
recognized languages.
 Sources Covered: By default, social media sources considered
for analysis include the X platform, formerly known as Twitter;
Facebook (publicly available information only); aggregator
websites; blogs; news; mainstream media; and forums and
videos (comments only), unless and until specified.
 We considered data collected by Gartner’s Branded Research
Center of Excellence on customer interest in April 2023 from
Gartner internal sources and external secondary sources.
 Gartner also referenced information from external/third-party
sources to evaluate as part of this research.

Evaluation Criteria Definitions

Ability to Execute
Product/Service: Core goods and services offered by the vendor for
the defined market. This includes current product/service
capabilities, quality, feature sets, skills and so on, whether offered
natively or through OEM agreements/partnerships as defined in the
market definition and detailed in the subcriteria.
Overall Viability: Viability includes an assessment of the overall
organization's financial health, the financial and practical success
of the business unit, and the likelihood that the individual business
unit will continue investing in the product, will continue offering the
product and will advance the state of the art within the
organization's portfolio of products.

Sales Execution/Pricing: The vendor's capabilities in all presales

activities and the structure that supports them. This includes deal
management, pricing and negotiation, presales support, and the
overall effectiveness of the sales channel.

Market Responsiveness/Record: Ability to respond, change

direction, be flexible and achieve competitive success as
opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolve and
market dynamics change. This criterion also considers the vendor's
history of responsiveness.

Marketing Execution: The clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of

programs designed to deliver the organization's message to
influence the market, promote the brand and business, increase
awareness of the products, and establish a positive identification
with the product/brand and organization in the minds of buyers. This
"mind share" can be driven by a combination of publicity,
promotional initiatives, thought leadership, word of mouth and sales
activities.

Customer Experience: Relationships, products and

services/programs that enable clients to be successful with the
products evaluated. Specifically, this includes the ways customers
receive technical support or account support. This can also include
ancillary tools, customer support programs (and the quality thereof),
availability of user groups, service-level agreements and so on.

Operations: The ability of the organization to meet its goals and

commitments. Factors include the quality of the organizational
structure, including skills, experiences, programs, systems and
other vehicles that enable the organization to operate effectively
and efficiently on an ongoing basis.

Completeness of Vision
Market Understanding: Ability of the vendor to understand buyers'
wants and needs and to translate those into products and services.
Vendors that show the highest degree of vision listen to and
understand buyers' wants and needs, and can shape or enhance
those with their added vision.

Marketing Strategy: A clear, differentiated set of messages

consistently communicated throughout the organization and
externalized through the website, advertising, customer programs
and positioning statements.

Sales Strategy: The strategy for selling products that uses the
appropriate network of direct and indirect sales, marketing, service,
and communication affiliates that extend the scope and depth of
market reach, skills, expertise, technologies, services and the
customer base.

Offering (Product) Strategy: The vendor's approach to product

development and delivery that emphasizes differentiation,
functionality, methodology and feature sets as they map to current
and future requirements.

Business Model: The soundness and logic of the vendor's

underlying business proposition.

Vertical/Industry Strategy: The vendor's strategy to direct

resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of
individual market segments, including vertical markets.

Innovation: Direct, related, complementary and synergistic layouts

of resources, expertise or capital for investment, consolidation,
defensive or pre-emptive purposes.

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.
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