Business process analysis tools continue to

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1 Magic Quadrant for Business Process Analysis Tools, 2006 Gartner RAS Core Research Note G , Michael J. Blechar, Jim Sinur, 27 February 2006 R Business process analysis tools continue to grow in importance as business managers and process architects seek to better understand, streamline and automate their business processes, and communicate their needs to IT professionals. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Business process analysis (BPA) and modeling is becoming a starting point for business process management (BPM) projects and compliance activities. Linkage to the BPM runtime workflow engines and business activity monitoring (BAM) markets is driving BPA into the mainstream. Understanding complex business processes is a significant challenge. The assistance of a tool with visualization and other features such as simulation and activity-based costing is essential to optimize business processes and realize BPM cost and time savings. BPA tools help define the business architecture portion of the enterprise architecture. Many BPA tools can also be used by technical, application and data architects to define the technical and information architectures. And, because most BPA tools have a shared repository for these models, it is possible to do change impact analysis across organizations and roles based on the interrelationships of their models. Still, BPA tools are primarily focused on business users and process architects although we see increased interest from IT organizations wanting to better understand how the business processes relate to, and are to be designed and implemented in, service-oriented architectures (SOAs). 1) What has been the growth rate for BPA tools during the past three to four years? The market revenue has consistently grown an average of 15 percent during the past several years. 2) What is their projected growth during the next few years? Expanding demand for business process modeling tools will result in at least a 10 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in market revenue through 2010 (0.8 probability). Growth rates for the BPA leaders who provide more return on investment due to functional and service differentiation and offerings from successful specialty/niche vendors will continue to be at the 15 percent rate. The number of BPA users will grow at significantly greater rates possibly with a CAGR as high as 20 percent or more offering greater opportunities for increased consulting service revenue and cross-product marketing for vendors with multiple BPM tools. But, due to commoditization of simple BPA tools and discounting by vendors offering business process management suites (BPMSs), the overall CAGR for BPA market revenue will probably be closer to 10 percent starting in The stability of BPA tool vendors is not just based on product sales. Most BPA vendors have a complementary set of consulting service offerings in areas such as business process methods and disciplines that can generate revenue at five times the BPA tool rate; therefore, the stability of the BPA tool market including smaller specialty/niche BPA vendors is greater than may appear at first glance. 3) Do you expect the BPA market to disappear at some point, due to the vendor consolidations and emergence of BPM suites? If so, when do you expect that to happen? We do not see the BPA market disappearing even in the long-term (that is, through 2015) although market consolidation of vendors has already begun. Interestingly, the BPA tool market will continue to attract a number of new players, especially BPM vendors with workflow execution engines and some limited BPA capabilities and other vendors with BPMSs having more-commoditized BPA offerings. At the same time, we expect consolidation in an overcrowded market. We anticipate that a number of small players, especially those coming late to the market or failing to address alliance partnerships and distribution channels, will be bought or slowly disappear. However, we expect the overall BPA tool adoption rate to accelerate as mainstream organizations get more involved with business process modeling in support of SOAs and in compliance with government mandates. Because BPMSs include a BPA technology as a key component, one can expect that many organizations will look to implement an integrated single-vendor solution

2 from large vendors, such as IBM, Oracle, Microsoft and SAP, or their strategic partners over the long term. However, other organizations will want to implement more vendor-neutral or best of breed multivendor BPMSs. Other enterprises will not implement BPMSs but will still want to model their business processes. Some enterprises will want to focus on more detailed (design-implement level) BPMS modeling using BPA in a tactical/operational nature (that is, focused more on the deployment of physical workflows in BPM tools) rather than on architectural to top-down BPA modeling. Moreover, there will continue to be niche opportunities for BPA tool vendors. Therefore, we expect to see specialty generally niche BPA vendors flourish. (Examples of this include E.G. Nimbus for planning, Powersim for systems dynamics, Scitor for the government sector, Lanner for deep simulation, BusinessGenetics for methodology driven and N5 as a low-cost provider alternative