Network Hardware - Network Switches

Last year, we had D-Link winning in 100-499 and Cisco in 500-1000 employees segments. This year, we have one unanimous winner-Cisco. This is interesting because Cisco was trailing at a distant second in the 100-499 employees segment last year. This year, D-Link has moved to the runners-up spot. In the 500-1000 employees segment however, Cisco is the clear choice amongst respondents, with D-Link trailing at a distant second. The only other brand that made it to the club this year is HP/3Com.

The results that have made Cisco a clear winner in the 100-499 employees segment are worth dissecting. We noticed that though the highest percentage of respondents currently owned D-Link network switches in this segment, it was Cisco that enjoyed the highest top of mind recall and the highest percentage of 'shift-ins' from other brands. In the 500+ segment, Cisco has led all the way.

Coming to brand loyalty in the 100-499 employees segment, 88% of Cisco's current users are likely to stay with it in the future as well, with a 3% saying they're likely to shift to Avaya (Lucent) and 1% to D-Link in the near future. The remaining 8% were not sure or had no plans of shifting. D-Link had a tad lower brand loyalty at 82%, but needs to get its act together because a whopping 14% of its existing users are likely to shift to other brands. HP/3Com's brand loyalty is lowest at 76%, with 6% of its existing users likely to shift to Cisco. In the 500+ employees category, Cisco's brand loyalty is at 87%, with 3% of its current users likely to shift to other brands. D-Link has better grasp over its existing users here with 92% brand loyalty, with 6% of its current users likely to shift to other brands. HP/3Com enjoys 90% brand loyalty amongst its users, and the remaining 10% don't know or have no plans of shifting.

Product reliability is the key reason why users are currently using or likely to purchase either Cisco or D-Link network switches.