Adobe Leads Gartner’s “Magic Quadrant” of Digital Marketing Hubs

After topping the Forrester Wave™ Enterprise Marketing Software Suites (EMSS) report in October, rising to the top of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant really drives home the power of Adobe Marketing Cloud (and was the ultimate early Christmas gift for all of us). Gartner’s comprehensive assessment compared and contrasted marketing clouds and suites from 17 vendors—more than double those mentioned in Forrester’s report—and pegged Adobe as a leader, with particularly standout marks in the two core leadership buckets: “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.” Overall, that puts us in the upper, upper quadrant, visibly leading the entire industry. And that’s exactly where we want to be—and intend to stay.

The report, which you can download here, is available for general use, but the final takeaway on Adobe Marketing Cloud is that this powerhouse solution excels where it matters most:

• Strategic vision, in which Adobe Marketing Cloud continues to evolve as a “suite of complementary solutions fueled by a set of shared services…”
• Focus on the marketer, including a build-out of legacy creative tools and a complete understanding of “marketers’ needs, stressing usability and collaboration,” while adding features directly emerging from user feedback
• Agency partnerships with organizations such as SAP, Publicis, and Accenture, which have fueled that strategic growth and ever-expanding vision

The report also cited Adobe Marketing Cloud’s “seamless workflow” and that its integrated approach, spanning six core platforms, has led to increased product usage—on average, clients use 1.5 products—as well as simple, smooth orchestration through the entire consumer workflow.

Another interesting note from Gartner’s assessment: many of the vendors included in this report are more advertising and data management than pure EMSS, as in the earlier deep-dive from Forrester Wave™. MediaMath, DataXu, Marin, and Turn, for example, made their way into this roundup, providing an even more in-depth view of the landscape and some of the more niche challenger solutions in the marketplace. And even then, when Gartner sliced and diced the data, reviews, vision, overall capabilities, and strength of the platforms, Adobe excelled.

This supports something we at Adobe tout in the marketplace every day: the world’s best brands have chosen our platforms, and now the experts at Gartner are throwing their unequivocal support behind those decisions. Adobe’s customer base reads like a “who’s who” across all industries: nine out of the top 10 online retailers and commercial banks; two-thirds of Fortune 100s; and across media, airlines, and global auto manufacturers, all of the top five leaders in their respective fields, just to name a few. If you aren’t among Adobe’s broad-reaching client base, now’s a great time to start the conversation—Adobe Marketing Cloud is growing and expanding by the minute, it seems, and there’s incredible opportunity for marketers from all corners of the business.

The scores have been tallied, the assessments made, and the final data published, and again Adobe Marketing Cloud leads the pack. A “visionary” and “leader”—and rising to the top of both of those Analyst reports—Adobe Marketing Cloud has distinguished itself where it matters most: with seamless integration and usability, comprehensive vision, and the ability to deliver meaningful, measurable, actionable solutions and successes to its clients and partners. The next step is simple: keep evolving, expanding, and delivering more value day after day.