for SAP application package implementations.) MAGIC QUADRANT Market Overview As indicated in The Seven Business Process Analysis Scenarios of Focus, there are multiple audiences in the enterprise that can find value from BPA tools, including those with a: Business process architect focus BPMS focus Business user focus Integration architect focus Application development focus Enterprise and technical architect focus Data architect focus ability to execute Therefore, when rating vendors and products, it is necessary to account for these multiple possible usages; hence, what is reflected in our rating is a composite view of how well vendors address the breadth of possible usage. However, because we hear from Gartner customers a greater desire to meet the needs of those modeling business processes from an architectural point of view, our emphasis is more on the functions and features for that requirement as the nexus of our rating. Those who have a focus on one of the other roles supported by BPA tools will want to consider whether a nonleader or specialty solution can better meet their needs. Figure 1. Magic Quadrant for Business Process Analysis Tools, 2006 challengers Sybase Ultimus niche players Casewise Source: Gartner (January 2006) leaders ProActivity Savvion Fuego Troux Technologies visionaries completeness of vision IDS Scheer Proforma Mega igrafx Telelogic IBM Microsoft The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted January 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the Leaders quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. 2

3 For example, those focused on a low-cost option for business users that provides simple drawing capabilities with integration to Microsoft Back Office tools, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, would generally rate a product such as Visio higher than a more sophisticated (and higher-ranked) product such as IDS Scheer s ARIS. Or, those looking for a robust tool in support of an enterprise architecture initiative might rate products from vendors with BPA and companion tools such as Mega and Telelogic that include support for the technical and information architectures higher than those that primarily focus on just the business process architecture. But again, in this research, although we provide credit for breadth of coverage, we consider modeling the business process architecture to be the primary area of focus. In our ratings, we give a premium to product functions and features. However, we also highly rate nontechnology factors, such as quality and quantity of alliance partnerships and distribution channels, including those involving other technologies in the BPMS, and overall financial healthiness and long-term viability. We felt that there were other vendors that do not appear the Magic Quadrant or are not mentioned elsewhere in this research that were worth mentioning because of their complementary nature to BPM efforts ( Special Recognition Vendors ) or for which we receive inquiries that were also worth mentioning ( Other Vendors Considered ). Market Definition/Description BPA is a Gartner term that defines the business modeling space where business professionals and IT designers collaborate on business process designs and architecture frameworks. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria We have chosen to include vendors meeting one or more of the following criteria in the BPA market: $10 million in new product license revenue Greater frequency of appearance in inquiries by Gartner customers as opposed to competitors listed in the Magic Quadrant Greater frequency of appearance on Gartner customer evaluation shortlists as opposed to competitors listed in the Magic Quadrant Those vendors that do not meet one of the aforementioned criteria but that have some niche or specialty characteristic which we thought would be of interest to customers (that is, a lightweight or perhaps good enough BPA tool which is sold as part of a suite by a leading BPM vendor) Note: Gartner market Magic Quadrant guidelines are to limit the list to 12 to 15 vendor offerings. Added The following vendors have been added to the BPA Magic Quadrant since the last published research Fuego igrafx (formerly CorelMicrografx) Savvion Telelogic (formerly Popkin System Architect) Dropped CA has not been aggressively pursuing this market. Commercequest was bought by Metastorm, who participates in the BPM market. Computas was bought by Troux Technologies. FileNet does not have a separate product SKU for modeling, but employs inline modeling in its BPM family of tools. Gensym is a specialty vendor in the petrochemical and utilities industry (simulation). Gryphon is a strategic planning vendor. High Performance models business models at a high level. Hyperion has backed out of the modeling market. Ilog specializes in optimization. Intellicorp was an SAP specialist; it has changed its business model. Lanner is an advanced simulation player. MetaSoftware is a specialist in the insurance vertical. Nimbus is a strategy planning vendor. Powersim is a systems dynamics specialist. Promodel is a simulation specialist. Ptech is process architecture specialist. QPR is a geographical specialist, mostly in the Nordic countries. Rockwell leverages Arena in engagement activities and training environments. Rules Power was bought by Fair Isaac, who is not active in this market. SigmaFlow is a Six Sigma-focused player. Simul8 is a simulation specialist. Scitor/Sciforma is a specialty complex simulation vendor that is an adept partner for government activity. 3

