Oct. 23, 2008

Leading Analyst Firm Bases Evaluation on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute

Gartner, Inc. has positioned SunGard Higher Education’s Banner Unified Digital Campus in the Leaders quadrant of the “Magic Quadrant for Higher Education Administrative Suites” report, based on completeness of vision and ability to execute.

“This has been a very productive year for SunGard Higher Education,” said Andy Cooley, senior vice president, SunGard Higher Education.  “We launched new Banner Recruiting and Admissions Relationships as well as Recruiting and Admissions Performance products for enrollment management. We introduced new advisory services to help customers with strategic priorities like enrollment management, performance management, institutional research and IT planning to provide more value to our customer community. We have expanded our global presence, welcomed new customers, and have worked hard to support existing customers.  We are pleased with Gartner’s recognition and positioning of us in the Leaders quadrant.”

Gartner defines vendors in the Leaders quadrant as companies that "have the highest combined measures of Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. They are performing well, are prepared for the future and have strong customer bases that have fully implemented their suites." Gartner continues that vendors in the Leaders quadrant have "functionality beyond the minimum requirements for inclusion in this Magic Quadrant. These vendors' assets include strong channel partners, consistent financial performance, broad platform support, good customer support, the most-comprehensive and scalable products in the market, and the ability to deliver all the key higher education administrative suite capabilities. Strong vision reflects a solid product and go-to-market strategy for higher education, combined with a management vision for higher education."

Banner is one of the world’s most widely used collegiate administrative suite of student, financial aid, finance, human resources, enrollment management and advancement systems. It is a tightly integrated suite of proven, scalable, enterprise-wide applications on a single database, designed to support institutions of all sizes and types.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant evaluates vendors and their products based on vision and the ability to execute. Gartner weighted criteria including product/service sales execution, marketing execution, offering strategy, business model, and innovation.

SunGard Higher Education’s PowerCAMPUS administrative suite, which is tailored to meet the unique needs of small and mid-sized colleges and universities, is also included in the report and is positioned in the Challengers quadrant.

To view the 2008 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Higher Education Administrative Suites report, compliments of SunGard Higher Education, please visit www.sungardhe.com/GartnerMQ.

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Higher Education Administrative Suites, 2008 by Marti Harris, Michael Zastrocky, and Jan-Martin Lowendahl, 10 October 2008.

Magic Quadrant Disclaimer
The referenced Magic Quadrant is copyrighted October 2008 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.