IDG's InfoWorld Releases Enterprise Server Study

Business Wire, August 2, 1999

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 1999--

InfoWorld, the IT newsweekly that defines technology for business, today announced the results of its Enterprise Server study.

Respondents to the survey indicated that unaided brand awareness plays a major role in driving purchase by brand. Compaq and Dell had the highest unaided awareness scores and the highest plan to purchase. Brand familiarity, another indicator of purchase intent, did not always provide a direct correlation for purchase intent.

Advanced research techniques including perceptual mapping, significance testing and segmentation analysis were used to determine which attributes drive server purchase, what attributes are brand differentiation, and which brands are closest to the "Ideal Brand" for enterprise server buyers.

The survey findings also showed that there are three distinct segments of buyers, "safe buyers," "prudent buyers" and "99.999 percenters." Each segment had distinct purchase attributes.

For example, safe buyers looked for leading-edge technology that exhibited strength in technical service and support, compatibility, manageability and scalability while prudent buyers looked at price/performance and the total cost of ownership. 99.99 percenters found reliability, high-availability and technical service and support their top purchase attributes.

"The Internet's tremendous growth has created an even greater need for enterprise-class servers," said Wally Palmer, vice president of research for InfoWorld. "This study details not only the close race among top server vendors for market-share but also the important criteria buyers review prior to purchase." -0-

     Among the findings:

--   Sixty-nine percent of respondents were extremely/very familiar
     with Compaq's server products. IBM ranked second with 65 percent
     brand recognition.

--   Twenty-seven percent of respondents had purchased Dell
     servers in the past 12 months but 45 percent planned to purchase
     Dell servers in the next year.

--   Reliability and high availability ranked highest for purchase
     criteria.

--   Most respondents planned to install more file/print servers than
     any other category.

--   Fifty-six percent plan to install Windows NT servers and 16
     percent plan to install Unix.

-0-

Methodology

Over 500 telephone interviews were conducted of InfoWorld subscribers who regularly purchase servers. Respondents were screened for purchase of servers and readership of InfoWorld for a minimum of one year. InfoWorld research developed the questionnaire in conjunction with IDG Research services.

About InfoWorld

Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley, InfoWorld and InfoWorld Electric (www.infoworld.com), the leading IT sources for defining technology for business in print and on the web, cover key technologies, products and trends to assist IT professionals in leveraging technology for business advantage. InfoWorld's $23-million dedicated cross-platform, enterprise test bed -- the InfoWorld Test Center -- conducts the industry's most trusted testing of technology and products as well as provides in-depth analysis and the business ROI of the technology and implementation.

InfoWorld is a wholly owned independent business unit of IDG, the world's leading IT media and information services company. IDG publishes more than 290 computer newspapers and magazines and 700 book titles and offers online users the largest network of technology sites around the world through IDG.net (http://www.idg.net), which comprises more than 240 targeted web sites in 55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions in 35 countries and provides computer industry research and analysis through 49 offices in 42 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.