4 Triaster is a geographical specialist; mostly in the U.K. Ventenna is a simulation specialist. Evaluation Criteria Ability to Execute Gartner evaluates BPA tools based on their ability to meet a broad range of modeling needs across multiple organizational roles, especially business users and process architects, some requiring high degrees of functional sophistication in the technology. As a result, product/service functionality and features, and the track record of the vendor s research and development group to deliver new functionality on a timely basis with high quality, are rated high in terms of the ability to execute. At the same time, proven vendor stability and investment in this market are also important, especially because this is an overcrowded market undergoing some consolidation. Therefore, the financial health and viability of the vendor overall and especially within this market in terms of market share, revenue, alliance partnerships and distribution channels, and the quality and consistency of the management team, are highly rated. Finally, total cost of product ownership, size of the customer base, and customer service and satisfaction are other execution factors we considered in rating the vendors and products (see Table 1). Completeness of Vision Completeness of vision in the BPA tool market considers the same types of criteria as those used to rate the vendors ability to execute, but from a future viewpoint. We examine the vendor s plans for enhancing the product to add new features and meet the needs of new roles. Is there a sound vision from the vendor s research and development group? Are they adequately funded and staffed with individuals we believe can execute in the product vision? Arguably as important, if not more so, is the vendor s sales strategy because it affects how the vendor will increase market share and grow revenue critical for maintaining viability in an overcrowded market. What is the quality of its alliance partnerships and distribution channels, and how does the vendor plan to extend these? What is its planned marketing strategy? How will it grow mindshare globally or within key targeted niche/specialty markets? Specifically, because customers are increasingly looking for the BPA tools to be pre-populated with vertical market templates of modeled solutions, what plans does the vendor have in this area? What pricing strategy changes are planned, and how does the vendor plan to support these changes in terms of impact to current customers? Table Table 1. Ability to Execute Evaluation Criteria Evaluation Criteria Product/Service Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy, Organization) Sales Execution/Pricing Market Responsiveness and Track Record Marketing Execution Customer Experience Operations Source: Gartner (January 2006) Weighting high high Table 2. Completeness of Vision Evaluation Criteria Evaluation Criteria Market Understanding Marketing Strategy Sales Strategy Offering (Product) Strategy Business Model Vertical/Industry Strategy Innovation Geographic Strategy Source: Gartner (January 2006) Weighting high high 2 depicts these issues in a more summarized fashion. Leaders These are high-viability vendors with proven track records in BPA tools with high degrees of functionality or market penetration, as well as vision and business investment. They are also well-positioned for the future due to completeness of vision due to financial commitment and market share, technological differentiation or both. Leaders do not necessarily offer the best products for every customer project or role. However, they provide solutions that offer relatively lower risk. Current leaders include IBM, IDS Scheer, igrafx, Mega, Microsoft, Proforma and Telelogic. Challengers These are well-executing vendors that have less completeness of vision than the leaders. Because of the inclusion and exclusion criteria we used, and the fact that this market Magic Quadrant contains only 14 vendors (Gartner guidelines are 12 to 15), the offerings listed tend to cluster into the Leader quadrant or (due to specialty characteristics) the Niche quadrant. There are dozens of vendors in this market. Had we showed more vendors, the Challenger quadrant would have had better representation. 4

5 Visionaries These vendors are differentiated by innovation in terms of technological innovation or sales and marketing innovation. But, they have not achieved the record of execution required to reach a leadership position. Because of the inclusion and exclusion criteria we used, and the fact that this Magic Quadrant contains only 14 vendors (Gartner guidelines are 12 to 15), there are no visionaries listed in this market. Had we showed more vendors, the Visionary quadrant would have had better representation. Niche Players These vendors products can solve problems, although the vendors vision and execution are relatively narrow in focus or they lag leaders in some aspects of vision and execution. Customers that are aligned with the focus of a niche vendor will often find that such providers offerings are the best fit for their specialty needs. Current niche players include Casewise, Fuego, ProActivity, Savvion, Sybase, Troux and