Network Operators Rate Router and Switch Vendors in IHS Survey

Campbell, CALIFORNIA (July 23, 2015)—In the 2015 IHS Infonetics Router and Switch Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey from IHS (NYSE: IHS), Cisco came out on top of respondent edge/core router and carrier Ethernet switch (CES) manufacturer leadership scores for the third consecutive year.

For the survey, IHS interviewed 25 global service providers who have detailed knowledge of their companies’ data networks and have planning and purchase decision influence for routers and CES. These service providers together control 33 percent of worldwide telecom capex.

“Typically, the larger a manufacturer and the more visible their brand, the better they fare in our open-ended question on the top 3 edge/core router and CES manufacturers. Much like our results last year, service providers named Cisco the leader, with Alcatel-Lucent, Juniper and Huawei rounding out the top 4,” said Michael Howard, senior research director for carrier networks at IHS. “There’s a big gap between these 4 and their competitors, with some exceptions when it comes to pricing and financial stability.”

“One service provider respondent may be foretelling changes coming in the industry, citing Whitebox as a top-3 manufacturer,” Howard said.

MORE ROUTER AND SWITCH SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Respondents’ top 5 router/switch manufacturer selection criteria are price-to-performance ratio, product reliability, pricing, service and support, and technology innovation
• In addition to being named the top router/switch manufacturer, operators surveyed also named Cisco #1 in service and support, technology innovation, 100GE, data center interconnection leadership and mobile backhaul leadership (tie with Huawei )
• The data center interconnection (DCI) market has emerged, and IHS estimates it will grow to be about 5 to10 percent of the router market over the next few years
• Respondents named Alcatel-Lucent, Brocade, Cisco, Juniper and Huawei (listed in alphabetical order) as the perceived leaders in DCI