11 November 2024

The 2024 Analyst Relations Forum, hosted at the University of Edinburgh Business School by its Analyst Observatory, revealed critical insights into how industry analyst firms create and maintain technology market categories. In their award-winning research presentation on June 27 2024, Neil Pollock and Rory Duncan examined how analyst firms adapt their classifications to market realities.

A central finding is that category lifespans are shortening dramatically. As Rory Duncan explained based on his experience at IDC: "Since the beginning of the pandemic, the life cycle of categories has increased quite rapidly, and that's because there's a real push for analysts to come up with the new category, the next new category."

The research identifies practical constraints shaping category creation. For example, Magic Quadrants are limited to 15-25 vendors for visual clarity. When markets become overcrowded, this drives category splitting. One vendor described the impact: "We were in a category that got put into another category that was completely different. So now there's this oversaturated category that people don't really fit into."

Category changes significantly affect competition. Some vendors respond by actively working to shape new categories. Others maintain positions through sustained analyst engagement. The research suggests successful vendors develop capabilities to adapt as categories shift.