Ultimus. Vendor Comments Casewise Casewise Systems, with Corporate Modeler, has been a traditional leader in the BPA space and is wellknown for its inventory of reports that help clients understand their current process flows. It provides a good mix of functionality and ease of use. It comes with a multi-user repository, and has high customer service and technical support ratings. However, it has dropped from its position in the leadership quadrant in 2004 to a niche player position because it has been slow to add advanced modeling features and has less partnerships with BPM players than similar market leaders. Also, we are seeing a significant decrease in the number of inquiries we get for Casewise and appearing on lists of BPA finalists than one year ago. Fuego Fuego is a best known for its BPM technology, FuegoBPM. It is a newcomer to the modeling market with BPM Designer which focuses on the modeling of the design and implementation of business processes integrated with its workflow engine. Fuego has forwardlooking management and R&D resources, which should solidify its presence in the BPA market, though it is doubtful that BPM Designer will ever achieve the functional rigor of market leaders focused on supporting architectural modeling efforts. igrafx igrafx qualifies as the most-improved player in the BPA sector. Changes in the ownership have put a renewed focus on leading-edge functionality, working partnerships with BPM vendors, marketing savvy and mindshare. igrafx has a budding BAM capability that links directly to process models plus process goals and outcomes. It has strong support for Six Sigma process simulation and Design Of Experiments as part of its Process Central BPA tool. It also offers a low-cost entry-level modeling tool, FlowCharter, which competes with Microsoft s Visio. It also has a version of its BPA tools called Enterprise Modeler, targeting technical, enterprise and business architects. All three products are integrated to support multiple roles through a shared metadata repository. If igrafx continues to deliver on client success, and can increase partnerships and distribution channels, it could move up in the Leaders quadrant. IBM IBM has revamped WebSphere Business Modeler to support its strategic directions in the areas of service creation and orchestration. At the same time, we have seen an increase in the power of the underlying simulation engine, which bodes well for what if modeling. Combined with fundamental BAM capabilities, we see the modeler as a key component of IBM s complete WebSphere strategy. It also integrates with its Rational IT modeling tools Rational Software Architect and Rational Data Architect. As such, IBM has one of the best visions of how it plans to support all aspects of the enterprise architecture. As more clients purchase WebSphere Business Modeler and demonstrate success with its architectural modeling capabilities, IBM will move up in the Leaders quadrant. IDS Scheer IDS Scheer has been a leader for years now and has one of the most comprehensive toolsets in the BPA Magic Quadrant ARIS. IDS Scheer s initial success was managing the reference models for SAP, but IDS Scheer has kept expanding its markets, tools, methods, process templates and consulting support. With additional successes on the BAM front, IDS Scheer has been an integral part of SAP s NetWeaver offering. IDS Scheer has the most partnerships with leading independent software vendors and BPM players, including Fujitsu, Lombardi, IBM, Microsoft and NEC. Mega Mega has a very comprehensive set of tools for modeling in its Mega Suite. It contains Mega Process and Mega Simulation for business process, but also has strong support for the IT modeling sector. Mega Architecture addresses the functional and technical mapping of applications, data flows, IT software and infrastructure components. Mega Designer supports data and 5

6 application analysis, and design and integration modeling. All the tools are integrated via a common repository. Much of the tool s power is hidden from the average user, but the Mega Suite can perform a wide variety of modeling and specification tasks with appropriate consulting help. Mega generally has deep and long-term relationships with its clients through successful engagements. Mega Suite lacks some capabilities (it does not have its own BAM and business rule engine capabilities) but provides bridges to complementary tools in these areas. Headquartered in Paris, it needs to improve alliance partnerships with BPM vendors and distribution channels outside of Europe especially in terms of providing a greater presence in North America to move up in the Leaders quadrant. Microsoft Microsoft has the largest mindshare and actual implementations with Visio, but it tends to be less sophisticated in terms of architectural modeling than leaders. Its ability to use files from Office, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, makes it very popular with the average business user. Architects and sophisticated business users tend to find its functionality to be insufficient for their needs. As a result, it is not uncommon to find that organizations that buy other leading BPA tools for architects also have large numbers of Visio users with bridges from Visio into the architect s tools, as well as to simulation and execution technologies. With the purchase of UMT for project/process