Released on Tuesday, Gartner’s first-ever Magic Quadrant for Event Technology Platforms report assessed thirteen platforms and plotted them according to each brand’s “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.” Bizzabo, Cvent, and RainFocus were named leaders as the only platforms in the top quadrant.
The “completeness of vision” criteria is a proxy for each company’s understanding of the market, its strategic approach and how this leads to product development. The “ability to execute” is a proxy for the overall viability of the product, how it is marketed and sold, and the overall customer experience.
Bizzabo
Bizzabo scored highest in “completeness of vision,” narrowingly beating Cvent and RainFocus. In the report, Gartner highlights the wearable technology’s “advanced on-site tracking functionality” as one of Bizzabo’s strengths, also commending Bizzabo’s thought leadership and content initiatives.
Bizzabo acquired Klik, a Canadian startup, in November 2021 for $13.5 million. Before that, in late 2020, it had secured $140 million of funding. Interactive badging technology, such as the rebranded and integrated Klik SmartBadge, remains uncommon in the market. Pairing it with a fully featured platform makes Bizzabo’s offering unique. The company recently announced a study demonstrating that Klik SmartBadge delivers an almost 400% increase in exhibitor leads.
“We set out to transform the event industry with a modern, open Event Experience Operating System that enables organizers to customize every event experience with powerful, best-in-class integrations and apps. Being named a leader by Gartner validates our efforts and reinforces our commitment to moving the industry forward with exciting offerings like the Klik SmartBadge,” said Eran Ben-Shushan, CEO and co-founder of Bizzabo.
Cvent
Cvent was clearly on top regarding “ability to execute,” followed by RainFocus, with Bizzabo coming in third. According to the report, the main strengths of Cvent’s Event Marketing and Management Platform lie in its robust reporting and analytics capabilities and its ability to centralize all events in one platform. The report also highlighted the company’s thought leadership on in-person events and its academy, which has trained around 86,000 people.
RainFocus
The report recognizes RainFocus’s expertise in event data. It highlights the platform’s ability to unify event data across multiple events into a global attendee profile. It also recognizes the company’s higher-than-average customer retention and high customer satisfaction within a mainly enterprise client base.
“We’re closely aligned with the movements of the industry, providing the best technology, solutions, and integrations to help our clients move the needle within their businesses. We believe that’s why we’ve been named a leader and recognized for our accomplishments and strategic partnerships. For us, it validates our commitment to our clients’ success,” said JR Sherman, CEO of RainFocus
Challengers Wanted
RingCentral Events (formerly Hopin), Splash, and vFairs were named “visionaries,” rated in the top half for “completeness of vision” but in the lower half for “ability to execute.” VFairs stands out from this group with a higher score in both metrics, making it the closest challenger to the top three.
6Connex, Brandlive, Cisco (Webex Events), EventMobi, Kaltura, Stova and Zoom (Zoom Events) were named “niche players,” all scoring in the lower half for both criteria.
No brands we considered “challengers,” a quadrant reserved for brands with high “ability to execute” but low “completeness of vision.” This gap suggests that event technology platforms face a significant execution challenge when looking to scale.
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) in various guises made the development roadmap for ten of the 13 platforms.
The Evaluation Method
Gartner defines event technology platforms as “tools that enable B2B marketers to execute virtual and/or in-person events for external audiences.” The criteria for report inclusion included at least $10 million in revenue and a baseline number of new customers. Gartner also requires strong customer interest, which it assesses through client trend data, social media, and search analysis.
This is Gartner’s first report of its kind. In June 2023, it released its Market Guide for Event Technology Platforms, with a similar list of event technology platforms.
Gartner’s evaluation included a survey, executive briefing, demo video, confidential customer interviews, and “Gartner Peer Insights” reviews. The publisher makes it clear that it “does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications.” It also “does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation.”
Gartner itself appears to be bullish on event technology. The report reveals some of the key trends shaping the market. These include consolidation, competition from adjacent markets, and the introduction of AI. Also discussed is the rise of smaller regional events, which may curtail the need for complex event technology.