Enterprise Network Equipment Vertical Views Survey: To-Do List for the Next 12 Months Indicates Priorities Are in Line with Business Needs

This IDC study presents the findings of IDC's 2006 Enterprise Network Vertical Views Survey by 17 vertical industries and four company size segments. IDC believes this vertical and company size segmentation is increasingly important as a means of identifying opportunities in network equipment due to diverging priorities. The results of the survey strongly suggest network managers are focused on meeting industry-specific business needs for their companies.

"This survey data leads IDC to conclude that network managers do indeed have their business needs in mind, and any spending on gigabit or other higher-capacity performance is an expected component of a network upgrade, but the need for productivity and security is clearly driving spending to a larger degree than desires for network performance," said Abner Germanow, director of Enterprise Networking Research.