CHANNEL SATISFACTION SURVEY & CHANNEL CHOICE AWARDS 2007: IBM All The Way...

The wait is over. The results of the much-awaited DQ Channels Satisfaction
Survey are finally out. The surprises were unlimited with people who made it
last time, slipping from their ranks this year. IBM was the Channel Champion
this year, while HP slipped to second position winning the Silver award. It was
house of glory for IBM who walked away with Gold award in almost all categories.
IBM dominated the whole channel satisfaction survey, while the other awardees
were HP, Seagate and HCL.

The results were completely different from those announced last year. IBM,
which did not find any place last year (while Lenovo was there), won awards in
almost all the categories this time. Lenovo, Cisco and APC were completely
washed out in the award categories. HP managed

to gain four Silver medals, while HCL bagged three. But, HCL was the only
company to displace IBM in one of the categories-Best Relationship Management.
Seagate won a Silver medal under Best Product Quality.

HP was runner-up in three places (excluding the channel champion category),
Best Brand Image, Best Marketing Support and Best Online Support. HCL stood in
Best After-Sales Support and Best Commercial Terms. IBM won Gold everywhere,
except for Best Relationship Management where it bagged the Silver award.

The Survey

Commissioned in 2001, DQ Channels-IDC Channel Satisfaction Survey has
entered its seventh year. The main objective of carrying out the survey is to
find which vendor is the favorite among channels and for what reasons. The
survey has both macro and micro objectives. Macro objectives include-to identify
the top technology vendors that channel partners are most satisfied with and to
find out the channels choice for best brands in the market, across various
product categories covering hardware, software and services. The micro
objectives are-to identify attributes that the channel community reckons as the
most important factor for satisfaction and to determine the channel satisfaction
across key criteria with concerning vendor. The survey results would definitely
help vendors to know where they stand in the market and focus on the pain areas
to improve their service and position in the market. IDC conducts this survey,
supported by a thorough scientific approach, for the accuracy of results and
final outcome. IDC brings to the fore its strength and expertise in the survey,
with meticulous planning of the whole exercise.

Channels Satisfaction Measurement

IDC used the IT-Reseller Satisfaction Measurement Model to arrive at the
deliverables proposed. The model lends more accuracy to the results of
satisfaction measurement by factoring in the importance that respondents attach
to each criterion used for evaluation. Since most channel surveys require
maintaining brand quotas in order to ensure thorough coverage of the population,
there could be possibilities of bias in sampling.

Channel Choice Awards for Different Product Categories

For each product within a category, respondents were asked to name the vendor,
who in their opinion is the best. Further, the respondents were asked to
substantiate their opinion by choosing one strong reason from a list of five
reasons. Given the broad spectrum of products and services covered under the
survey, the choice of reasons was kept generic deliberately so as not to make
them product-specific.

Sampling and Cities Covered

The survey was carried out in 18 key cities across the country, with a given
sample size. This year, the survey base was increased to 861 from last years
807. Raipur, Guwahati and Nagpur are the new cities added into the list, while
Goa, Jammu and Ludhiana were removed. Sample size for each city almost remained
the same like last year. The total sample had a right mix of distributors,
retailers, corporate resellers, system integrators/value-added resellers and
traditional resellers in it.

Channel Satisfaction Survey was done for a wide range of products covering
various leading brands in the market. Though, many popular brands figured in the
list, only the top 13 brands were considered for further evaluation, based on
the points they scored. The 13 brands include IBM, HP, HCL, Lenovo, Seagate, LG,
Samsung, D-Link, Acer, TVS-E, Epson, Intel and Canon.

The overall satisfaction  level (industry average) stood at 76 percent,
on a sample base of 860 respondents. Only four companies out of the 13
considered for evaluation under various attributes scored above the industry
average of 76 percent. IBM, HP, HCL and Lenovo individual scores stood at 80.4
percent, 78.3 percent,  77.7 percent and 76.6 percent respectively.

Similarly, in the individual attributes such as product quality, after-sales
support, brand image, marketing support, commercial terms, relationship
management and online support, only four to seven companies scored higher than
the industry average, in their respective sections.

Best Product Quality

Channels voted IBM as the best in terms of product quality with 86 percent.
Seagate came close securing 85 percent and HP at third position with 84.3
percent. Lenovo and HCL ranked fourth and fifth, with 84 percent and 83.8
percent respectively. The industry average for this attribute was at 82.2
percent. The remaining eight brands scored below the industry average.
Technology leadership found special mention in the

micro attributes, while diversity of products, user friendliness and price vs
performance ratio got priority in the survey.

