October 23, 2019

October 23, 2019 | Lee Mashburn | Vice President, Marketing

According to Gartner, “Third-party maintenance is one of the options that procurement should always explore as a cost-savings opportunity.”

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a cascade of advertorials and vendor-influenced articles concerning the growing popularity of third-party software support. What has been noticeably absent are any unbiased reports that deliver both high-level and detailed analysis of this market. That wait is now over.

This fall, Gartner analysts published a long-awaited market summary, “Market Guide for Independent Third-Party Maintenance for IBM, Oracle and SAP Software,” authored by Jo Ann Rosenberger, Rob Wilkes, and Christopher Dixon. This report is an impartial, actionable guide that provides the latest market insights and detailed recommendations for how to evaluate third-party vendors for competency and match.

What is a Market Guide?

If you’re unfamiliar with Gartner’s Market Guides, they differ from Gartner Magic Quadrants® in scope and coverage. In our understanding, Magic Quadrants explain the positioning of providers in growing markets where IT solutions are stable yet competitive, like for analytics and business intelligence platforms. Market Guides are published either when a new market emerges or, as in the case of third-party support, when a market matures to the point that comparative positioning is less important than an analysis of the market itself.

The Third-Party Support Market Is Growing, and Why

The Market Guide confirms what we have known for some time, that third-party support adoption is increasing with every year.

The authors state that “The third-party software maintenance market for IBM, Oracle and SAP software has grown as a result of the demand from organizations needing lower-cost alternatives to the escalating technical maintenance, support and consulting services offered by IBM, Oracle and SAP.” According to Gartner, “The third-party software maintenance (TPSM) market has been growing steadily over the past five years with an average net new sales growth of 33%.”

Under what circumstances do organizations seek lower costs? The Market Guide describes five typical scenarios for TPSM cost savings. These include roadmap-driven situations and cost optimization needs similar to what we have described in our paper “The A-to-Z Guide to Third-Party Support.”

Who Are Vendors in the Market?

The Market Guide also offers a list of Representative vendors, and we are very pleased that Spinnaker Support was included in the shortlist. The Market Guide includes several comparison tables and provider-specific summaries.

What Can Organizations Do with This Market Guide?

The Market Guide is a sensible starting point for organizations looking to evaluate third-party services offerings and engage with the listed providers. For example, the Market Guide offers recommendations that include:

  • “Use the five scenarios described in the Market Direction section as a guide to determine whether third-party software maintenance is viable for your organization.”
  • “Obtain information on the services and proposals to use for the feasibility and risk-benefit assessment by sending RFPs to all viable TPSM providers referenced in this guide.”
  • “Request at least three relevant references (similar-size enterprise and environment) from the TPSM providers that you are considering, and contact them to discuss their experiences and satisfaction with the specific provider(s). Use examples of the same products that you are considering when discussing the service satisfaction with these reference customers.”

Download Your Complimentary Copy

Access is everything. Whether or not you’re not a current Gartner client, we are pleased to provide you with a complimentary copy of this essential Market Guide. We are always available to answer questions and clarify our capabilities and ability to meet your support requirements.

Spinnaker Support is no longer distributing a complimentary reprint of this research. You can access a copy through Gartner directly, if you are a client, or purchase one directly. Other vendors may also have distribution rights.

 

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Market Guide for Independent Third-Party Maintenance for IBM, Oracle and SAP Software, 10 September 2019, Jo Ann Rosenberger, Rob Wilkes, Christopher Dixon