A Tale of Cool Vendors
BY GARTNER OBSERVATORY
A RESEARCH PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

OR

Definition
Cool Vendor
Intriguing
Impactful
Innovative

Selection Criteria
Lesser-known
companies
No MQ
appearances
Less than
100m in
Revenues
No Public
companies
Compelling
or unique

Selection Process
o Vendors cannot apply for Cool Vendors.
o “No Vendors should know they are being considered.”
May
Cool Vendors
special Report
is Published
March-April
Analysts write
Cool Vendors
Reports
February
Cool Vendors
Management
Selects Cool
Vendors
January
Analysts
nominate Cool
Vendor
Candidates

2017
*Since 2004, Gartner has profiled
more than 2,900 Cool Vendors.

Operating Status of Cool Vendors (2010-2016)
77.20% 79.40% 84.50% 88.50% 89.40% 94.10%
19.70%
17.50%
15.20%
10.20% 10.10%
5.90%
3.10% 3.10% 0.30% 1.30% 0.50% 0
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Operating Acquired Out of Business

Small Business Failure Rates
1 out of 5 new businesses survive past their first year of operation.
3 out of 10 new companies “fail to survive” for more than 24 months.
50% of start-ups fail after operating for 4 years.
Fewer than 50% of businesses survive more than 5 years.

Small Business Failure Rates
1 out of 5 new businesses survive past their first year of operation.
3 out of 10 new companies “fail to survive” for more than 24 months.
50% of start-ups fail after operating for 4 years.
Fewer than 50% of businesses survive more than 5 years.
“80% of entrepreneurs starting a business fail
within the first 18 months！”

Official survival rates of UK and US businesses (born 2011-2015)
79.90%
69.30%
61.50%
56.30%
51.40%
93.10%
75.60%
60.50%
51%
44.10%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
US UK
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, US; Office for National Statistics, UK

Compared with CV Survival Rates
79.90%
69.30%
61.50%
56.30%
51.40%
93.10%
75.60%
60.50%
51%
44.10%
94.10%
89.40% 88.50%
84.50%
79.40%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
US UK CV
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, US; Office for National Statistics, UK

References
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/small-business-central/2017/05/21/what-
percentage-of-businesses-fail-in-their-first-year/101260716/
• http://www.waspbarcode.com/buzz/reasons-small-businesses-fail/
• https://www.statisticbrain.com/startup-failure-by-industry/
• https://www.fundivo.com/stats/small-business-survival-rates/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericwagner/2013/09/12/five-reasons-8-out-of-10-businesses-
fail/#7d658db76978
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, US
• Office for National Statistics, UK
• Gartner Reports in 2017

Cool Vendor Case Studies

9
3
1
1
Year Distribution
2017 2014 2013 2012
10
2
1
1
Geographic Distribution
US* UK* Germany Demark
*Companies have offices in Asia.
Case Studies Overview

Who is the Cool Vendor? Where is it based?
Who & Where
How did they manage to win?
How
Important or Not important, why?
Why
What has been done to utilise the Cool Vendor?
What
It would be helpful if…
Wish
Case Studies Components

Main Findings – 5C’s
• Criteria
• Coverage
o Geography
o Industry
• Communication
o Before nomination
o After nomination
• Cost
o Cool Vendor designation
o Other Gartner services
• Credit

Cool Vendor In Human Capital Management, 2017
Game-Based Assessments  People Analytics
UK & Singapore
Who &
Where
Heads-up by analysts, but no more informationHow
Calls from Venture Capital
Unclear usage and budget restrictionsWhy
Unclear ROI, usage restriction, tight budget  done nothingWhat
Light version of service package
Cool Vendor ForumWish

Cool Vendor In Advertising, 2017
Marketing performance management
US
Who &
Where
Unique services / products
Good analyst relationship
US location
How
Sales & marketing
Recruitment & team moraleWhy
Cool Vendor Logo on website, sales & demo deck, presentationsWhat
Guidance on interaction with more analystsWish

