Gartner's Magic Questioned

In the US, performance intelligence specialist NetScout Systems has filed a lawsuit against tech research firm Gartner, claiming the latter's 'Magic Quadrant' research rewards companies who buy the firm's services. Gartner says the case is 'completely without merit'.

In the complaint, brought this week in Connecticut Superior Court and citing the state's Unfair Trade Practices Act, sues for corporate defamation via a jury trial, claiming that clients who spend substantial sums on its services are more likely to be ranked favorably in its much-quoted Magic Quadrant research reports. It links the behavior to that of Wall Street investment banks who also provide analysis on companies that are their fee-paying clients, and says Gartner's reports have damaged NetScout's reputation and lost it potential business.

NetScout was founded in 1984 by current CEO Anil Singhal and had revenues of $397m in its latest fiscal year, 2014.

Gartner SVP Andrew Spender in a statement quoted on www.betaboston.com said that while it was not the company's practice to discuss pending litigation, 'we do consider this complaint to be completely without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously against the allegations'. He added: 'We stand by the processes we use in creating our Magic Quadrants and remain committed to providing our clients with independent research and advice about the products and services that we cover and upon which they have relied for decades.'

Yesterday, Gartner announced impressive growth in its second quarter results.

Web sites: www.netscout.com and www.gartner.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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