# Gartner secure email gateway 2020 > Gartner secure email gateway 2020 results cannot be confirmed without the original Gartner publication or a contemporaneous vendor announcement. A Gartner secure email gateway 2020 result cannot be confirmed without the original Gartner publication, an official Gartner announcement, or a contemporaneous announcement from a named vendor that identifies the report and its scope. Do not treat a current vendor homepage, a later report, or an uncited ranking as evidence of a 2020 Gartner evaluation. For current threat education, see Palisade's [email threats hub](/learning/threats). ## Quick takeaways - A historical Gartner claim needs a source published by Gartner or a contemporaneous official vendor announcement. - A current vendor homepage cannot establish a vendor's position in a 2020 evaluation. - A report title, publication date, methodology, and evaluated market all matter before comparing results. - A claim that a vendor was a Leader, Challenger, Visionary, or Niche Player needs a source that states that classification. - Current email-security controls and a historical analyst evaluation answer different questions. - A present-day domain check cannot validate a Gartner result from 2020. ## How a historical Gartner result can be verified A historical analyst citation has several parts that must match. The report's exact title identifies the market being assessed. Its publication date confirms the relevant year. Its methodology and inclusion criteria explain what Gartner evaluated. The vendor list and any categories must come from the report itself or an official announcement that quotes it precisely. Use this decision rule: - If the source is the original Gartner publication, record its exact title, date, market scope, and the wording of the finding. - If the source is an official vendor announcement published at the time, confirm that it names the Gartner publication and quotes the vendor's status without changing the scope. - If the source is a current product page, a search result, a reseller page, or an uncited comparison, do not use it to make a 2020 Gartner claim. The distinction matters because vendor offerings and analyst markets change. Fortinet's current homepage says it is “securing over 700,000 enterprises, service providers, and government organizations worldwide,” but that current statement does not establish a Gartner secure email gateway position in 2020. [Fortinet's homepage](https://fortinet.com) is useful for its current self-description, not for a historical Gartner classification. Microsoft's current homepage similarly states that Microsoft 365 includes “cloud storage, advanced security, and Microsoft Copilot in your favorite apps—all in one plan.” That statement does not identify a secure email gateway product or demonstrate a Gartner classification from 2020. See [Microsoft's current homepage](https://microsoft.com) for the scope of that current statement. ## When the answer changes The answer changes only when a primary historical source is available and its scope matches the claim being made. A document can support a precise statement such as: - Gartner published a named report on a specified date. - The report evaluated a defined market. - The report listed a named vendor. - The report or a contemporaneous vendor announcement assigned a stated category. It cannot support a broader claim unless the source says so. For example, a vendor announcement about email protection does not prove participation in a secure email gateway evaluation. A later Magic Quadrant does not establish a 2020 result. A current product description does not show how Gartner categorized the vendor six years earlier. > Do not use an alleged 2020 Gartner ranking to select or replace an email-security control until the original report, its market definition, and its date have been checked. A wrong historical citation can turn an outdated comparison into a procurement error. Historical research also does not answer the current operational question: what controls protect a specific domain's mail today. That is a separate topic covered in [email security guidance](/learning/email-security). Readers seeking an overview of gateway functions can use [how secure email gateways protect an organization](/learning/how-secure-email-gateways-protect-organization), but it should not be treated as evidence of any Gartner 2020 finding. ![Decision flow for determining whether a source can support a Gartner secure email gateway 2020 claim](/images/editorial/gartner-secure-email-gateway-2020/gartner-secure-email-gateway-2020-source-decision.webp "1200x676") *Source: Palisade.* ## Worked evidence rule for a historical citation Use a citation record that keeps the historical claim bounded to what the source actually says: ```text Claim: [Vendor] was [stated category] in [exact report title]. Required evidence: - Original Gartner report or official Gartner announcement - Publication date in 2020 - Exact market scope stated by the source - Exact vendor name and stated category Do not infer: - Current product capability - Current recommendation - Ranking in another Gartner report - Security effectiveness for your domain ``` This structure prevents a common error: taking a familiar vendor name and attaching it to a report title without confirming the report, market, or year. It also separates a historical position from a current buying decision. If the original source becomes available, preserve its wording. Record the report title and date exactly, then quote only the classification or finding that is necessary. Do not turn a category into a claim that the product is best for every organization. The best current control depends on an organization's mail flow, deployment model, operational ownership, and the evidence available for the products being considered. ## Check the evidence you have now Start with the source type. If you have a Gartner report page, a licensed report copy, or an official vendor announcement from 2020, verify the report title, date, market scope, and the vendor-specific wording. If you only have a current vendor page or a secondary claim, treat the historical result as unconfirmed. For a present-day operational question, assess the domain separately from the historical lookup. Palisade's [Email Security Score tool](/tools/email-security-score) can help inspect a domain's currently published email-security posture. It is relevant when you need current DNS-visible evidence, not when you need to prove a historical Gartner result. ## Inspect current email-security posture If the unresolved question is about your domain rather than a 2020 analyst report, inspect its current public email-security signals before making a control decision. [Check the email security score](/tools/email-security-score) A public posture check cannot confirm a Gartner 2020 result, prove a production sending path, show a receiver's private filtering decision, or guarantee future delivery. ## Sources and further reading - [Fortinet homepage](https://fortinet.com) - [Microsoft homepage](https://microsoft.com) - [Palisade email security guidance](/learning/email-security) - [Palisade Email Security Score tool](/tools/email-security-score) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a secure email gateway? A secure email gateway is a term that needs a current, authoritative product or standards source before its controls can be defined precisely. It should not be inferred from an unverified Gartner 2020 claim. For a practical overview, see [how secure email gateways protect an organization](/learning/how-secure-email-gateways-protect-organization). ### What's the best email security gateway for big companies? No single gateway can be called best for big companies from an unverified historical result. A current comparison needs defined requirements, comparable current product evidence, deployment constraints, and operational criteria for the organization. ### What is the most hacked email service? No email service can be identified as the most hacked without a defined measure of compromise and a reliable primary data source. Incident counts, account takeovers, reported phishing, and exposed credentials measure different things and should not be combined into one unsupported ranking. ### What is Microsoft's secure email gateway? Microsoft's current homepage mentions advanced security as part of Microsoft 365, but it does not identify a secure email gateway product or establish a Gartner 2020 classification. Use current Microsoft security documentation for a product-specific answer. ### Can a 2021 Gartner report prove a 2020 result? No. A 2021 report may describe a different publication date, market scope, participant list, or classification. It can provide later context, but it cannot replace evidence for a claim about 2020.