Gartner

Gartner, Inc. is an American research and advisory firm focusing on business and technology topics. Gartner provides its products and services through research reports, conferences, and consulting. Its clients include large corporations, government agencies, technology companies, and investment firms.

A graphical representation of a hype cycle, showing the stages of maturity, adoption, and social application of a new technology

Operations

Gartner is a research and advisory firm<ref name="Reuters2025">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Feintzeig">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Serwerquote">Template:Cite news</ref> with three business segments: research, conferences, and consulting. As of December 2024, Gartner has over 21,000 employees globally and operates in 90 countries and territories. It is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.<ref name="Schott">Template:Cite news</ref> Gene A. Hall is the chief executive officer.<ref name="Serwer">Template:Cite news</ref>

Gartner is a publicly traded company listed on the S&P 500.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

1980s

Gideon Gartner and David Stein founded Gartner, Inc. in 1979<ref name=Johnsonquote>Template:Cite news</ref> to provide IT industry research and analysis to businesses buying and selling computer hardware.<ref name=Malonis>Template:Cite book</ref> Gideon Gartner had previously worked at IBM, and his new firm specialized in information about IBM and its products.<ref name=Pollock2>Template:Cite book</ref>

Gartner's reports were often delivered as a one-pager containing only high-level insights.<ref name=Pollock>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Gagner>Template:Cite news</ref> Gartner analysts developed the Magic Quadrant visual framework of placing companies within defined market quadrants during the early 1980s<ref name=Pollock4>Template:Cite book</ref> and began to integrate the methodology into their presentations and later reports.<ref name=Pollock5>Template:Cite book</ref> By 1983, the firm employed 80 research analysts and generated $8 million in revenue.<ref name="Johnsonquotetwo">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1985, Gartner's brokerage and investment division separated from the firm to become a wholly owned subsidiary called Gartner Securities.<ref name=NYT>Template:Cite news</ref> Two years later, the name was changed to SoundView Financial Group,<ref name=Sommar>Template:Cite news</ref> which eventually operated as SoundView Technology Group.<ref name=Reuters>Template:Cite news</ref>

In July 1986, Gartner rebranded as Gartner Group and became a publicly traded company.<ref name=Tribune>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Walters>Template:Cite news</ref> In January 1987, Gartner Group acquired another technology research firm, the Cupertino-based Infocorp.<ref name=WaltersTwo>Template:Cite news</ref> That same year Gartner reported $25 million in sales and $1.9 million in earnings.<ref name=TribuneTwo>Template:Cite news</ref>

The U.K.-based Saatchi & Saatchi acquired Gartner Group in 1988.<ref name=TribuneTwo/><ref name=NYT1988>Template:Cite news</ref>

1990s

In 1990, Gartner Group was taken private by Gideon Gartner and other executives<ref name=KevinCooks>Template:Cite news</ref> in an acquisition deal backed by funding from Bain Capital and Dun & Bradstreet, then a Bain client.<ref name=Schattle>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Edelman>Template:Cite news</ref> Under Bain ownership, Gartner refocused on IT industry pricing data and expanded its profit margins from 10 percent to 30 percent.<ref name=Zook>Template:Cite book</ref> Dun & Bradstreet acquired a majority share in Gartner in 1993.<ref name=CW>Template:Cite news</ref>

Gartner went public again in October 1993, with Dun & Bradstreet maintaining a 50 percent stake.<ref name=Lohr>Template:Cite news</ref>

Over the next eight years, Gartner acquired or made substantial investments in 30 companies,<ref name=Ferranti>Template:Cite news</ref> including the market research firm Dataquest<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the online news outlet TechRepublic.<ref name=DJNYT>Template:Cite news</ref> The deals were part of a diversification strategy that coincided with the dot-com bubble, and Gartner acknowledged that it struggled to integrate these new companies into its operations.<ref name=Ferrantitwo>Template:Cite news</ref> Gartner sold TechRepublic to CNET only a year after acquiring the company.<ref name=Heim>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1995, Gartner introduced its hype cycle framework, which purported to show how emerging technology is applied and adopted over a typical life cycle.<ref name=Pollock3>Template:Cite book</ref>

2000s–present

In August 2004, Gene A. Hall became Gartner's new CEO,<ref name=Forbes>Template:Cite news</ref> replacing Michael D. Fleisher.<ref name=WSJ>Template:Cite news</ref> Hall previously worked with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company before managing a division at Automatic Data Processing.<ref name=Soule>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2008, Gartner reached $1.3 billion in revenues and achieved 40 percent of the IT research market.<ref name=Zooktwo>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2009, Gartner acquired AMR Research, a Boston-based research and advisory firm focused on supply chain management.<ref name=Savitz>Template:Cite news</ref> The acquisition of AMR and direct competitors like META Group<ref name=Weil>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Burton Group<ref name=Harvey>Template:Cite news</ref> allowed Gartner to expand its global operations<ref name=Bernard>Template:Cite journal</ref> and product and service offerings.<ref name=TWW>Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2014, Gartner announced that it had acquired the privately held company Software Advice for an undisclosed amount.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Also in 2014, Gartner coined the term "Digital BizOps" and further developed the early philosophy for digital business operations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2015, Gartner acquired Nubera, the business app discovery network that owns properties like GetApp (a peer review site), AppStorm, AppAppeal, and CloudWork. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2015, it acquired the privately held peer review site (PRS)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Capterra.

In June 2016, Gartner announced that it had acquired the privately held company SCM World, headquartered in London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, Gartner acquired CEB, an Arlington-based talent management and operations consulting firm, for $2.6 billion.<ref name=Gregg>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The deal included $700 million in CEB debt.<ref name=Dignan>Template:Cite news</ref> Two months later, Gartner further expanded its marketing offerings<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with the acquisition of Scott Galloway's digital benchmarking firm L2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Soule2017>Template:Cite news</ref>

On May 26, 2023 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled charges against Gartner for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The SEC asserted that from approximately December 2014 through August 2015 Gartner had a corrupt relationship with a South African company with close ties to the South African government, which Gartner knew would result in official bribery.<ref name=SEC-FCPA>Template:Cite web</ref> In the settlement, the SEC ordered Gartner to stop violating the FCPA and Gartner agreed to pay $2,456,764.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The SEC made note that Gartner was open and cooperative.<ref name=Stanford>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Gartner hype cycle, a graphical presentation developed by Gartner
• Magic Quadrant, a market research report type published by Gartner
• SoundView Technology Group, founded as a financial service for Gartner

External links

• Template:Official website