Gartner strives to reproduce company and product names exactly as they appear on a vendor’s website. The foundation of our style is the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook. However, we sometimes break with AP in an effort to ensure that our research represents what our clients see in the marketplace.
Gartner applies the following style points when presenting company and product names:
Company names are presented in full on first reference, as they appear on the “About the Company” page of a company’s website. Capitalization, spelling, spacing and punctuation are reproduced exactly. However, we do not reproduce “textual effects” such as backward letters, bold or italic type, and varying point sizes and fonts.
When the About the Company page gives contradictory guidance, we present the longest version of the name on first reference, but only if the longer name appears in logos, addresses, headings or text. We do not consider the copyright line or sections that can be construed as “legalistic” or “fine print” (e.g., an opt-in box for receiving a newsletter). We do not rely on the logo for guidance on spacing or capitalization.
Product names are treated the same as company names, and the product landing page is the gold standard for determining the proper presentation.
Ampersands are used only if they are part of the company’s formal name, but not otherwise in place of “and.”
A lowercase “the” is used unless it is part of the company’s formal name.
“Inc.,” “Corp.,” “GmbH” and similar abbreviations are omitted, as are their expanded forms (e.g., “Incorporated”).
Company and product names are rendered as current at the time of publication. Gartner does not update published research after company rebranding efforts, mergers or acquisitions.
We do not reproduce trademark, copyright or service mark symbols.
- In our Magic Quadrant graphics, we include acquired companies in parentheses when one of the following is true:
- The acquisition happened within the last 12 months or since the last Magic Quadrant on this topic was published.
- The acquired company continues to live on as a discrete entity (e.g., has its own website and a separate About Us page).
- Our primary concern is providing clarity for our clients, and we reserve the right to vary from this guidance when gray areas emerge. The client experience will always be paramount.