Link™ Index Methodology

Liminal’s Link™ Index Report is a comprehensive analysis for buyers seeking technology solutions based on expert insights and perspectives. It utilizes a proprietary framework to identify, evaluate, and rank product capabilities based on their applicability to market use cases. The report leverages Liminal’s Digital Identity Landscape™ taxonomy and ontology to accurately assess vendor solutions based on their product capability coverage, taking into account market demand and company strength, as determined by their Link Score.

Liminal employs a transparent methodology that ensures fairness to all solution providers. While vendors can opt out of the evaluation process, their active participation in key steps allows them to influence their positioning. It should be noted that certain solution providers may choose not to engage in the evaluation process. In such cases, Liminal uses its research methodology to evaluate the solution provider based on available first and third-party data.

The Link Index facilitates informed decision-making for buyers and investors in the digital identity, cybersecurity, and fintech market. It offers two significant advantages to clients and members: a comprehensive market landscape of solution providers for easy comparison of product capabilities against buyer demand and overall market presence and detailed descriptions of each solution provider’s product capabilities and Link™ Score. The Link Score assesses momentum, stability, leadership, product scope, and product strategy. The evaluation includes products generally available by the time of the company survey due date.

To ensure unbiased treatment of all solution providers, the lead analyst will abstain from client or member engagement – i.e., quarterly member briefings, advisory engagements, and due diligence – if the client or member is a solution provider currently under evaluation in the Link Index Report and if the engagement pertains to the same market use case.

Participants In The Link Index Report

The Link Index Report builds upon the participation of these key players:

Analyst: The content expert responsible for the research, including defining inclusion and evaluation criteria based on methodology and market knowledge.

Research Team: A group of market research and advisory analysts who provide feedback on evaluation criteria, conduct the Link company survey, and verify product and company information.

Managing Director: Collaborates with the analyst and research team to establish inclusion criteria, evaluation criteria, and scoring framework. Reviews all scores and vetted company profiles.

The Link Index Process: How it Works

Preliminary Planning And Kickoff

The analyst defines the market use case and identifies solution providers in the space. Based on the scope, inclusion criteria are created to determine which vendors will be evaluated. The analyst also defines the criteria against which we will evaluate the product or service. We intend the criteria to be differentiating rather than exhaustive. Liminal reserves the right to remove a solution provider from a Link Index Report at any point we find it’s incompatible with the scope.

Gathering Evaluation Data

The Link Index evaluation incorporates five inputs: Company Profile in the Link™ Market and Competitive Intelligence Platform, our proprietary Market Prioritization Model, research analysis of our Industry Demand Survey, conducting voice of customer calls through our expert network and a Company Survey for validating product capabilities.

• Company Profile in the Link™ Platform: The first data input for the Link Index evaluation is derived from the Company Profile available within the Link™ Market and Competitive Intelligence Platform. This is a rich source of standardized information for market presence, product/service offerings, competitive positioning, customer base, and financial performance.
• Integration of Market Intelligence and Research: Our analysis goes beyond benchmarking and incorporates feedback from demand surveys, allowing us to quantify market demand and supply and provide an opportunity analysis, which assists companies in understanding the untapped potential and aligning their strategies accordingly.
• Proprietary Market Prioritization Model: To ensure a robust evaluation, we employ our proprietary Market Prioritization Model, which utilizes advanced algorithms and analytics to prioritize market opportunities based on demand, supply, and potential growth prospects. This model aids in identifying the most promising areas for companies to focus their efforts.
• Leveraging our Expert Network and VOC Calls: To further enrich the data and analysis, we actively engage our expert network and conduct Voice of Customer (VOC) calls. Our expert network comprises more than 300 industry and domain experts who provide valuable insights into market trends, emerging challenges, and opportunities. The VOC calls enable us to understand better the problems vendors are addressing (and not addressing).
• Company Survey: The Company Survey is distributed as the final step to help fill gaps in available data by gathering essential information and validating product capabilities. The survey is tailored to enable a detailed assessment of each company’s strengths and weaknesses, contributing to the Link Score.

 

Scoring and Feedback

The analyst creates scale explanations for each criterion, scores each company accordingly, and assigns weights to criteria based on their importance. This information generates the Market Landscape and Leading Vendor ranking graphics. The Link Index scoring is based on data-gathering and the analyst’s expertise in the market. Solution providers can update their company profiles in Link during this phase, which are then vetted by the Liminal research team. Solution providers become aware of their inclusion in the Link Index, but their landscape position and score are not revealed until the publication on https://link.liminal.co/ and https://liminal.co/

Courtesy Preview And Publication

Evaluated solution providers and the Liminal member community may receive a courtesy preview of the Link Index report before publication. During this preview period, no new information or changes are accepted. The content of the Link Index report is considered final at this stage, although we reserve the right to make minor corrections until publication.

Changes During The Link Index Report Process

If a solution provider makes significant changes to its offering or strategy during the evaluation, Liminal presents the company or product as publicly represented at the research kickoff. Non-public announcements shared with Liminal will not affect the evaluation or advice provided to clients in the product summary. Re-evaluation of companies may occur based on changes announced during the evaluation period.

Integrity and Code of Conduct

Liminal is committed to treating all solution providers equally throughout the Link Index research process, irrespective of any commercial relationship. Liminal’s membership relationship manager and sales account executives refrain from involvement in the overall Link Index process to ensure integrity and fairness. Vendors providing false or misleading information may be declined further inclusion in Liminal’s research reports, and abusive or demeaning language from solution provider representatives towards Liminal employees will result in declining further interaction.

For more information regarding the Link Index Methodology, a published Link Index Report, or the Link Platform, please get in touch with us at [email protected].