2004 ARC: The Big Picture

This year's Annual Report Card (ARC) has expanded from previous studies. We collected 4,865 surveys from solution-provider partners that cover 74 vendor programs across 18 product categories, including a new one--security appliances. Solution providers were surveyed about their vendor partner relations regarding product innovation, support, partnership and loyalty. High scorers this year include Samsung and Intel, which dominated with numbers well above category averages. Also worth mentioning are Xerox and NEC/Mitsubishi, which are among the highest-criteria scorers this year. Both Cisco and IBM captured the most ARC awards across multiple categories and subcategories, while loyalty had the tightest race--there was only an eight-point difference between the top 10 companies that received the highest loyalty scores. Interestingly, the overall type of solution provider who participated this year covers a vast spectrum (see "Participant Profile," below). In the pages that follow, you'll get a better picture of the many faces of VARs who participated in this year's ARC, plus the full spectrum of winners and those who need to spend some time reviewing their current partnership relationships.