NETWORK SERVERS

IBM continues to be the top brand in this category, even though assembled servers manage to just pull up ahead of it. Does Intel’s aggressive push with rack- server kits have anything to do with this? Compaq replaces HP as the number two brand.

In current usage, too, IBM tops, followed by HP and Compaq in that order. IBM gets the bulk of its votes on good quality, while for the assembled, the top two vote-catching points are low price and good quality. Compaq doesn’t get even a single vote for low price (!), while HP and HCL get most of their votes for quality. IBM gets a slender lead over Compaq in the metros, and an increased margin in other cities.

While IBM and Compaq are neck-to-neck in the North and West, IBM gets a slender lead in the South and a big boost in the East. HP and Wipro, surprisingly, get no votes from the West.