ARC Network Infrastructure: Cisco Crushes Rivals

Capitalizing on other suppliers' business problems, Cisco Systems has catapulted to the top of the pack in the networking infrastructure category, beating second-place finishers Avaya Communication and HP by 7 points.

Cisco gained top marks in all 11 categories (with two ties) and a whopping 92-point rating in product quality, eight points better than its nearest competitor, Avaya (formerly Lucent Technologies).

"We've found that Cisco's products are highly reliable," says Mike Theisen, executive vice president for convergent services at Norstan, a Minneapolis-based solution provider. "Once we install them, they just keep on running."

The network equipment vendor also nailed a high mark in postsales support, scoring 88, nine points head of second-place HP.

Avaya also scored well, tying with HP for second place in the products/pricing grouping. It was one of three vendors that came in second in the partnership criterion, and it scored third in support. HP tied Cisco for first in the revenue/profit potential criteria, but was hurt by a sixth-place finish in e-business program.

3Com, a perennial favorite, came in No.4 this year. The company tied for first-place with its channel strategy, but was dragged down by a sixth-place finish in the revenue/profit potential area.

"We've noticed a major shift in how 3Com is trying to market its products," says Jonathan Colby, vice president of engineering services at ASCC, a Cranberry, Pa.-based systems integrator. "The company is really squeezing margins and moving more of its products through catalogs and online sales, and less through its partners."