Best After-Sales Support

IBM again stood first scoring 81.1 percent, while HCL trailed behind at 80.1
percent. HP and Seagate finished close with 77.6 percent and 77.2 percent
respectively. LG and Lenovo were the other two brands that scored above the
industry average of 76 percent. It is also important to note here that
after-sales support is one of the few attributes where six companies scored
above the industry average. Service center locations, turnaround time, quality
support (repairs and replacements) and availability of account managers/helpdesk
services were the four top-rated micro attributes here.

Best Brand Image

IBM got better brand image in the market when compared with other IT brands. The
channels vote was clearly in favor of IBM, which scored 84.7 percent. HP is the
second most-valued brand with 84.4 percent. Seagate is another respected brand
among channels, which stood at 84.1 percent. Lenovo and D-Link were distant from
the top vendors. The overall satisfaction average in this area was at 80.4
percent. Respect and image of the vendor in a specific target market, channels
proud to be associated with and brand positing are some of the key micro
attributes, mentioned by channel partners.

Best Marketing Support

Only four companies, such as IBM, HP, HCL and TVS-E got special mention for
their marketing support programs and scored above the industry average of 74.7
percent. IBM lead the pack with 77.6 percent and HP again came close with 77.2
percent. HCL and TVS-E managed to gain 75.8 percent and 75.6 percent
respectively. Samsung scored just 0.1 percent below the industry average.
Allocation of marketing funds, innovative programs, PoS materials and
advertising are the four key micro attributes evaluated by channels.

Best Commericial Terms

It's IBM everywhere. The company dominated almost all the attributes and in
'commercial terms' it grossed 78.7 percent. HCL closed the race at

76.4 percent, while HP followed it with 76 percent. Lenovo, D-Link, Acer and LG
are the other contestants who managed to score above the industry average of
74.5 percent. Back-end incentives and its settlements, transparency in
commercial terms and policies, profit margin and product pricing were the
deciding factors in this space.

Best Relationship Management

HCL gave some respite to the IBM dominated channel satisfaction survey. Only in
this category, IBM was pushed to second place (with 74.4 percent) and HCL scored
74.5 percent to reach the top slot. HP came third with 73.9 percent and D-Link
in the fourth position with 72.4 percent. Rewards systems, training and
certification programs for resellers and consistency and effectiveness in
communication were the top-rated micro attributes.

Best Online Support

The channel satisfaction survey comes to an end with this key macro
attribute and IBM registers its victory in this space too. The company grossed
77.2 percent, while the industry average was only 69.3 percent. Though, HP came
second here, it was a distant runner-up with a score of 71.6 percent. Lenovo and
TVS-E were the other two brands who fared well. Richness of online resources
offered, turnaround time and overall effectiveness of online support were the
key micro attributes mentioned by channel partners.

Channel Choice Awards

Channel Choice Awards

Now, we come to another important part of the survey-the Channel Choice
Awards.

Channel Choice Awards are not only growing in popularity but in numbers too.
Yes, the number of awards and the categories were increased considerably this
time. The main reason being that there are a number of popular brands and
leading vendors, especially in the components space, that were missed out till
last year, in Channel Choice Awards, when we limited the survey only to finished
products. So, this year, we introduced many

new categories (related to components) such as monitor, motherboard, processor
and hard disk drive, besides scanner and system infrastructure software. The new
system will provide a good chance for component vendors like Intel and Seagate
to win the coveted award, unlike in the previous years where they had the chance
only to participate and win in Channel Satisfaction Survey.

In addition to new categories, we also created special segments within a
product group, which required attention. For example- Networking was divided
into three segments such as LAN, wireless LAN and structured cabling. Similarly,
a new segment was created under software, which is called System Infrastructure
Software. Another important change this time is clubbing of AIOs with inkjet
printers and MFDs with lasers. There is no special category for multi-functional
printers.

In all, the Channel Choice Awards were increased to 20, instead of the 13
given away last year.

Winners and Losers

This year, there was not much change in the winners and losers tally. The
winners of last year continued to hold strong their positions in the current
year too, except in one category. Dot matrix printer segment saw TVS-E edging
out Epson by a small margin. WeP Peripherals stood third in the race.

Intel, Samsung and Seagate were the new entrants in the Channel Choice
Awards.

Branded Desktops

HP clearly lead the pack in branded desktop category, while Lenovo came
second, like last year. However, it was distant from HP, as channels' vote was
clearly in favor of the US-brand. HCL came second runner-up this time. HP scored
on a variety of factors such as best brand image, product quality, after-sales
service and value for money, among others.

