IT vendors lose that loving feeling

IT buyers have little love or loyalty for the IT brands they purchase.

The survey looked at computer software, networking equipment, servers and workstations, storage systems and IT services. Some 44 per cent of respondees said they feel loyalty to the majority of their suppliers. But 30 per cent feel "trapped" by some vendors and 25 per cent are actively looking to change suppliers.

IBM did well in all categories except software. HP did well in services but its customers for networking, servers and storage are much less loyal. Sun Microsystems' customers are disloyal in all categories. Networking firms were the least loved by their customers.

Other firms in Walker's "loyalty limbo" section include: 3Com, Apple, Computer Associates, EDS, Intel, McAfee, Nortel, Novell, PeopleSoft and Symantec.

Phillip Bounsall, executive vice president at Walker, said the results showed that just because a company is selling kit that doesn't mean they have loyal customers. He told CNET: "Just because a customer is buying your products, that doesn't make them truly loyal. Some customers may buy only because they feel there's nothing better available, or because their budgets only allow them certain options. The truth is that only a handful of IT vendors have created that feeling of real devotion."

The survey, carried out by Walker Information, was completed by 13,000 people ranging from CIO to maintenance engineers.

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