selection, and the recent additions of the visualization process activity against a Visio diagram and the ability to connect diagrams to data, Microsoft can be an alternative appealing to the small to midsize businesses or independent consultants looking for a tool that it can use across engagements. Aside from improving functionality in Visio, for Microsoft to move up in the Leaders quadrant, it needs a clearer vision of its plans to evolve its BPA and BPM offerings. ProActivity ProActivity offers a wide variety of BPM technologies as part of its Enterprise Hub, including simulation and BAM. Organizations looking for competitive technology in the area of process design will find the Enterpirse Hub an interesting alternative to leaders. ProActivity has moved from the Visionaries quadrant in 2004 to a niche position this time due to low mindshare and market share. It expects its alliance partnerships with BEA, Microsoft and CSC to grow market awareness and revenue. However, it needs to have additional alliance partnerships, distribution channels and revenue to improve its position. Proforma Proforma was a leader in our 2004 BPA tools Magic Quadrant, but has improved its market position more than any other vendor. It is one of the vendors for which we get the most inquiries, and it appears on the largest number of finalist lists of customers we speak to. Driving this is that its ProVision tool hits the sweet spot needs of the multiple BPA roles. It is one of the easiest to use while having some robust features, such as simulation, activity-based costing and the ability to take execution data back into its analytics dashboard. It has a strong sales and marketing vision, including an aggressive partnering strategy that has attracted many leading BPM players. Unisys is a reseller of ProVision, and Oracle has an original equipment manufacturing relationship that it inherited through its PeopleSoft/JDE acquisitions. The company has used its deep methodology experience and it shows up in the completeness and maturity of the toolset. As Proforma has more baked templates and methodology assists available to its client base, we expect continued growth. Savvion Savvion is best known for its BPM suite of tools, BusinessManager. Savvion has taken the creative strategy of seeding the business process market with a free version of its BPA solution, Savvion Process Modeler. This has resulted in thousands of free downloads, leading to increased product sales of Savvion s BPM execution engine and service sales in the BPA and BPM arenas. The capabilities in Process Modeler are not as sophisticated as most others in this space. However, this strategy will appeal to BusinessManager customers focused more on the design and implementation levels of business process models. Moreover, those looking to get started with free BPA software prior to acquiring a BPM tool, or those with a BPM tool from another vendor not having BPA and looking to augment that tool with a free Visio-like product, might consider using Process Modeler. Sybase Sybase is one of the more capable players that goes quite unnoticed unless a client already is a Sybase devotee. The functionality in PowerDesigner has been deepened recently in the area of business process modeling and management. Like Mega and Telelogic/Popkin, Sybase is very capable at playing in the integrated IT modeling and business process modeling sectors; PowerDesigner is the leading data modeling/database design tool of choice and includes object-oriented modeling. However, to become a BPA market leader, Sybase will need to provide greater focus and investment in this sector. 6

7 Telelogic Telelogic is a leading vendor in areas such as business requirements management and IT modeling with tools such as DOORS and TAU Architect. In 2005, it acquired a leading BPA tool in Popkin s System Architect. Historically, Popkin was a thought leader in the market, and supports more s than any other vendor, including being a major leader in promoting the BPMN. It is active in the U.S. government market and supports the Federal Enterprise Architecture and the Department of Defense implementation in System Architect. The tool has good functionality, including strong simulation capabilities that are instrumented for BAM feeds. However, since the Telelogic acquisition, we have not seen the same level of vision and execution as in the past. For example, while it has been doing a good job of building and using its alliance partnerships with independent software vendors, Telelogicit has not been as aggressive in partnering with BPM players as other leaders aside from Oracle. Telelogic seems more focused on integrating System Architect into its tool suite at the current time in support of the broader enterprise architecture modeling needs. Given Telelogic s IT-centric heritage, it will need to demonstrate during the next 12 to 24 months that it can continue to grow its BPA/BPM business to improve its leadership position. Troux Technologies Troux is primarily focused on the area of IT governance with its Transformed Enterprise suite of tools. It acquired Computas in 2005, giving it a better way to visualize and model business processes via the Metis BPA tool. Sold in three versions Metis Desktop, Metis Workgroup and Metis Enterprise it provides different ways to enter the enterprise architecture and planning world, coupled with