Notebooks

In laptop, HP again stood first and retained the number one position. HP was
valued for its brand image and product quality. The company offers a wide range
of products, right from entry-level to mid-range and high-end segments, meeting
the demands of the market. In general, channels are happy with the company's
service and support.

Lenovo finished the race second but far behind HP. Acer was the second
runner-up in this category. It is important to note here that Acer has been
figuring in this column since the last two years, pushing aside its competitor
Toshiba.

X86 Servers

IBM retained its glory in the server space. Till two years back, HP was at
the helm and IBM surprised everyone making it to the top spot last year. IBM
continued to show its aggressiveness in business, pampering the channel
community with lots of schemes and incentives. Today, IBM's business mainly
revolves around servers and infrastructure solution. However, HP is not far
behind in the race and is close to the top vendor.

Inkjet Printers

HP's strength in peripherals business is a well-known fact and the company
dominates in the printer segment, with multiple products at various price
points. HP's technology leadership and product quality gave clear edge for the
brand in the market. Channels acknowledged that HP was the most sought after
product in the market and it offered better value for money. Canon became the
next sought-after brand and achieved number two position, pushing Epson one step
down. Epson was the number two brand last year in inkjets. However, both Canon
and Epson trailed far-behind HP in this segment.

Laser Printers

HP continued with its winning streak in lasers too. HP demonstrated its success
through product quality, brand image, after-sales service and value for money
offering. Samsung was the distant runner-up, like last year.

Dot Matrix Printers

In the traditional printer segment, TVS-E bounced back to reach the top
slot. It was always a close contest between TVS-E and Epson in the dot matrix
printer business. Epson narrowly lost to TVS-E this time, the post that it
retained for the last two years. Best product quality, after-sales service and
brand image are some of the reasons attributed by channels for TVS-E's success.
WeP was the runner-up in this space.

Monitors

As said earlier, the scope of survey was extended beyond finished products
and components were also included in the process. Monitors, one of the hot
segments, saw Samsung clinch the cup and title of winner. Samsung scored higher
points than LG on various factors such as product quality, brand image,
after-sales service and value for money, among others. LG trailed as a distant
runner-up.

Processors

Intel won the title here. It was almost like the results were concluded even
before the survey was taken out. Intel's global leadership position, powerful
brand image and strong channel programs have made it an undisputed leader. Intel
is the most demanded product in the market and the brand image plays a big role
in it. Though AMD was a distant runner-up it is gaining popularity among the
channels.



Motherboard

Intel influenced motherboard business with its strength in processor family.
As performance of a PC is mainly related to compatibility and integration of
processor and motherboard, Intel is the favorite brand among channels and
end-customers. As usual, Intel is perceived as a best brand and most demanded
product in the market. Asus was a runner-up in this segment.

Hard Disk Drives

Seagate and Samsung mainly control hard disk drive market. And, Seagate is
far ahead of its competition. Seagate is known for its best products,
after-sales support, brand image and value for money. Seagate continues to be
the most demanded product in the market, while Samsung comes second.

Secondary Storage

In the secondary storage segment, HP was voted as the most favorite brand by
channels. In fact, HP is a global leader in this space and offers a wide range
of products in the market. Best product quality, brand image, after-sales
service and value for money are the reasons attributed by channels for HP's
success in the market. IBM was the runner-up in secondary storage.

Networking—Lan

D-Link is quite strong in LAN segment and has a well-networked channel
across the country. The company offers a wide range of products and stands for
quality and commitment. It continues to be the most demanded product, with best
after-sales services and value for money. Cisco was voted number two brand here.

Networking—Wireless Lan

D-Link is a clear winner in this segment too. Channels prefer D-Link for
various reasons, while Netgear and Linksys manages to come second and third,
respectively.

Digital Cameras

The spotlight was on Kodak. The company makes winning a habit and steals the
show every time. Kodak keeps away competition, with its quality product, brand
image, after-sales service and value for money. Channels voted Canon and Sony as
distant runner-ups from the top vendor. The results were the same as last year.

UPS

The race for power saw APC emerging as the clear winner. APC is known among
channels for its product quality, brand image, after-sales service and value for
money. WeP managed to retain its second position, while Microtek came third as
usual.

Security Solutions

Symantec dominates security market and the channels vote was clearly in
favor of it. Symantec is a well-known brand worldwide and far ahead of its
competitors-McAfee and Quickheal, as far as winning the trust of channel
partners is concerned.

Enterprise Application Software

Microsoft won this title for the second time and this segment was created
only from last year. Microsoft is the most demanded product with its best brand
image and value for money offering. SAP and Oracle, the other two bigwigs,
trailed behind.

S Gopikrishna