How The Survey Was Conducted

The survey polled 1,142 individuals: 318 managers, 265 salespeople and 559 technicians.

Managers fell into three classifications: senior executives, including CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and presidents; technical managers; and sales managers.

Salespeople fell into two classifications: senior salespeople, defined as those having at least five years of experience and handling the largest and highest-profile accounts; and junior salespeople, defined as those having less than five years of experience and handling smaller accounts.

The survey classified technical personnel on the basis of certifications rather than job titles. The 10 technical classifications included:

• Certified Novell Engineer (CNE)
• IBM storage systems and management certifications
• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
• Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
• Sun Developer for Java
• Oracle Database Administrator
• Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE)
• Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE)
• No certification

The certifications were picked based on results of the 2002 CRN Certification Study, in which solution providers identified these certifications as the most important to their business model or as being among those growing fastest in importance.

CRN received feedback from 55 to 256 respondents for each job classification. Additional data was collected to allow analysis based on gender, experience, location and solution provider size. The survey defined compensation as the sum of salary, bonus and commission.