Fosway 9-Grid™ Definitions
The Fosway 9-Grid™ is a five dimensional model that is used to understand the relative position of solutions and providers in a particular learning, HR or talent technology market. It allows you to compare different solutions based on their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectories across the market. It is unique because it sees value in all of its zones. It not only provides an understanding of the market, but also identifies the high level actions that can help corporate organisations get the best from vendors.
Here, we explain the key components of the Foway 9-Grid™ criteria which translate into thousands of lines of data from both suppliers and customers alike.
| Core Factor | Sub-Factor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Customer Awareness | Does the solution get considered as an option for corporates? Is it in the ‘long list’? Does it then get shortlisted by buyers? Does it make the final two in a competitive tender process? |
| Customer Selection | Does the solution get selected by customers after short listing? Does the solution win the tender process and successfully contract with the customer? | |
| Customer Advocacy | Do buyers like what they get once it’s delivered? Are there good levels of user adoption, and is the customer’s experience positive? Are there positive ongoing relationships between customer and supplier? | |
| Potential | Scope | What can the solution do? What range of functionality or capability does the solution provide? |
| Sophistication | How well does the solution deliver the scope? How well does the solution respond to being used in complex environments/contexts? How configurable is the solution to fit different needs? How advanced is the functionality overall? | |
| Fit To Target Organisations | How well does it match the needs of its target customers? How well do its features help it support specific industries/customer needs? | |
| Service Capability | How well can the vendor provide support to global enterprise customers? What are its service locations, hours, language capabilities and global coverage? | |
| Presence | Enterprise Market Share | What customers does it have, and what proportion of customers are enterprise scale? How much of the enterprise customer market does the solution occupy? |
| Global Presence | How global is the customer base and the vendor’s operations? Where does the provider have local operational presence including partner network? | |
| EMEA Track Record | How big is the customer base in UK/Europe? How successful has the vendor been in delivering to EMEA customers? What is the quality of EMEA customer experience? | |
| Total Cost Of Ownership | Acquire & Implement | What is the cost to acquire the solution, and the cost of implementation and execution? What is the cost of purchasing and deployment? Typically includes licenses, implementation, migration if relevant, integrations, hosting and support. |
| Operate & Maintain | How much does the solution typically cost to operate and use on a day-to-day basis? What does it really cost to support it, and to manage the use of it? What are its operational overheads e.g. support and administration associated with the solution? | |
| Innovate & Enhance | What is the cost of innovation including upgrades and improvements? How easy are innovations to deploy? What overheads are created to manage innovation? | |
| Value For Money | What value do customers extract from the solution relative to its cost? What level of return on investment (ROI) or impact do companies achieve once the solution is being used? Does it deliver value commensurate to the costs incurred? | |
| Trajectory | Company Momentum | Is the company accelerating or decelerating? What’s happening in terms of company investment, market awareness and recognition, including new acquisitions and partnerships? |
| Change In Customer Advocacy | How is the customer experience changing? Is the trend in customer feedback moving to more positive or is it increasingly negative? | |
| Future Vision & Roadmap | How rich is the future roadmap for the vendor’s solution and services? Is there a strong sense of direction, fresh thinking and a comprehensive roadmap? Are innovations leading the pack or following the herd? | |
| Speed & Level of Innovation | How quickly has the vendor delivered new, relevant and transformational features or functionality to its solution and or services? What is the frequency of new capability and new releases? |
You can download the full definitions document below for additional insights and information.
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