Determine which vendors have the strongest combination of disruptive capabilities and execution potential.
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Navigate Emerging Technology Markets With Confidence
Gartner Emerging Market Quadrants give technology leaders and providers a clear framework for understanding fast-moving markets, evaluating vendors and making key decisions.
Use Emerging Market Quadrants to:
Evaluate vendors to partner with, acquire or invest in
Assess shortlists for near-term tech buying decisions
Compare established and startup ecosystems
Three critical decisions.
One trusted framework.
How Emerging Market Quadrants work
Each quadrant signals a distinct profile of capability and risk to help you match vendors to your organization’s decision criteria.
1. Market shapers
Market shapers are the companies most likely to drive substantial change — if not significant disruption — in an emerging market. They combine strong disruptive capabilities with the operational capacity to bring them to market effectively.
2. Pacesetters
Pacesetters are likely to drive incremental innovations. They bring steady, augmentative evolution to an emerging market.
3. Pioneers
Pioneers are pursuing substantial and potentially disruptive change in an emerging market but have yet to fully prove their go-to-market ability. Their offerings come at potentially lower cost but carry more risk.
4. Specialists
Specialists are generally smaller vendors driving incremental innovations in an emerging market. They are less proven, which may mean more risk, but also more flexibility and lower cost.
Emerging Market Quadrants FAQs
What is an Emerging Market Quadrant?
An Emerging Market Quadrant is a visual snapshot, analysis and set of insights that describe an emerging technology market, examine key trends and highlight key providers and their capabilities. It uses a two-by-two matrix to evaluate providers on their potential for market disruption and ability to execute.
How are vendors selected for an Emerging Market Quadrant?
Gartner focuses on the most relevant providers for its clients, based on criteria like value maturity, competitive advantages, financial resources and key partnerships. Vendors not deemed relevant by the authoring team may be mentioned as Notable Vendors but are not included in the Emerging Market Quadrant analysis itself.
What criteria does Gartner use to evaluate vendors?
Vendors are evaluated on up to eight weighted criteria across two categories:
Potential for Market Disruption: measures how likely a company’s innovation is to change the market. It could either improve existing technology in a limited way or completely replace current solutions across a wide range of applications.
Potential to Execute: factors that indicate the provider’s ability to effectively achieve their market disruption potential.
Why aren’t all vendors included in an Emerging Market Quadrant?
Due to the scope and focus on execution and market disruption potential, only the most relevant vendors are included. Various criteria, such as ecosystem affinity and depth of market impact, help Gartner analysts form their opinions. Exclusion does not mean a vendor is not viable or competitive.
How are vendors evaluated and placed on an Emerging Market Quadrant?
Every vendor is assessed against eight weighted criteria across two axes. Placement is based on providers’ capabilities relative to each other — not against an absolute scale. This means the quadrant reflects the real competitive dynamics of the market at the time of publication.
Should I use an Emerging Market Quadrant as my sole vendor selection tool?
No. Emerging Market Quadrants are a starting point. Gartner recommends using them alongside other insights, such as Critical Capabilities, Magic Quadrants, Peer Insights and discussions with analysts.
Is there a difference between the established and startup vendor versions of the Emerging Market Quadrant?
Yes. Because established and startup vendors have fundamentally different risk profiles, maturity levels and decision dynamics, Gartner may publish separate Emerging Market Quadrants. This provides a clear view of the full vendor landscape, regardless of what stage of growth a provider is in.
How is an Emerging Market Quadrant different from a Magic Quadrant?
Magic Quadrants evaluate vendors in established, mature markets where there is a clear market definition and significant vendor history. Emerging Market Quadrants are purpose-built for markets still taking shape — those with fewer providers, evolving definitions and rapidly changing competitive landscapes.
Does being a Gartner client influence a vendor’s inclusion or position?
No. Gartner maintains strict independence and objectivity. Vendor status as a Gartner client does not affect inclusion or positioning.
Evaluate vendors and markets with Gartner Magic Quadrant, Gartner Emerging Market Quadrant, Critical Capabilities and exclusive insights.
