Product Reliability, Support For Small Solution Provid

isco Systems won the Channel Champions title in the VPN category for both the reliability of its VPN routers and the popularity of its channel programs, particularly among smaller solution providers.

Survey respondents gave Cisco the top satisfaction rating in 10 out of 11 criteria, providing the champ with an overall composite score of 78.3.

3Com came in second overall with a score of 75.5. Nortel placed third with a 73.5, and Check Point Software Technologies came in fourth with a 72.8.

The picture changes dramatically, however, when the results are analyzed by the size of the solution provider respondents. Among large solution providers with at least $5 million in annual sales, Check Point edged out Cisco for the lead, while 3Com fell into last place behind Nortel.

Large solution providers gave Check Point the highest composite rating in technical areas and the second-highest rating in channel areas. Check Point's weak showing among small solution providers dragged it down in the overall standings in this survey.

The message seemed to be that Cisco is waging a two-front war in the VPN market, competing against 3Com for the favored spot among small solution providers and against Check Point among large solution providers.

Among all solution providers, Cisco pulled well ahead of the pack in one particular technical area: product reliability. Its VPN routers gave it a 7.1-point lead over Check Point, the runner-up on this criterion.

"I feel very strongly about the stability and reliability of the Cisco VPN and their security product sets. They are a market leader in most areas that they have focused on to date," said Duncan Alexander, vice president of Alexander Open Systems, Lenexa, Kan.

Cisco also came in 2 points ahead of Check Point in the area of ease of management. 3Com, meanwhile, moved into first on the criterion of ease of implementation and closely matched Cisco in price/performance.

On the whole, Cisco's victory was much more convincing in channel areas, where it swept all seven criteria, and many solution providers were not surprised. "Cisco is tremendous on the marketing and technical support sides," Alexander said. "Their account managers go on sales calls, and they give excellent support through their presales engineers."

Added Chris Ellerman, vice president of professional services at Meridian IT Solutions, a Cisco Gold partner in Schaumburg, Ill.: "The best element of Cisco is its emphasis on support. If you're selling a Cisco VPN, they're going to support you from their technical support center and local representatives. A couple of years ago when VPNs were first being integrated into the Cisco line, their tech [reps] worked closely with us, even writing code."

Cisco pulled ahead of runner-up 3Com by 5.3 points in the area of long-term channel strategy, by 4.5 points in vendor support over project life and by 3.6 points in responsiveness to solution provider feedback.

One way Cisco supports its partners is through generous marketing funds and sales assistance, said Andrew Brinkhorst, director of the IT security practice at solution provider AdvizeX Technologies, Cleveland. "Cisco does a good job with their partners in the demand-generation space,co-sponsoring events, funding marketing activities, providing presentation materials."

Providing support to solution providers is central to Cisco's companywide goals, said Bill McGee, manager of channel and partner development for Cisco. He said the vendor's channel account managers and systems engineers interact with solution providers on a daily basis.

"We give our partners a lot of hands-on time. For instance, we have labs in all of the major cities so that our solution providers can get hands-on training and test specific solutions," McGee said. "Our systems engineers also work with solution providers on the design of VPN solutions, either in checking solution providers' designs or walking them through the building process."

Cisco's broad product line and substantial resources make it a tough competitor. While rivals may play well in certain segments of the channel, Cisco earned its Channel Champions title by showing strength across the board.