Issue #15 January 2006

Red Hat tops CIO Insight Survey for second-straight year

by Claire Sauls


Everyone can use a pat on the back every once in a while. Corporations are no different, and the annual CIO Insight Vendor Value study is very important to vendors who work closely with IT executives.

This past December, the study interviewed nearly 900 US-based IT executives, asking them to rate the vendors they've had a business relationship with in the last year in the fields of value, reliability, and loyalty. Survey questions focused on seven key criteria, including how well vendors met expectations for increasing revenues and lowering costs, how well they met commitments on time and budget, and vendors' flexibility and responsiveness. Respondents answered each question with either an excellent, good, fair, or poor rating, and the results tallied the percentage of 'excellent' and 'good' responses.

The overall winner for the second consecutive year was Red Hat, with a rating of 84.2%. When Red Hat appeared on top in 2004, it was the first time it had appeared in the survey. To win the top spot, Red Hat beat out Apple Computer, Cisco Systems, Dell, and McAfee.

When responses were divided into the individual categories of value and reliability, Red Hat topped the value chart, setting records with its numbers in this category for the second-straight year. In loyalty ratings, which did not factor into the overall score, Red Hat also claimed the top spot, with a whopping 97% of respondents reporting that if given the choice they would continue to do business with Red Hat.

Such positive scores as companies like Red Hat received are a sign of encouragement from IT executives. Companies at the top of the Vendor Value Study can see how their business strategies have paid off over the past year.

"Customer feedback is the most important measure of our success," said Joanne Rohde, Red Hat's executive vice president of Worldwide Operations. "For the second consecutive year, CIOs and other high-level IT executives have named Red Hat their most valued IT vendor. The results indicate that customers are finding our broad portfolio of open source technologies and services to be the most compelling and valued in the market."

The fight for the top spot will continue until this October when IT executives once again give their feedback, and it is probably safe to say that Red Hat has no intention of giving up the throne.

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About the author

Claire Sauls is an intern in the marketing department at Red Hat. She is a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in International Studies. In her spare time, she loves to travel to Haiti and any other destination. She is also a contributor to Red Hat's Intern blog.