The increasingly sophisticated AI-powered workflows taking hold in the events industry — and nearly every other sector — now introduce two new areas of high importance to keep in mind during the event platform selection process.
First, the rise of AI has made genuine human connections and relationship-building a top priority. Events have become even more valuable. With so much more potential positive impact on the organization’s sales and marketing success at every event, ensuring that the right technology is powering that event now has higher stakes.
The “AI factor” also reshapes evaluation of the platforms themselves. Organizations considering their options should take a careful look at each contender’s current offerings and roadmap. Given that AI technology — particularly agentic AI — is advancing fast, a top-performing event platform needs to keep pace while maintaining the utmost security and flexibility. The company also should properly prioritize future development, rather than checking a box and moving on.
With this context, we’re excited to announce that RainFocus was just recognized as a Leader by Gartner in the 2026 Magic Quadrant. This is our third consecutive placement in the Leaders Quadrant. According to Gartner, “Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.”
Platform selection considerations
Of course, AI-related innovation isn’t the only major aspect of a top event platform. In the report, RainFocus also has the furthest position for Completeness of Vision among all evaluated vendors. Additional highlights included exceptional customer service, robust feedback channels, one-time implementation, and flexibility to support a diverse range of event strategies.
Research reports like the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Event Marketing and Management Platforms serve as a knowledge mainstay during the vendor selection process. When learning about various offerings and launching into more thorough investigations of the top contenders, we recommend asking the following questions:
- What is on the vendor’s innovation roadmap? Assess the vendor’s commitment to future-proofing your investment in the platform, particularly with AI functionality. Will you be able to easily work with your current tools and AI models? Are the new capabilities being built natively, or bolted on (which can introduce threats to functionality)? How is data protected?
- How does the pricing model work? Determine whether additional fees may lurk under a deceptively low base price. Investigate exactly what type of service, level of support, and feature set will be available with each purchase option.
- What implementation options are available? Every organization is different, as is every event. Examine whether your event strategy needs extensive guidance and managed services during adoption for a complex event, a simple one-time implementation that you’ll duplicate on your own via templates, or something in between. Match your needs to each vendor’s available implementation offerings.
To access the full Gartner Magic Quadrant for Event Marketing and Management Platforms and research the current platforms in greater depth to discover which is right for you, click here.
Gartner, 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Event Marketing and Management Platforms, Christy Ferguson, Halle Stern, Amy Jenkins, March 26, 2026. Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
