The dirty secret is that almost every award for companies is pay to play. Some just obfuscate it better than others (e.g. gartner, forester or other big boys) rather than making it a straight up cash for award play.

If you aren’t paying to talk to analysts, sponsor events for their customers, etc… they aren’t going to pay attention to you or listen to what kind of products/services you provide. You do the same thing with customers, put them on bullshit advisory boards or whatever.

Boom! You are part of a wave or end up in one of the quadrants.

> H1. Thought Leadership | Cybersecurity Thought Leadership Awards