* Cisco outsells others in the multifunction security devices stakes
Since the third quarter of 2003, the top four vendors of multifunction security platforms that include firewalls and VPNs have remained unchanged, according to a study by Synergy Research.
The top four slots were held, in order, by Cisco, Check Point, Juniper and Nokia, with a note that Nokia sells gear that is based on Check Point software.
Cisco is the clear leader, selling about 40% by revenue of all the multifunction platforms, with Check Point weighing in with 14.7%, Juniper with 7.7% and Nokia with 6.3%.
While these vendors have held the top five, there has been jockeying for fifth, sixth and seventh places.
CA, Symantec and Secure Computing held those respective positions in 2004, but that shifted to Symantec, CA and Fortinet last year. So far this year, Symantec, Fortinet and SonicWall have held those slots.
It is most notable that Cisco seems to be maintaining the dominant position over a period of years with the others in the top four coming in, at best, with more than 20% less revenue than Cisco in this category.
It is also interesting to note that in the past two years, Fortinet and SonicWall have wriggled into the top seven. Both have relatively inexpensive models of multifunction devices, which indicates that there must be strong interest in this category of devices among customers for whom price is a key factor.
This group is also likely to coincide with customers that don’t have a lot of in-house expertise to shop around for, buy and then maintain a battery of single function platforms that do as much as these all-in-one devices.
