The importance of Gartner Magic Quadrant research to assess vendors and their technologies is well known. The Critical Capabilities is a sister document, published in conjunction with the MQ. In the MQ, Gartner synthesizes numerous inputs into two broad groups; “Ability to Execute” and “Completeness of Vision”, and then plotting them on a graph, Gartner provides users interested in procuring a specific solution for a given IT challenge an objective, holistic method to drive their decision process in the context of their unique business needs. For many buyers, it serves as a short list of vendors to contact.

VIAVI, through the Observer solution, has been a participant in the Gartner Network Performance Monitoring and Diagnostics (NPMD) Magic Quadrant research for many years. First published in 2014, we’ve racked up six straight consecutive Leadership titles with the most recent this past February.

Gartner Magic Quadrant

So, what is the Critical Capabilities research and how does it relate to the Magic Quadrant?

The short answer: it complements the Magic Quadrant by analyzing the same vendor and solution data in the context of how it’s used. Gartner calls these “use cases”. We call it how a vendor’s features are tested in the real-world—where the “rubber hits the road”.

The two—Magic Quadrant and Critical Capabilities—go together and generally are released simultaneously. Gartner states in the most recent NPMD Critical Capabilities “We strongly recommend that organizations use this research in conjunction with the Magic Quadrant, inquiries with Gartner analysts and other Gartner research to define their requirements and select the solutions that match their needs.”

In the case of NPMD, there are five use cases:

  • Network Operator
  • Network Architect
  • IT Operations Generalist
  • IT Operations Manager
  • Line-of-Business User

According to Gartner, there are five critical capabilities on which to measure a given NPMD vendor solution. They include:

  • Endpoint/component/link monitoring
  • Service delivery monitoring
  • Diagnostics
  • AIOps
  • Integration and interoperability

As you can probably imagine, each use case emphasizes a unique mix of these five critical capabilities. Weighting is adjusted accordingly to account for these differences. A network operator, for example would require more diagnostics capabilities to solve specific problems whereas a line-of-business user would more likely be interested in service level monitoring (high-level dashboards).

VIAVI is proud that as with the NPMD Magic Quadrant, Observer is at the forefront of the industry scoring #1 in three use cases (Network Operator, Network Architect, and IT Operations Generalist) and #2 for IT Operations Manager and Line-of-Business User. This easily tops all other vendors. Here’s an example of the results for network operators:

Gartner Critical Capabilities - Network Operator Use Case

What’s the bottom line? You need to maximize your IT investments across the organization, improve collaboration, and provide staff with the best NPMD product in the market. Observer is that solution and is designed to exceed the needs of all users providing them the information they need in a format best suited for their unique demands.

A complimentary copy of the Critical Capabilities report, with all five use case results and supporting information is available as is the Magic Quadrant.

To learn more about the Observer solution for security and performance management, visit our website or request a demonstration.

About The Author

Solution Marketing Manager, Enterprise & Cloud Business Unit

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