Cool Vendor In Identity & Access Management, 2014
IoT Smart Products Platform in the cloud
UK
Who &
Where
Targeted analysts
Investments from Cisco and Samsung in early 2014
Industry conferences
How
Marketing – attention from research firms
Team moraleWhy
Twits, Blogs, corporate credentials
Ongoing communication processWhat
Analysts to overcome thinking models and conservativeness.Wish

Cool Vendor In The Digital Workplace, 2017
Intranet solution built on SharePoint
Demark
Who &
Where
Didn’t target any analysts, not aware of Cool VendorHow
Cool Vendor has more recognition, impact and potential in the US
Sales & marketing – ‘stamp for quality’Why
Restricted use due to Gartner policy
Talk to potential customers / partners, in PR, online job openingsWhat
Gartner be more open
Change timing of designation (summer holiday)Wish

Cool Vendor In Automotive Electronics, 2017
Data capture platform to improve driver assistance systems
US
Who &
Where
No idea of winning Cool Vendor until our interviewHow
No need to work with analystsWhy
N/AWhat
N/AWish

Cool Vendor In Education, 2014
Deliver lifelike interactive experience by AR/VR technology
US
Who &
Where
Strong leader with focused strategy
Unleash the passion within analystsHow
Reputation of Gartner
Cool Vendor  credibilityWhy
Press release
investors deck, high level presentations
Awards section on career’s webpage
What
Explicit mention of Cool Vendor by GartnerWish

Cool Vendor In Ai For Legal Affairs, 2017
Predict the likelihood of winning with a specific case strategy
US
Who &
Where
Didn’t know the award existed
Not much interaction with analystsHow
Special customer base  No big impact as Cool Vendor
Form of validationWhy
Social mediaWhat
More communication and support from GartnerWish

Cool Vendor In Content Services, 2017
Content solution
Files  logical data components
US
Who &
Where
Active analysts relations: 20 analysts, 3-4 calls/week for 4-5 months
Constructive feedback on product
Product demo
How
Network expansion, publicity & clients referral
Raise internal moraleWhy
Cool Vendor badge
Cool Vendor report
Cool Vendor logo (email & business card)
What
Their Gartner representative "is absolutely fantastic“!

Cool Vendor In Education, 2014
Identify and monitor student while learning online
US
Who &
Where
Not actively in contact with industry analystsHow
Approached by Gartner for case study & commercial activitiesWhy
Mention Cool Vendor in presentations and reports
Customer acquisition
Internal motivation
What
Gartner could reduce the time and money needed to investWish

Cool Vendor In Communications Service Provider
Operational And Business Infrastructure, 2012
Control and evaluate network performance
Germany
Who &
Where
Proactively talking to analysts to keep good relationshipsHow
Establish credibility, especially helpful in the beginningWhy
Press release and websiteWhat
More frequent and open communicationsWish

Cool Vendor In Cloud Security, 2017
Connect or enclave unified virtual overlay networks
US
Who &
Where
"We very much wanted to be a Cool Vendor.“How
CV has more longevity than other awards
Mentioned twelve times in two years
Access to analysts / clients / investors
Why
Invested a lot in Gartner's subscription and other services
Making the most of all the opportunitiesWhat
It’s all about relationships and you need to create a virtuous circle.
The investment definitely pays off.Advice

Cool Vendor In Semiconductors, 2013
Biosensor Solutions via mobile and wearable devices
US
Who &
Where
Little (try not to self-promote)How
Hard to measure and compare
Invitations to conferences and forumsWhy
Used Cool Vendor Logo but no noticeable differenceWhat
Research on ROI of different awardsWish

Cool Vendor In Digital Commerce, 2017
Combine real-time marketing with performance management
US
Who &
Where
Almost no relationship with industry analysts
Focus on product developmentHow
Not sure about the impactWhy
Talk a lot about it and name it on their websiteWhat
Follow-up call with the analysis one year after winning the CVWish

Cool Vendor In Unified Communications, 2017
Calendar data analysis and prediction
US
Who &
Where
Reach out to analysts quarterly
Relationship Gartner
Personal network
How
Great honour but not the best timingWhy
Press release
Social media postWhat
Gartner could support with pre-proofed media resource, and give access to
CV report.Wish

Dark Side of being a Cool Vendor?