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New research from IHS Markit identifies Cisco as the most recognized vendor in the router and switch market, with Juniper and Nokia following closely behind.
IHS Markit’s 2016 switch and router vendor leadership study surveyed service providers to understand how they choose router and CES manufacturers, which vendors’ equipment they currently deploy, and which suppliers they consider for future purchases.
The 15-page report includes operator ratings of 11 vendors—Brocade, Cisco, Coriant, ECI, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, Juniper, NEC, Nokia (including Alcatel‑Lucent), and ZTE—across nine selection criteria. It evaluates service provider perceptions of edge routers, core routers, and CES manufacturers.
In the survey, Cisco ranked highest on overall leadership for edge/core router and CES manufacturers. Alongside Juniper, Huawei, and Nokia (including Alcatel‑Lucent), Cisco forms a clear top tier that is separated by a wide margin from other suppliers. These four vendors together account for roughly 86% of global revenue market share for routers and CES.
When respondents rated individual selection criteria, Nokia led for product reliability and service and support, followed by Cisco and Juniper. For technology innovation and product roadmap, Cisco and Nokia placed first and second, respectively. In terms of price-to-performance ratio, Chinese manufacturers led the field, with Huawei ranked first and ZTE second.
Cisco, Juniper, Huawei, and Nokia also dominated measures such as unaided awareness, aided awareness (familiarity), equipment currently installed, and vendors under active evaluation. The same group of suppliers was most often mentioned as leaders in next‑generation routing technologies, including 100GE, virtual routers (vRouter), and IP-based data center interconnect (IP DCI).
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