Gartner MQ for Data Center Backup & Recovery Solutions: What a Ride It’s Been

I’ve been in the tech industry too many years to count (20+ if you check my LinkedIn) and had the pleasure to work with a great many analysts and analyst firms – some still thriving and some now gone (Meta, Burton Group anyone?). Gartner is arguably one of the most influential analyst firms on the planet with over 140 MQs. And never have I been more proud to announce that in its inaugural appearance, Cohesity is a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for DataCenter Backup and Recovery Solutions. You can download the full report here.

Throughout my career, however, I have never seen an MQ so fraught with drama! What with analysts being hired away and some vendors challenging results, it certainly has been a topsy turvy road to the release of this one. And this MQ is much needed, as the data management market and security landscape have changed substantially since early 2018, and even more so since 2017. (For those not following this soap opera-like saga, the 2018 MQ was cancelled by Gartner due to a vendor hiring away three analysts after all the vendors had already submitted their information to Gartner.)

There’s some hue and cry about this MQ, but having worked in WiFi, collaboration, and mobile security, I can say that most analyst firms, including Gartner, run rigorous processes to determine vendor standing. They certainly don’t base it on who’s on the board, instead typically requiring completion of an extensive questionnaire, one or more briefings, and multiple, global customer interviews. Professional analyst relations individuals work to understand the analysts questions or concerns, and develop a plan to address those areas. Good analysts provide insightful feedback based on global customer understanding and companies often adjust their product strategy as a result to better serve the market.

Is it worth all this work? I’d say yes.You might say ‘well of course Cohesity would say that.’ But let’s consider the customer view.

Most IT organizations have been squeezed in terms of personnel and time over the last decade. I meet many IT leaders in my travels, and it’s not unusual for the individual responsible for backup and data protection to also be responsible for all networking and storage, in addition to the help desk, managing their department, running a tight budget and reporting up to the CIO or CEO.

In a crowded tech marketplace, many IT leaders are looking for a framework to shorten their decision making process. Does this mean they are abdicating their decision to an analyst firm? Heck no. Each business is unique with their own specific environment and requirements, so IT leaders use an analyst rating as one data point as they make their own determination. Most will still conduct their own evaluation, and even do a proof of concept, to determine the best fit for their organization.

Which is why I’m so proud that in our inaugural MQ, Cohesity is positioned as more visionary than any other vendor in the leaders quadrant. This is not a new market segment like all flash or HCI, but rather one that has existed for more than two decades. I have great respect for the incumbents in this market who are multi-billion $ organizations. At the same time, it’s nice to have global brands like AutoNation, Australian Football League, LendingClub, Northern Trust, Ørsted, Schneider Electric, Statnett, and the U.S. Federal Government including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and USDA adopting Cohesity. We’re thrilled to have just announced a 100% year over year increase in our software revenues. But to also have Gartner recognize that Cohesity is setting a new agenda in this market is a great compliment. Our vision is to reshape traditional backup and recovery from an expensive insurance policy, to a modern data management solution where backup data can play an important role in the business through a:

• Software-defined, web-scale platform that spans seamlessly across clouds and data centers
• Global management console that allows you to search and manage your data from a single UI no matter where it resides
• Ability to run apps against backup data to provide intelligent insights – like providing early warnings of ransomware attacks in progress and checking data for compliance with regulatory standards such as GDPR

So do your own homework, and if you’re ready for drama-free backup and recovery for your business, I invite you to consider Cohesity.