Date:09/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/04/09/stories/2005040901840500.htm

Back SMBs shifting to primary-vendor networking tools

Our Bureau

New Delhi , April 8

THE Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in Asia Pacific are moving away from multi-vendor networking solutions to primary-vendor suites, a recent study by Frost & Sullivan has said.

The main drivers for this trend are considerations for consolidation, convenience and cost, at a time when growing network complexity is posing a challenge in terms of management, integration and cost. The study, commissioned by Cisco Systems, surveyed over 100 SMBs in Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, and Singapore.

"Network complexity is no longer an issue for just the large enterprises, but also a growing concern for SMBs. SMBs are today forging ahead in the adoption of newer networking technologies, having realised the business benefits behind new generation networks that offer converged data, voice and multimedia," Mr Manoj Menon, partner, Frost & Sullivan, said in a release.