Decision makers and influencers are often called upon to shape IT services budgets and make external spending recommendations that will determine the future direction of their enterprise. According to IDC, capturing the opinions and perceptions of these individuals and predicting the potential impact is one of the critical success factors ebusiness network integration vendors face when developing a scalable business model.
Looking to provide strategic insights into this expanding market, IDC recently surveyed nearly 300 decision makers and influencers from a broad range of industries and company size classifications to discover their opinions about the leading ebusiness network consulting and integration services vendors competing in North America. In embarking on this research project, IDC focused on several core services activities: network strategy and planning, network design, project management, network installation and configuration, and security consulting and implementation.
"This primary research effort was designed to help determine which vendors competing in the $11 billion network consulting and integration services market in the United States are meeting clients` expectations and which vendors might need to refocus their strategies," said Richard Dean, manager of IDC`s Network Support and Integration Services research program. "According to the survey respondents, the firm performing ahead of the competitive field most frequently is AT&T Solutions. Other vendors performing well in this survey include the services divisions of Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, 3Com, and Nortel."
The report profiles the following leading network services providers: 3Com, Andersen Consulting, AT&T Solutions, Cisco Systems, Compaq, EDS, GE Capital IT Solutions, Getronics, Global Network Technology Services, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lucent Technologies, NCR, Netigy, Nortel Networks, Predictive Systems, Sprint Enterprise Networking Services, and Unisys.
The results of IDC`s survey include 168 tables ranking vendors` performance using a five-point satisfaction scale. At the conclusion of each chapter, a vendor scorecard graphically illustrates the relative position of each of the 18 vendors. The report also offers readers a glimpse into which attributes are considered the most valuable to a decision maker and influencer. According to survey respondents, technical networking expertise ranks as one of the most valued vendor attributes, followed closely by knowledge transfer capability and a vendor`s flexibility in accommodating change. Among the least important attributes, according to the sample, are a vendor`s position in the marketplace and existing relationships.
The resulting report creates a road map for any firm searching for the right combination of networking services and brand attributes to help differentiate its message from the competition. The report also provides a framework around which specific vendor attributes this group of influential respondents considers to be more important or less important when considering a choice of provider
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International Data Corporation (IDC)
BMI-T has established a long-standing business relationship with the International Data Corporation (IDC). With research centres in over 40 countries and more than 500 research analysts and 3 900 clients world-wide, IDC provides a global market perspective on IT market and technology trends.
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BMI-TechKnowledge Group (BMI-T)
BMI-TechKnowledge (BMI-T) is Africa `s leading supplier of market intelligence and knowledge-based consulting in the areas of IT, telecommunications and broadcasting.
Formed over fourteen years ago, BMI-T provides its clients with an unmatched and comprehensive range of unbiased market knowledge. BMI-T conducts more than 20 000 market research business-to-business and business-to-consumer interviews and more than 100 focus group projects every year.
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