It has been a while since I last compiled a helpful list of “free” IT industry analyst reports on IT service management (ITSM). The last one – Get ITSM Industry Analyst Reports for Free – was in early 2024. Anyway, the release of the new 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms – one of the most coveted ITSM industry analyst reports among ITSM pros – has spurred me to write a new article. Which is great because very few of the links in the 2022 one still work.
The Evolution of the Gartner ITSM Magic Quadrant
This is the first Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms since 2022. You’ll see that it was replaced by the Gartner Market Guide for ITSM Platforms. Then we also had the Gartner Magic Quadrant for AI Applications in IT Service Management.
Accessing These “Free” ITSM Industry Analyst Reports
In the absence of ITSM tool vendor licensing, many ITSM-focused industry analyst research reports are locked behind paywalls – usually available to research-firm clients and perhaps to anyone for a fee.
But when a report is licensed by an ITSM tool vendor marketing team, it’s then made available to all of us (non-clients) for free. Of course, in the main, this is if you consider sharing your email address and potentially other contact details as “free.”
There will undoubtedly be other ITSM-related reports available, as well as additional “contributors” to those listed here. If you spot a relevant omission, please add it in as a comment below.
In case you are wondering, all the “contributors,” by report, are listed in alphabetical order. If a link has disappeared, the report is no longer available at the original URL.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms 2026
Unsurprisingly, this is the report that most ITSM tool vendors license. It’s an achievement to be in it, but be warned: the Gartner MQs are about the vendors, not their products. As Keith Andes explains in this article – Most Software Buyers Misuse the Gartner Magic Quadrant – the real value for ITSM tool selection lies elsewhere: the Gartner Critical Capabilities report (still unlicensed at the time this article was written).
- Atlassian – https://www.atlassian.com/gartner/magic-quadrant-itsm-platforms
- EasyVista – https://info.easyvista.com/easyvista-2026-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-itsm-platforms
- Freshworks – https://bit.ly/45Pd9mW
- Halo – https://www.usehalo.com/gartner
- InvGate – https://invgate.com/lp/gartner-2026-magic-quadrant-for-itsm-platforms
- ManageEngine – https://www.manageengine.com/products/service-desk/itsm/itsm-gartner-magic-quadrant.html
- ServiceNow – https://www.servicenow.com/latam/lpayr/magic-quadrant-and-critical-capabilities-for-itsm-platforms.html
- TeamDynamix – https://www.teamdynamix.com/itsm-gartner/
- Xurrent – https://www.xurrent.com/whitepapers/gartner-magic-quadrant-itsm-2026
Gartner Magic Quadrant for AI Applications in IT Service Management 2025
Before the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms, this was the most recent Gartner MQ relevant to ITSM tools. You might find it interesting to see what has potentially changed in the last 12 months as an indicator of ITSM tool vendor momentum (or lack of it).
Gartner Critical Capabilities Report for AI Applications in IT Service Management 2025
As stated in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms 2026 section, the Gartner Critical Capabilities are what’s really needed for ITSM tool selection. Given the current inability to download the 2026 Gartner Critical Capabilities report for free, the 2025 version is the best you can do without a Gartner subscription (or generous friends).
- ServiceNow – https://www.servicenow.com/thank-you/lpayr/gartner-critical-capabilities-ai-applications-itsm.html?
Gartner Magic Quadrant and Critical Capabilities for Endpoint Management Tools 2026
The first of four Gartner Magic Quadrant reports that might be relevant to ITSM professionals outside of ITSM tools/platforms. If you are only looking at ITSM tool reports, jump to Gartner’s Market Guide for ITSM Platforms 2025. There’s also a Forrester endpoint management (EPM) report included later.
- HCLSoftware – https://www.hcl-software.com/bigfix/offerings/workspace-management/gartner-magic-quadrant
- SentinelOne – https://www.sentinelone.com/resources/ebooks/assets/gartner-mq/gartner-mq-26
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Employee Experience Management Tools 2026
- HP – https://reinvent.hp.com/2026-Gartner-Magic-Quadrant-report
- Nexthink – https://nexthink.com/gartner-magic-quadrant-dex
- ServiceNow – https://www.servicenow.com/thank-you/lpayr/gartner-magic-quadrant-dex-management-tools.html?
- TeamViewer – https://www.teamviewer.com/en/resources/reports/gartner-magic-quadrant-2026/
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms 2026
- Ataccama – https://www.ataccama.com/analyst-research/2026-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-augmented-data-quality-solutions
- Chronosphere – https://chronosphere.io/2026-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-observability-platforms/
- DataDog – https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/datadog-observability-platforms-gartner-magic-quadrant-2026/
- Dynatrace – https://www.dynatrace.com/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-observability-platforms/
- Grafana Labs (not gated) – https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-2NPV9ITJ&ct=260715&st=sb
- ScienceLogic – https://sciencelogic.com/product/resources/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-observability-platforms-2026
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Service Orchestration and Automation Platforms 2025/2026
- Beta Systems – https://www.betasystems.com/resources/analyst-reports/gartner-magic-quadrant-2026
- BMC – https://www.bmc.com/documents/analyst-reports/gartner-magic-quadrant-leader.html
- HCLSoftware – https://www.hcl-software.com/automation-orchestration/gartner-magic-quadrant-2025-service-orchestration-leader
- Stonebranch – https://www.stonebranch.com/resources/analyst-reports/gartner-magic-quadrant-service-orchestration-automation-platforms-soap
Gartner’s Market Guide for ITSM Platforms 2025
It’s an outdated report, but it’s still worth a read to understand how the ITSM tool/platform market stacks up. It again offers ITSM professionals the opportunity to see what has changed in the last twelve months.
