Cisco rose not just in rank, but in every indicator we used to measure power. Its Power Rating rose almost two percentage points, to 81.5 in 2000 from 80.2 in 1999. Three-quarters of respondents expect Cisco's power will continue to increase in 2001.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's Power Rating dropped more than four percentage points this year, to 77.5 from 80.9 in 1999. Far fewer folks - about half - think Microsoft's power will grow in the year to come.

Of the 25 companies on the list, only two others made marked progress in the rankings: Oracle and SBC Communications. Oracle rose seven spots to the No. 4 place, with a Power Rating of 68.5 compared to 66.9 in 1999. Plus, it's looking at the upswing of a bell curve, respondents believe. About half said Oracle's power will rise further in 2001. This growth has come from Oracle's expansion into application services, mobile commerce and IP-based call centers, for example.

SBC climbed nine spots to No. 14, with an 18.6% gain in its Power Rating. The rating hit 59.3, compared to 50 in 1999. However, a closer look finds respondents less than confident about SBC's long-term dominance. More than one-half said they didn't know if SBC would gain or lose power in 2001. This, despite the fact that it continues to storm the wireless and DSL markets, having invested $6 billion in the latter through its Project Pronto.

Dell put in a respectable showing for its entry onto the list:

No. 7. Servers, storage-area networks, wireless and partnerships hammer home the fact that the company isn't just PCs anymore. Indeed, it is gaining ground in networking, with more than half of respondents expecting Dell's power to increase in 2001.

The poll, which closed three weeks prior to WorldCom's announced restructuring, predicted problems. WorldCom's Power Rating sunk 10.3% to 60.2 from 67.1 in 1999.

Uncertainty remains over BellSouth as one after another regional Bell operating company is picked off in mergers. BellSouth dropped six places from 16 to 22. Its Power Rating decreased 14.6%, to 50.3, from 58.9 in 1999.

Our poll ended three weeks prior to the ousting of Lucent CEO Rich McGinn, but respondents knew the company was doing poorly anyway. Lucent dropped four spots to the No. 9 rank. Its nearly 10 percentage-point drop in the Power Ratings, to 64.1, landed it on our list of biggest losers.

The two other newcomers fared worse than Dell. SAP and Alcatel landed 20 and 23, respectively. Despite SAP's push into business-to-business e-commerce, its numerous partnerships and its willingness to battle against Oracle and Microsoft, readers feel the company has a long road ahead. Alcatel invited itself onto the list by purchasing Newbridge Networks, 1999's last place company. In that respect, Alcatel gained some footage, climbing over beleaguered Novell and last-place Cabletron.