Reader Survey: Top Networking Vendors: Page 3 of 6

Cost could become more of an issue in the coming months as companies ramp up those wireless and VoIP networks. Although cost ranks fourth among the top priorities for selecting a vendor, it was cited as the biggest challenge companies face in executing their network strategies. The survey question regarding satisfaction levels with prices brought in some of the lowest overall scores for the study.

Cisco doesn't like talking about price but responds with what's essentially a you-get-what-you-pay-for line. "We try to focus on price/performance, and we have an excellent history of price adjustments, but I am very candid to say that perception is reality," Elfrink says. Purchasing "is a difficult task for a CIO, but we try to focus on total cost of ownership and ability to open up new business models; the return on investment of newly created services or applications." Nortel and 3Com tied for second in the best-prices category, with scores of 6.8; HP was the leader with a 7.1.

Preparing For Future networks
Businesses have been working to cover the network basics, like security, and appear ready to add network services in the coming months. Firewall services have been at the forefront this year, with 72% of respondents calling them a tactical priority, and 43% of respondents say core router services are a priority. But over the next 12 months, just 28% expect firewall services to be a priority, and only 18% will be focused on router services.

The security of network operating systems has been under close scrutiny. Amid concerns about the pace and ease of Cisco software patching, the company had to issue several advisories for vulnerabilities in its Internetwork Operating System, and a recent SANS Institute report on the 20 most-critical Internet security vulnerabilities cited network operating systems as a significant new target for hackers. Yet networking vendors fared reasonably well for security in our survey; Cisco had the highest marks of any vendor, at 7.9, followed by HP at 7.6, Nortel at 7.4, and 3Com at 7.2.