Gartner’s Market Guide for Hardware Asset Management Tools 2026
Let’s not forget that IT asset management (ITAM) was included as an ITIL 4 management practice in 2019, and this hasn’t changed for ITIL (Version 5). So I’ve included this Gartner report on hardware asset management (HAM) and a Forrester report on software asset management (SAM).
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management 2025
Yes, I know you could argue that this is security (which is included in ITIL), but the increased use of Agentic AI in ITSM will bring privileged access management (PAM) onto the ITSM radar if it wasn’t already.
- BeyondTrust – https://www.beyondtrust.com/press/2025-gartner-magic-quadrant-privileged-access-management
- Delinea – https://delinea.com/resources/gartner-magic-quadrant-pam
- Idira – https://www.paloaltonetworks.co.uk/idira/2025-magic-quadrant-report-for-pam
- Netwrix – https://netwrix.com/en/resources/guides/gartner-pam-magic-quadrant-2025/
- Saviynt – https://saviynt.com/analyst-report/gartner-magic-quadrant-pam-2025
Forrester Wave: AIOps Platforms, Q2 2025
Speaking of AI, I can’t help but think that all the industry talk of ServiceOps and Observability has quieted the buzz around AIOps.
- BMC Helix – https://www.helixops.ai/forms/forrester-wave-report-aiops.html
- DataDog – https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/datadog-aiops-platforms-forrester-wave-2025/
- Dynatrace – https://www.dynatrace.com/info/reports/forrester-aiops-wave-report/
- ScienceLogic – https://sciencelogic.com/product/resources/forrester-names-sciencelogic-a-leader-in-aiops-platforms-wave
Forrester Wave: Enterprise Service Management Platforms, Q4 2025
As you likely already know, ITSM tools also work well outside of the IT organization. This Forrester report rates the suitability of some of the most popular ITSM tools for challenges “beyond IT.”
- Atlassian – https://www.atlassian.com/forrester/wave-enterprise-service-management
- BMC Helix – https://www.helixops.ai/forms/forrester-names-bmc-helix-top-esm-leader.html
- Freshworks – https://www.freshworks.com/freshservice/resources/ebooks/forrester-esm-wave-2025/
- OpenText – https://www.opentext.com/uk/resources/forrester-wave-enterprise-service-management
- Serviceware – https://serviceware-se.com/en/whitepapers/forrester-wave-2025-top-esm-provider-analysis
- SolarWinds – https://www.solarwinds.com/campaign/forrester-esm-wave-report
- USU – https://www.usu.com/en/it-service-management/resources/the-forrester-wave-enterprise-service-management-platforms-q4-2025
Forrester Wave: Software Asset Management Solutions, Q1 2025
- Flexera – https://info.flexera.com/itam-report-forrester-wave-sam-solutions
- ServiceNow – https://www.servicenow.com/lpayr/forrester-wave-sam.html
Forrester Wave: Endpoint Management Platforms, Q2 2026
- ManageEngine – https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/forrester-wave-endpoint-management-platforms-q2-2026.html
- Microsoft (not gated) – https://reprint.forrester.com/reports/the-forrester-wave-tm-endpoint-management-platforms-q2-2026-e9f4bcc7/index.html
IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AIOps 2026 Vendor Assessment
It’s AI again. This was the only IDC report I found freely available, but only one “contributor” would be considered an ITSM tool vendor.
- Digitate – https://digitate.com/reports/idc-marketscape-aiops-leader-2026/
- New Relic (not gated) – https://newrelic.com/sites/default/files/2026-03/New_Relic_IDC_MarketScape_AIOps1.pdf
- ScienceLogic – https://sciencelogic.com/product/resources/idc-marketscape-aiops
- ServiceNow – https://www.servicenow.com/standard/resource-center/analyst-report/ar-servicenow-idc-marketscape-ww-aiops-2026.html
- Splunk – https://www.splunk.com/en_us/form/idc-marketscape-worldwide-aiops-vendor-assessment.html
ITSM Industry Analyst Report Help
Hopefully, this list of “free” reports, including the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Management Platforms, is helpful.
If you know of other good (and “free”) ITSM research to add to this article, please add it in the comments. Thank you.
2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for ITSM Platforms FAQs
Several ITSM tool vendors license the report and make it available through their own websites, typically in exchange for an email address. The article lists nine vendors offering “free” access, including Atlassian, Freshworks, ServiceNow, and TeamDynamix.
Analyst reports are normally paywalled and reserved for research-firm clients. When a vendor licenses a report, they can redistribute it to non-clients too, usually in exchange for contact details, which is why the same report often shows up on several vendor sites at once.
Gartner replaced it for a period with the Gartner Market Guide for ITSM Platforms, and also introduced a separate Gartner Magic Quadrant for AI Applications in IT Service Management before the ITSM Platforms Magic Quadrant returned in 2026.
No. As Keith Andes argues in Most Software Buyers Misuse the Gartner Magic Quadrant, the Magic Quadrant rates vendors, not their products, and the more useful resource for tool selection is the Gartner Critical Capabilities report.
This article rounds up free reports on endpoint management, digital employee experience, observability, service orchestration and automation, hardware asset management, privileged access management, AIOps, and enterprise service management from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC.
Vendor landing pages for gated reports get taken down or moved once a report is superseded, or a licensing agreement ends. The article notes that if a link disappears, the report is no longer available at that URL, which is why the previous 2022 version of this list needed a full refresh.
Sophie Danby
Sophie is a freelance ITSM marketing consultant, helping ITSM solution vendors to develop and implement effective marketing strategies.
She covers both traditional areas of marketing (such as advertising, trade shows, and events) and digital marketing (such as video, social media, and email marketing). She is also a trained editor.
