Methodology

MGI 360 Rating

MGI 360 is a comprehensive company evaluation and rating methodology that scores companies on a scale of 1 to 100 (100=Best) in a specific market. Additionally, analysts assign an outlook for each company:

• Positive – we expect company prospects to improve
• Negative – we expect company prospects to decline
• Neutral – we expect company prospects to remain unchanged
• Under Review – no opinion is formed as of yet

MGI 360 Ratings and analyst outlook are compiled for a specific market. When a sufficient number of companies in a given market are rated, a Market Rating Report is published to reflect peer group average scores.

MGI 360 Ratings imposes the same evaluation standard on each rated company – public or private, large or small– all are held to the same exact standard. Although ratings are comparable across markets to an extent, the numerical scores provided by MGI 360 are the most applicable within a given market. The overall score is comprised of five equally weighted major categories that account for up to 20 points in the following areas:

• Product – Product Breadth & Depth/Implementation/Support
• Management – Management Team/Board of Directors/Overall Company Talent
• Strategy – Strategy and Marketing
• Sales – Sales and Distribution Channels
• Finances – Financial Health

A company with a high score in each of the above categories will be a firm whose products are positioned to dominate their sector, whose management has the relevant experience and track record for success, whose strategy is scalable and realistic, that has the sales channels with the right focus and size to generate success in the marketplace and who is sufficiently healthy financially to support its customers, invest into products, and withstand economic adversity.

Each of five major categories is divided into 5 to 7 sub-categories and then into 3-10 inputs. In total the overall MGI 360 Rating score is comprised of over 147 unique data points. In addition to referencing the overall rating, users should consider the individual category ratings as well. For example, users making a tactical purchase may be less concerned with the Finances score, and more interested in comparing Product scores. Conversely, for a strategic purchase in which considerable internal resources will be dedicated, users may place more emphasis on the financial viability and management team scores with the understanding that the user will be working collaboratively with the vendor to craft a unique solution thereby rendering the current product score less meaningful to the decision criteria.

The ratings process is highly structured and curated by MGI Research senior analysts. Vendors do not pay to receive a rating. The MGI Ratings team typically interviews supplier company management and in some cases reaches board members and/or key investors as part of the process. During these interviews, MGI analysts follow a highly structured set of standard questions, with the answers then translated into specific scores in each evaluation area. The ratings team also interviews customers and partners and solicits inputs from a variety of industry sources not provided by the company. The MGI 360 Ratings teams are comprised of analysts with high level of experience in technology business and typically with a prior track record of at least 20+ years as an IT practitioner, industry analyst or an IT executive. The 360 Ratings process is continuous and the results are updated on an on-going basis as new information about a supplier company becomes available. A company that operates in several markets is likely to have individual ratings for each market covered by MGI Research.

MGI 360 Ratings help IT organizations make more informed purchasing and strategy decisions for new and existing technology suppliers, minimize risks, save money, and save time. MGI 360 provides concrete scores that clearly demonstrate differences amongst suppliers.

MGI Forecasts

MGI Research Forecasts provide quantitative estimates for the total addressable market (TAM) for software solutions that comprise the modern finance office and make up the agile monetization platform (AMP). MGI Research Forecasts are based on MGI Research’s proprietary Global Analytics Model, a global model which includes every publicly listed company with revenues greater than $1 million.

MGI Forecasts are based on data derived from a total of 34,817 publicly listed companies spread across 10 major geographic regions and based in 117 countries. It covers 66 industries grouped within 10 major economic sectors. Private companies, government entities (other than government-owned publicly listed enterprises), not-for-profit organizations, and educational entities are not included in the data. The inclusion of all of these entities would increase the overall TAM for any particular market.

MGI Cloud 30 Index

Since late 2009 MGI Research has been tracking the performance of an index called MGI Cloud 30. The aim was to create a proxy for performance of technology companies likely to benefit disproportionately from adoption of cloud computing. The index (Bloomberg: MGICLOUD), has demonstrated that cloud computing is a significant, distinct and durable multi-year trend that has produced definitive winners and losers.

MGI Cloud 30 is comprised of shares of thirty US-listed companies that have the most direct and meaningful exposure to cloud computing

The current implementation of MGI Cloud 30 Index does not include the impact of dividends. The index is currently not being re-balanced to initial target weights. Inclusion of dividends and a regular (annual or quarterly) re-balancing could result in significantly different (possibly improved) performance results. Securities of acquired firms are replaced when appropriate substitutions are available. Substitutions do not result in a restatement of index value calculation. Stock splits are reflected in index calculation. We expect to continue limiting the MGI Cloud 30 Index to no more than thirty stocks. Our qualitative research into cloud computing adoption trends is likely to significantly impact index components in the future.