CIENCE won the Gartner UpCity 2024 Excellence Award with a 4.6/5 rating, selected from 50,000+ evaluated providers. Now part of graph8, CIENCE has replaced the outsourced SDR model Gartner recognized with Forward Deployed Engineers and AI-powered GTM — delivering 40-60% lower cost-per-meeting.
From Thomas Cornelius, Founder & CEO, graph8: “We built one of the largest SDR operations in the country. Then we realized the model itself was the constraint. That’s why we built graph8 — to turn GTM into an engineering discipline, not a staffing exercise.” Gartner recognized CIENCE as a top marketing and advertising services provider — and then we rebuilt the entire company that earned the award.
UpCity, a division of Gartner Digital Markets, evaluates over 50,000 service providers annually through objective, independent research and verified client reviews. In 2024, CIENCE earned the UpCity Excellence Award with an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5, placing us among the best in Marketing and Advertising Services.
That recognition validated the old CIENCE. Here’s the new one.
Last Refreshed: March 2026 — Updated with graph8 transformation context, Forward Deployed Engineer model, and current pricing.
What Gartner’s Recognition Taught Us
A 4.6 rating across 50,000 evaluated providers doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because clients consistently get results — and say so publicly. Our clients told Gartner’s reviewers exactly what we delivered: targeted lead generation, responsive account management, and meetings that turned into pipeline.
But here’s what a satisfaction score can’t measure: whether the model itself has a future.
We were excellent at outsourced SDR operations. Our clients confirmed it. But excellence within a declining model is still decline. B2B buying behavior had shifted. Decision-makers were doing their own research before any SDR ever reached them. The value wasn’t in the outreach volume anymore — it was in the intelligence behind it.
Gartner recognized the company that scaled to serve 2,500+ clients across 250+ industries. What they couldn’t see was that the leadership team was already planning the transformation.
“The conversion rate has been fantastic — 10% of our targeted accounts turned into qualified pipeline conversations.” — Turn Technologies
Does This Sound Familiar?
You’ve hired an outsourced team — or built one internally — and the first few months looked promising. Meetings came in. Pipeline grew. Then everything plateaued.
More SDRs didn’t help. More sequences didn’t help. You added intent data, enrichment tools, a new CRM integration, maybe even a chatbot. Each tool promised to unlock the next level. None of them did.
The pattern is always the same: linear effort, linear results, escalating costs. Your go-to-market strategy is running on a model designed for 2019 in a market that moved to 2026 without asking permission.
If Gartner rated your GTM operations today, would the score match the cost?
From People to Platform
CIENCE is now part of graph8, and the transformation is fundamental. graph8 was built on a single thesis: go-to-market should be an engineering discipline, not a staffing exercise.
The old CIENCE deployed SDR teams. The graph8 model deploys Forward Deployed Engineers — technical operators modeled on Palantir’s approach to defense and intelligence. Palantir doesn’t ship software and walk away. They embed engineers who understand both the platform and the mission. graph8’s Forward Deployed Engineers for GTM work the same way.
Here’s what changes:
- Targeting shifts from SDRs manually building lists to AI systems that map your ICP across firmographic, technographic, and intent signals — updated continuously, not quarterly
- Outreach moves from templated email sequences to automated multi-channel campaigns across email, LinkedIn, and programmatic ads — timed to buyer behavior
- Optimization goes from Friday call reviews to real-time conversion monitoring, with engineers adjusting messaging and channels daily
The math is different too. Clients regularly see cost-per-meeting drop 40-60% within the first two quarters. New campaigns deploy in days instead of weeks. And unlike an SDR team that resets every quarter, the graph8 system compounds — learning from every interaction.
“CIENCE tripled our weekly meetings within the first quarter — and the quality matched the volume.” — Mandolin
Why This Matters Now
Gartner’s evaluation framework looks at service quality, client satisfaction, and brand integrity. Those things still matter. But in 2026, the companies winning B2B aren’t the ones with the best service reviews — they’re the ones with the smartest systems.
graph8’s Forward Deployed Engineers don’t just execute playbooks. They build, deploy, and tune your entire revenue system — targeting, sequencing, channel mix, conversion paths — and keep tuning it as your market shifts. Engagements start at $5K one-time setup + $2,499/mo managed, or access the graph8 platform self-serve at $499/mo.
We earned a 4.6 from Gartner by being excellent at the old model. We’re building graph8 to make the old model obsolete.
FAQ
What is the Gartner UpCity Excellence Award? UpCity, a Gartner Digital Markets division, evaluates 50,000+ service providers annually through independent research and verified reviews. The Excellence Award recognizes top performers, and CIENCE earned a 4.6/5 overall rating in Marketing and Advertising Services.
How is graph8 different from the CIENCE that Gartner recognized? The CIENCE Gartner recognized was an outsourced SDR operation. graph8 replaces that model with Forward Deployed Engineers and AI-powered GTM systems, delivering 40-60% lower cost-per-meeting with compounding returns instead of linear results.
What does a Forward Deployed Engineer do for GTM? Modeled on Palantir’s FDE approach, graph8’s Forward Deployed Engineers build, deploy, and continuously optimize your go-to-market system — from ICP targeting to multi-channel outreach to conversion optimization — rather than executing a static playbook.
Get a Free GTM Diagnostic
Here’s what happens when you reach out: our Forward Deployed Engineers run a diagnostic on your current outbound motion — your targeting accuracy, your channel mix, your conversion rates at each stage — and show you exactly where an engineered system would outperform what you’re doing today.
Whether or not you work with us, you’ll walk away with a clear picture of your pipeline math.
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