Cisco earned the the top spot in the Network Security Appliances category in this year’s Channel Champions survey. The vendor’s highest score of 85.0 was in product quality and reliability in the technical satisfaction subcategory. However, Cisco scored slightly lower than third-place SonicWall in technical satisfaction overall. Its lowest rating was for product margins, SPIFs and rebates in the financial factors subcategory. Although the top three vendors retained their spots from 2010, fourth-place McAfee rose from No. 6 last year to top Fortinet, which fell to No. 5.
“We are honored to be acknowledged by the channel community as a leader in the Network Security Appliance category and thank our partners for their continued partnership,” said Susan Don, director of Cisco’s worldwide security partners organization. Mike Zozaya, practice manager for security at Valencia, Calif.-based Cisco partner Nexus IS, said the vendor’s renewed focus on security is apparent in the release of the Identity Services Engine and the launch of the midrange ASA appliances. “Cisco is taking the lead in the market by combining the best in performance with content awareness, and ease of management," Zozaya said. "Nexus is proud to partner with Cisco as we go to market with these new solutions, protecting our customers from the threats of today."
Cisco recently launched a couple of programs for partners and engineers focused on carrier network upgrades. The Certified Network Associate and Advanced IP Next-Generation Network Architecture Specialization are meant to help partners in addressing what the vendor says is a $20 billion worldwide market.
