Cisco takes pole position
 Any suggestion that Cisco would take the pole position in enterprise security would have sounded absurd just a year back. However, in Channel Champions 2008, Cisco did exactly that—beating end-point security players such as Symantec and McAfee, and pure-play security appliance majors like Fortinet and Cyberoam.
According to respondents, Cisco’s prominence in security solutions has increased following its acquisition of IronPort in January 2007. The company has done well to integrate IronPort’s technologies into its portfolio, and has leveraged its strong network integration channel to take its security offerings to mid-size and large enterprise customers.
Symantec and McAfee had ranked number one and two respectively in 2007. The latest findings imply that SMBs and enterprises are adopting solutions beyond just end-point security. These rankings also indicate that a large number of VARs and solutions providers who earlier sold only end-point security solutions are now moving to total security solutions.
This points to a scenario where end-point security vendors will have to look at building a wider portfolio if they want to be taken seriously as enterprise security vendors.
Price-performance
Price-performance is a critical criterion in enterprise security. Sub-criteria include product features, reliability, quality, ease of installation, inter-operability and manageability of the solution. Cisco edged past the rest in this space thanks to its larger product portfolio. Respondents also highlighted the fact that since Cisco ships all products on the same operating system—IOS—it’s easier to build inter-operable solutions on the Cisco platform.
Symantec ranked number two in this criterion, followed by McAfee. Fortinet received ranking higher than Cyberoam because its products were rated better in reliability, features and manageability.
Marketing & branding
Cisco ranked higher than Symantec and McAfee because of its larger product connect with customers.
Symantec ranked higher than McAfee both in brand pull and marketing. Fortinet came ahead of Cyberoam as it is considered a stronger UTM brand than Cyberoam, which has been around for a shorter period of time.
Service & support
Leveraging on the support resources of its networking business, Cisco topped because its pre-sales and post-sales support got high scores. The company has a single team offering support for its core and advanced technologies.
Fortinet was ranked at number two because it has a highly-rated pre-sales which not only helps in specing and sizing the project, but also helps partners raise the bill of material. The vendor’s post-sales support was also ranked ahead of the competition with better advanced warranty.
Symantec ranked behind Fortinet, and was followed by McAfee and Cyberoam. Symantec ranks higher than McAfee on pre-sales and toll-free support. Cyberoam’s post-sales support, specially its advanced warranty service, was appreciated, but it needs to do a better job with its pre-sales and toll-free support.
Training & certification
Cisco’s training and certification programs ranked higher than those of other security vendors. Cisco-trained professionals are said to be more easily available than their counterparts trained by other vendors. In addition, it is also easier to train a Cisco-certified networking professional on a Cisco firewall or UTM appliance.
Symantec followed Cisco on this criterion as respondents appreciated the number of courses the vendor offers covering a wide range from basics to high-end security. McAfee came third, followed by Cyberoam which ranked higher than Fortinet primarily based of the certification courses launched by the company in 2008.
Channel relationship
Even here, Cisco ranked higher primarily because its channel management initiatives encompass a wider portfolio of products. The impact of the vendor’s overall channel initiatives add up to positive channel association. Channel managers at Cisco were also rated the most efficient and fair. Symantec was voted second since its channel management team is fast in taking decisions in cases of large orders, and is also more accessible to partners. McAfee needs to up its channel engagement and also show more aggression in winning large deals. Among the UTM players, Fortinet ranked higher than Cyberoam. According to partners, one of the advantages of working with Fortinet is better profit margins since its products are not over-distributed.
Winner in the Enterprise Security Category in Channel Champions 2007
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