Gartner is globally respected for its research into all things tech-related, and so it is a trusted authority on a number of topics, of which endpoint security is just one.

Each year it provides an in-depth evaluation of top solutions in this space, thus helping businesses to pick the right package for their needs.

Exploring how Gartner endpoint protection platforms are analyzed and ranked is beneficial, so let’s go through the techniques and tactics that it deploys in this process.

The role of the Magic Quadrant

The cornerstone of Gartner’s research is the Magic Quadrant; a way of categorizing different types of vendors within a given space according to the values they represent and their relative competitiveness as weighed against their ambitions.

The four quadrants are composed of Challengers, Leaders, Niche Players, and Visionaries. Leaders are ahead of their rivals, as you might expect, both offering a vision for their products and services, as well as the resources to follow through on their promises.

Visionaries may have innovative ideas, but lack the means to back them up. Challengers may be dominant in a sector, but could be stifled through a deficit of long-term insight. Niche players limit their scope to particular market segments, or simply don’t stand up to scrutiny.

The factors at play

In terms of endpoint security solutions, Gartner explores platforms that adhere to a number of criteria, such as malware prevention, breach investigation, and threat detection.

A specific focus of the most recent overview of this market is that of evasive threats; those which are more advanced than traditional malware creations and are built to avoid detection, thus necessitating more advanced strategies from endpoint security platform providers.

Automation is another must-have asset for solutions in this space. And the rise of the cloud means that Gartner analysts predict that 95% of services will be deployed from remote data centers rather than being installed remotely within the next two years.

The monitoring and analysis of suspicious activity on endpoint devices both internally and externally is considered important. It is this holistic approach to security that helps certain providers to gain the upper hand, while leaving others at a disadvantage.

Just 19 companies in total were deemed worthy of appearing in the Magic Quadrant for endpoint security solutions in 2021. While its findings are of course open to interpretation and debate, it is useful to have this framework when deciding whether to invest in a particular platform, or not.

The leading lights

While there are some base level considerations to which providers must adhere, it is perhaps more important to look at the assets of leaders that have enabled them to pull away from the pack and innovate in endpoint security.

Commitment to the cloud seems to be a unifying feature among the top-rated brands in the latest round of evaluations carried out by Gartner. This makes sense, since much of the business world’s IT needs have been shifted off-premises in the past decade, and cyber security definitely stands to benefit from a similar approach.

Automation is again an instrumental ability in determining the worthiness of threat detection platforms. And the providers that are able to weed out issues proactively, rather than passively responding to them, are more readily praised by researchers.

Final thoughts

Keeping tabs on the evaluations of endpoint security solutions that Gartner publishes is wise for organizations of all sizes. Likewise, the transparency of the criteria used to evaluate providers and the methods used to assess them lets us trust the Magic Quadrant.

It is also useful to see the ebb and flow of industry trends picked out in this process, as brands jockey for position year on year.