Managed IT Services - Application

In both the SME and mid-to-large organizations, HP rules the roost here followed by IBM. The other key players, in the mid-to-large segment are Sify, Wipro and CMC, in that order. However, there's a big scope for others to gain a foothold in the SME space, as HP and IBM are the only two competitors right now.

HP enjoys 100% brand loyalty in the SME space, meaning all respondents currently using HP's services are likely to remain with it in the near future also. IBM's brand loyalty stood at 67%. In the mid-to-large segment, that advantage is enjoyed by Sify and Wipro, followed closely by HP and IBM at 90% and 88% respectively.

When we drilled into the reasons for current ownership, 83% of HP's customers in the SME segment chose it for brand value that it carries, while the figure dropped to 50% for IBM. But the tables turned when reliability of product was discussed. Here, HP got only 67% vote as compared to 100% for IBM. In after sales support also, IBM scored more over HP with the former getting 50% approvals over latter's 33%. While choosing their future products, 85% of those likely to purchase HP are going to do so because of its brand appeal, while the figure drops to 33% for IBM's possible customers.

However, 67% of respondent's likely to choose IBM quoted reliability as the key reason, as opposed to 54% for HP. The scenario in mid-to-large segment is somewhat similar. Here, the respective percentages for HP and IBM for current ownership because of the brand's value are 90 and 75 respectively, while reliability of product comes at 50% and 63% respectively.

However, initial price of the solution is an important consideration for this segment as 40% of HP's and 50% of IBM's customers chose the two for this reason. Nothing much to separate them in after sales support though.

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