For Vendors
IT Buyers are tired of sales pitches. They want fact-based research and defensible decisions.
Stackcurve is research that works for IT Buyers who are committed to better outcomes through research.
View Licensing Tiers →Never pay for placement
Reprint rights are a license for content that already exists. They cannot and do not affect where a vendor is placed on the CURVE(TM), which tier they receive, or how they are evaluated.
Never pay to be included
Inclusion in a CURVE(TM) Report is based on market relevance, not commercial relationship. Vendors do not pay to be evaluated. Briefings are available to all vendors in scope, at no cost.
The score is the score
Vendors may provide factual corrections to underlying data. They cannot negotiate, appeal, or purchase a different tier. This is the structural guarantee that makes the research valuable.
The Value of Independence
Third-party research converts. Vendor claims don't.
Enterprise buyers trust independent analysis precisely because it cannot be purchased. When Stackcurve places you in the Frontier tier, that signal carries weight that no self-produced content can replicate.
Reprint rights let you deploy that signal - in your sales decks, on your website, in your outbound, at your events. The research was already published; reprint rights are how you maximize its commercial value.
Vendors appearing across multiple CURVE(TM) Reports benefit from a compounding effect: each report reinforces the credibility of the others. Cross-category vendors like Microsoft, Palo Alto, and Cisco appear in up to five of the six 2026 reports.
Cross-Coverage Snapshot - 2026
Portfolio licensing tiers are available for vendors appearing in 3+ reports.
How We Compare
The research model has changed.
Gartner, Forrester, and IDC built their models in a different era. Here is a direct comparison across the dimensions that matter most to vendors evaluating research partners.
Gartner
Magic Quadrant
Forrester
The Wave
IDC
MarketScape
Stackcurve
CURVE(TM) Report
$2K–$5K per report $30K–$300K+ annually
$2K–$4K per report $50K–$250K+ annually
$1.5K–$3K per report $25K–$150K+ annually
Free. Every CURVE Report published at no cost to IT buyers.
Vendors fund briefings and purchase reprints before results are published
Vendors pay for Wave participation; reprints purchased pre-publication
Vendor-commissioned research is a core revenue stream
Zero vendor payments before publication. Reprints sold post-publish only.
High-level criteria only. Exact weightings proprietary
Criteria disclosed; weightings partially disclosed
Criteria disclosed at category level only
Full rubric, weightings, and data sources published with every report.
2x2 quadrant — relative positioning against peers
Current Offering vs. Strategy — relative positioning
Spider diagram — relative positioning against peers
CURVE(TM) — absolute standard across 5 dimensions. Not relative to competitors.
Follows market maturity. AI-native categories lag 2–3 years
AI coverage expanding but trailing the market
Data-strong; slower on emerging AI security categories
Built AI-first. AI Security, Governance, Infrastructure & Agents are core 2026 categories.
Strategic guidance included. Tends toward conservative recommendations
More prescriptive than Gartner. Still high-level
Data-heavy. Lighter on prescriptive buyer action
Every report closes with a 0–90 / 90–180 / 180+ day structured recommendation ladder.
Revenue and market share thresholds. Emerging innovators often excluded
Minimum revenue thresholds apply
Established players prioritized; emerging vendors often excluded
Market relevance and buyer demand. Emerging vendors evaluated alongside incumbents.
Annual. Some categories every 18–24 months
Annual. Wave cadence varies by category
Annual. MarketScape cadence varies widely
Annual CURVE Reports + weekly Advisory Briefs on emerging developments.
12–18 months from research start
9–15 months
9–15 months
6–9 months — focused scope, lean team, no enterprise approval layers.
Competitor pricing and methodology data based on publicly available information, published rate cards, and industry-reported figures. Stackcurve has no commercial relationship with Gartner, Forrester, or IDC.
Licensing Tiers
Seven tiers. One rate card.
All pricing is fixed and published. No negotiation on placement. No custom deals that create conflicts. The rate card is the rate card.
License to quote or reference Stackcurve findings in your marketing materials, with attribution.
- Up to 3 approved quote extracts
- Attribution badge
- Digital use only
- 12-month term
Full rights to the section of the report covering your company - for use in sales decks, web, and outbound.
- Your full vendor profile
- Tier badge (digital & print)
- Web, PDF, and sales deck use
- 12-month term
License to distribute the complete CURVE(TM) Report under your brand - gated or ungated, at your discretion.
- Complete report PDF
- Co-branded cover option
- All distribution channels
- 12-month term
License for vendors featured in the Stackcurve Trailblazers Report - the emerging-market volume edition.
- Trailblazer profile section
- Trailblazer badge
- Digital use
- 12-month term
Reprint rights across any three CURVE(TM) Reports - the right package for multi-category vendors.
- Single-vendor profile in each report
- Three tier badges
- All channels
- 12-month term
Full-slate reprint rights across all six 2026 CURVE(TM) Reports. Maximum visibility for the most cross-category vendors.
- All six report profiles
- All tier badges
- All channels
- 12-month term + revision updates
Ready to license your coverage?
If your company appears in a 2026 CURVE(TM) Report, reach out to start the reprint rights process. Our team will confirm your coverage, match you to the right tier, and have an agreement to you within five business days.
Not sure if you're in a report? Ask - we'll check.
Response within 1 business day · No obligation to purchase