Viewpoint
For over a decade, the Magic Quadrant (MQ) for Primary Storage has remained largely unchanged, with little movement among the leaders. Published by IT consulting firm Gartner, MQ is a series of market research reports demonstrating market trends, such as direction, maturity and participants. Industry insiders now suggest that Gartner may be shifting its standard criteria and methodology to favour firms that can integrate with hyperscalers: large cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
This proposed shift could negatively impact most MQ leaders and businesses, resulting in significant market distortion. Apart from the political connotations, the forced dominance of a few players could lead to a range of negative consequences, including reduced competition and innovation, higher business costs, and increased vendor lock-in. Indeed, the ripple effects could be far-reaching if the market increasingly centralises around a few powerful entities. Such a concentration of power could also reduce the availability of specialised solutions, potentially resulting in long-term economic distortions and increased regulatory and systemic risks.
Industry experts stress the importance of maintaining a balanced ecosystem. This is crucial to ensure the market continues to deliver innovation, flexibility, and customer-centric solutions. Rather than narrowing the market to favour select players in one region, they advocate for open standards and interoperability to best serve the diverse needs of businesses and industries. While the expected changes have yet to be officially announced by Gartner, many vendors, particularly those in regions outside the USA, are closely monitoring the situation. As the industry braces for these potential shifts, it remains crucial for vendors and their customers across the globe to advocate for a fair and competitive market that benefits all stakeholders, ensuring that no region or sector is left behind. After all, history shows that creating oligopolies is not in anyone’s interest – to be continued.