On GigaOm's current description, a Radar has four quadrants that are not ranked, rings that show distance from the center, and a separate velocity label for market momentum. The quadrant describes the kind of buying decision a product fits. The ring and velocity say different things, so read the three separately.
Quadrants are fit, not rank
GigaOm names four quadrants: Foundation Builders, Agile Optimizers, Enduring Innovators and Disruptive Pioneers. Its page says they describe the kind of buying decision a product fits and that quadrants are not ranked. A product in one quadrant is not placed above or below one in another.
This is easy to miss. People often assume the top right is best. On GigaOm's own description, that reading is wrong.
Rings show distance from the center
Rings are labeled Leader or Challenger and show distance from the center. They are separate from the quadrant names. So two products in the same quadrant may sit in different rings, and two in different quadrants may sit in the same ring.
Velocity is a separate label
Velocity labels are Outpacing, Fast Following and Slow Following. GigaOm says they indicate market momentum and are scored separately from quadrant placement. A fast-following product is not necessarily a better fit than a slow-following one. It tells you about direction of travel.
What sits underneath
GigaOm says every criterion maps to one of three executive lenses and that criteria work as a pass/fail gate before scoring. Those details are covered in a companion post on the lenses. The public page also says results are not vendor self-attestation and describes two structured fact-check rounds.
A reading routine
- Find your own buying scenario and see which quadrant describes it.
- Look at the ring for strength inside that scenario.
- Look at velocity if you plan to stay with the product for years.
- Read the written analysis for caveats the chart cannot show.
- Test the products in your environment.
What the public page does not say
The page does not state who pays for what, how vendors are selected, or how long the evaluation runs, so I will not claim any of that. If it matters to your procurement or ethics review, ask GigaOm or check the current methodology pages.
Common misreadings
- Treating the center as the target and the edge as failure without checking what the page says rings mean. GigaOm labels rings Leader and Challenger and ties them to distance from the center.
- Reading velocity as a quality score. It is a momentum label scored on its own.
- Comparing products across two different Radar reports. Each is built for its own market with its own criteria.
- Ignoring the scenario. The quadrant names are about the kind of buying decision, so a product that fits a different decision from yours can be right in its own context and wrong for you.
Write your own decision type first, then see which quadrant describes it.
Quick check
Is the top right quadrant the best?
GigaOm's description says quadrants are not ranked. They describe the kind of buying decision a product fits.
Is velocity part of the position score?
No. The page says velocity is scored separately from quadrant placement.
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Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
