Technology Buying Process Survey 2011

Purpose and Methodology

The 2011 Technology Buying Process Survey was conducted to:

Better understand the role of Network Worlds audience when it comes to technology buying

decisions at their organizations

Determine the market leaders in each of the following technology areas: Compute,

Mobile/Wireless, Network, Security, Software, Storage and Telecom

Survey was fielded across the Network World Technology Opinion Panel and across the NetworkWorld.com visitor database from April 22 to May 17, 2011. All survey respondents are involved in at least one of the following steps in the purchase process: Determining the business need, Determining requirements, Evaluation, Recommending vendors, Selling internally, or Approval/authorization. Margin of error: +/- 5.1%

IT Purchase Process Very Decentralized

CIOorTopITExecutive

45%

24%

18%

13%

CTOorIT/NetworkArchitect/Engineer

30%

36%

15%

19%

ManagerofIT/Network

28%

38%

24%

10%

VP/DirectorofIT/Network

27%

37%

17%

19%

IT/NetworkStaff

18%
0% 20%
Veryinfluential

30%
40% 60%

37%
80%
Notinfluential

15%
100%

Extremelyinfluential

Somewhatinfluential

Q:Overall,pleaseratehowinfluentialeachofthefollowinggroupsorindividualsareinthepurchaseprocessforITproductsandservicesat yourorganization.
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Respondents Involved in Average of Four Tech Areas

Compute(servers,desktops,laptops,workstations,netbooks, cloudtoolsandservices,etc.) Network(LANs,WANs,optimization,etc.) Software(systems/networkmgmt,virtualization,databases, CRM,ERP,applications,SaaS,etc.) Security(equipment,services,network) 62% 72% 80%

69%

Storage(networkstorage,storagemgmt,etc.)

60%

Mobile/wireless(mobileapps,smartphones,tablets,etc.)

56%

Telecom(VoIP,UC,etc.) 0% 20% 40%

47% 60% 80% 100%

Q:Pleaseidentifythespecifictechnologyareasbelowforwhichyouhavepurchaseinvolvement/influence.
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IT Managers Direct Nearly Every Step for Network Purchases

Approveor authorizethe purchaseof products/ services

Determine the businessneed

Determine technical requirements

Evaluate products/ services

Recommendor selectvendors forpurchase

Sellinternally (e.g.outsideof theITteam)

CIOorTopIT Executive CTOorIT/Network Architect/Engineer VP/Directorof IT/Network Managerof IT/Network IT/NetworkStaff

32% 27% 29% 43% 28%

24% 17% 13% 26% 12%

15% 25% 22% 53% 41%

12% 16% 12% 35% 20%

16% 21% 21% 52% 42%

12% 13% 12% 33% 23%

19% 25% 27% 49% 25%

14% 12% 20% 35% 11%

23% 22% 20% 27% 12%

18% 13% 14% 19% 4%

50% 23% 25% 22% 6%

43% 10% 15% 17% 2%

*Percentagesontheleftshowprimaryinvolvement;percentagesontherightshowprincipaldrivers.Boxeshighlightedingreenindicatehighest. Q:Includingyourself,whichofthefollowinggroupsorindividualsatyourorganizationareinvolvedin[purchaseprocessstep] ofnetworkproducts/services? Q:Whichoneofthefollowinggroupsorindividualsistheprincipaldriverin[purchaseprocessstep]fornetworkproducts/services?

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Cisco Leads in Network Products & Services

Network Products/Services Leaders:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Cisco (66%) HP (21%) Juniper (17%) IBM (7%) Riverbed (7%) Dell (7%) Microsoft (5%) AT&T (4%)

9.

NETGEAR (4%)

10. F5 (3%) 11. Verizon (2%) 12. Sprint (1%) 13. BlackBerry/RIM (1%) 14. Motorola (1%)

Other (24%)

*Resultscamefromrespondentsownanswersasthequestionwasopenended.

Q:Whenyouthinkofnetworkproducts/services,whichprovidersdoyouconsidertheleadersinthatcategory?
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Non-Executive Level IT Responsible for More Organizational Purchase Decisions

1,000+
IT/networkmanagementtellsbusinessmanagementwhichtechnologyvendorsthe organizationshoulduse. Asthenetworkhasgrowninimportance,theroleofnonexecutivelevelIT/network professionalsinthepurchaseprocessatourorganizationhasbecomeevenmore critical. AstheroleoftheCIOhasbecomemorestrategicinnature,theinvolvementofnon executivelevelIT/networkprofessionalsintechnologypurchasedecisionsatmy organizationhasincreased. NonexecutivelevelIT/networkprofessionalsatmyorganizationcollaborateclosely withtheCIO/topITexecutiveduringtheITpurchaseprocess. TheCIOortopITexecutiveatourorganizationreliesmoreheavilynowthaneveron nonexecutivelevelIT/networkprofessionalstodeliverashortlistofvendorsfrom whichtochoose. Traditionalsilosaroundinfrastructure,networkandotherITareasarecollapsingasIT isincreasinglyexpectedbythebusinesstodriveinnovation. NonexecutivelevelIT/networkprofessionalsatmyorganizationarenottypically involvedinhelpingtobuildthebusinesscasefortechnologypurchases/investments. Businessmanagementroutinelyauthorizestechnologypurchaseswithouttheinput ofIT/networkmanagement.

<1,000

Average

84% 70% 72% 60% 72% 59% 44% 40%

77% 65% 63% 70% 58% 60% 41% 33%

79% 66% 66% 65% 63% 59% 42% 36%

Q:Pleaserateyourlevelofagreementwiththefollowingstatements.(Percentagesshowtoptwolevelsofagreement Stronglyagreeand Agree.)

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In Conclusion
Network Worlds Audience is Involved at Every Step of the Purchase Process
Our audience is comprised of titles that cut across every function of IT from CIO to CTO,

from VP to Director to Manager, and the IT Professional as well.

By focusing on only one category, such as the CIO, you're missing the major steps in the

purchase process including determining requirements, evaluation, and creation of the short list.
Adding Network World as an extension to any media plan ensures you'll reach this powerful

audience, and further bolsters your efforts to uplevel the conversation to the CIO because you're hitting every level of purchase influence before the decision reaches the hands of the CIO.

This is an excerpt of the full survey results

For more information, and a presentation of the full results, please contact: Andrea DAmato VP/Publisher, Network World adamato@nww.com