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Power of the industry

In our annual survey, readers indicate that the network industry itself is gaining in power, if not individual vendors.

By Julie Bort , Network World , 12/27/2004

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Although the power of most individual network vendors is on the decline, the network industry as a whole is more powerful than ever. So indicate the 250 readers who participated in our annual Powerometer survey of vendor power. While respondents generally downgraded the Power Ratings of most of the 20 companies in our survey, more than 50% of the respondents said they felt the industry is now more powerful overall than it was prior to the pre-bubble Internet heyday. (See "Industry power rises.")

Cisco, Microsoft, Intel and IBM top the Power Rating chart, as they did last year. But each took a hit on their Power Rating. Cisco's Power Rating dropped by 1.6%, for instance, while IBM's dropped by 6.9%.

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Still, readers remain true to their belief in Cisco and its power. They named Cisco the network gear vendor most likely to increase power in 2005. Respondents were encouraged by Cisco's standards efforts and applauded the router giant for reliably high-quality products and for its movement into the low end and home networking markets. Microsoft earned distinction as the software vendor poised to increase power in 2005. Respondents credited Microsoft for its control of the desktop, stable senior management and ability to sell to CXOs. But the power gap between these two leaders is growing. Last year, Microsoft's Power Rating was a mere three-tenths of a point lower than Cisco's; this year, Cisco was 2.9 points ahead.

2004 Power Rating
Using a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 representing the highest level, the 250 readers who participated in our annual Powerometer survey named Cisco as the most powerful network vendor.

Rank 2004	2003	Company	Power Rating		% change
Rank 2004	2003	Company	2004	2003	% change
1	1	Cisco	72.7	73.9	-1.6%
2	2	Microsoft	69.8	73.6	-5.1%
3	3	Intel	61.3	64.5	-4.9%
4	4	IBM	59.2	63.6	-6.9%
5	6	HP	55.3	56.6	-2.3%
6	7	Oracle	52.6	56.1	-6.2%
7	9	Sun	52.5	52.2	0.8%
8	5	Dell	51.6	58.7	-12.0%
9	13	SBC	50.8	47.5	6.9%
10	8	AT&T	50.5	54.7	-7.6%
11	10	Verizon	50.0	51.9	-3.6%
12	11	Nortel	49.9	51.2	-2.3%
13	12	3Com	49.5	47.6	4.0%
14	15	Sprint	47.6	45.9	3.7%
15	N/A	Symantec	46.6	N/A
16	16	Computer Associates	45.5	45.1	0.8%
17	14	EMC	44.8	47.2	-5.1%
18	20	MCI	44.5	40.0	11.2%
19	N/A	McAfee	44.4	N/A
20	19	Novell	43.7	40.1	8.9%

N/A: New to the survey in 2004
SOURCE: NETWORK WORLD

Elsewhere in the ranking, HP kicked Oracle out of its way to land in the Top 5, and Sun, SBC and MCI climbed in power by two ranks or more. Sun's sheer chutzpah in the face of adversity continues to serve it well. Some even perceive the company on the rebound as its quarterly losses shrink. SBC boosted its power thanks in part to its landmark deal with Ford Motor for an outsourced VoIP network. As for MCI, it had nowhere to go but up after emerging from bankruptcy in April. MCI grabbed power at the expense of Novell, the latter resuming last place after a year's respite, when MCI held it in 2003. Leucadia National called attention to MCI's value when it moved to acquire about half the carrier's stock in July.