its other tools in the areas of compliance management, portfolio management and IT governance. Coupled with its metadata repository and service offerings, enterprise architects will find Troux an interesting alternative. However, those organizations looking for a BPA tool for business users or business process design and implementation modeling will want to consider solutions with less of an architectural emphasis. Improved alliance partnerships and distribution channels can help move Troux beyond its niche market position in the Magic Quadrant. Ultimus Ultimus BPM Suite, which includes Process Designer, has always had a nice process modeler that appealed to Microsoft-centric clients that wanted a real analytical tool that was linked to a process execution tool for human process activities. Rated as a visionary in 2004, Ultimus has slipped to a niche position in the current Magic Quadrant. Like other niche players, Ultimus needs to improve alliance partnerships and distribution channels as well as offer more competitive functionality to break out. Acronym Key and Glossary Terms BAM business activity monitoring BPA business process analysis BPM business process management BPMS business process management suite CAGR compound annual growth rate SOA service-oriented architecture 7

8 Evaluation Criteria Definitions Ability to Execute Product/Service: Core goods and services offered by the vendor that compete in/serve the defined market. This includes current product/service capabilities, quality, feature sets, skills, etc., whether offered natively or through OEM agreements/partnerships as defined in the market definition and detailed in the subcriteria. Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy, Organization): Viability includes an assessment of the overall organization s financial health, the financial and practical success of the business unit, and the likelihood of the individual business unit to continue investing in the product, to continue offering the product and to advance the state of the art within the organization s portfolio of products. Sales Execution/Pricing: The vendor s capabilities in all pre-sales activities and the structure that supports them. This includes deal management, pricing and negotiation, pre-sales support and the overall effectiveness of the sales channel. Market Responsiveness and Track Record: Ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve competitive success as opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolve and market dynamics change. This criterion also considers the vendor s history of responsiveness. Marketing Execution: The clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programs designed to deliver the organization s message in order to influence the market, promote the brand and business, increase awareness of the products, and establish a positive identification with the product/brand and organization in the minds of buyers. This mind share can be driven by a combination of publicity, promotional, thought leadership, word-of-mouth and sales activities. Customer Experience: Relationships, products and services/programs that enable clients to be successful with the products evaluated. Specifically, this includes the ways customers receive technical support or account support. This can also include ancillary tools, customer support programs (and the quality thereof), availability of user groups, service-level agreements, etc. Operations: The ability of the organization to meet its goals and commitments. Factors include the quality of the organizational structure including skills, experiences, programs, systems and other vehicles that enable the organization to operate effectively and efficiently on an ongoing basis. Completeness of Vision Market Understanding: Ability of the vendor to understand buyers wants and needs and to translate those into products and services. Vendors that show the highest degree of vision listen and understand buyers wants and needs, and can shape or enhance those with their added vision. Marketing Strategy: A clear, differentiated set of messages consistently communicated throughout the organization and externalized through the Web site, advertising, customer programs and positioning statements. Sales Strategy: The strategy for selling product that uses the appropriate network of direct and indirect sales, marketing, service and communication affiliates that extend the scope and depth of market reach, skills, expertise, technologies, services and the customer base. Offering (Product) Strategy: The vendor s approach to product development and delivery that emphasizes differentiation, functionality, methodology and feature set as they map to current and future requirements. 8 Business Model: The soundness and logic of the vendor s underlying business proposition. Vertical/Industry Strategy: The vendor s strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of individual market segments, including verticals. Innovation: Direct, related, complementary and synergistic layouts of resources, expertise or capital for investment, consolidation, defensive or pre-emptive purposes. Geographic Strategy: The vendor s strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of geographies outside the home or native geography, either directly or through partners, channels and subsidiaries as appropriate for that geography and market.