Who topped CRN's 2017 Vendor Report?

We can finally reveal some top-line findings of our 2017 Vendor Report, with Mimecast and Brocade emerging victorious out of the 38 IT manufacturers featured.

Through the Autumn of 2016 and Spring of 2017, CRN conducted a major channel-wide study of vendors' service performance.

Some 200 reseller executives rated each vendor they had worked with in the previous 12 months on four services categories, namely product quality, after-sales & technical support, channel management and lead generation.

The report looks at vendors through the prism of two distinct markets, namely communications and infrastructure, and security. Of the 38 vendors featured, 13 were ranked for their performance in the security, 13 more for their performance as communications and infrastructure vendors, and 12 were ranked in both areas.

Here we run down the top five vendors by their percentage scores. Averages were taken where vendors appeared across both categories.

5) Oracle - 73 per cent

Two other vendors also scored 73 per cent, but we opted to award Oracle fifth place courtesy of it ranking third in security with a score of 77 per cent.

The enterprise software giant's lofty position in the report may surprise some given its chequered history in the channel, but Oracle earned plaudits from respondents for its channel management and lead generation.

Account management and business development support had improved a great deal since our 2014 Vendor Report. With mid-market clients in its sights, today's Oracle is giving the channel a bit more care and attention, the research concluded.

Ranking continues on next page...