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We asked. You spoke. Now it's time to reveal how Register IT pros pick and choose their network security gear

What are the upstarts doing right and the market incumbents doing wrong?

Reader survey With network security increasingly positioned as an enabler of future business success, making the right purchasing decision in this area is more important than ever.

So when we surveyed Reg readers on their network security experiences, we took the opportunity to query their supplier selection processes and criteria: what makes a vendor – or a channel partner – appear attractive or unattractive? And what can new suppliers in particular do to change that perception?

It was also interesting to read your preferences for a single supplier or multiple best-of-breed suppliers. What was clear was that for many respondents this choice wasn’t simply a practical and tactical case-by-case matter, but a distinct strategic and philosophical preference.

The other thing we wanted to know, as alluded to above, was what all this means for specialist niche or challenger network security brands. In other words, what makes smaller specialist suppliers attractive, and why might incumbent suppliers or market-leaders be preferred instead.

The answers suggested several areas where smaller suppliers needed to work hard to build trust and persuade the mainstream. One positive point is that most of our respondents do not believe adding equipment from a challenger brand will undermine existing supplier contracts. Clearly there are opportunities, yet suppliers need the right sales proposition, appropriately framed, and with good local partners to take it to market. These systems are complex solutions, after all, not simple webstore purchases.

To learn more about the results of our study, and the factors that affect supplier choices, you can download our purchasing strategies report, Key factors in the network security buying decision, right here.

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