The first half of 2020 saw organizations go through years-worth of digital transformation in just a couple of months, as much of the world pivoted to remote and home working. For professionals in networking, this has helped to make security decision-making even more complex and challenging than it was before. At the same time, when it comes to enabling and ensuring future business success, making the right network security decisions has become more important than ever.

So when we recently surveyed some 223 respondents working in a range of business and technology roles, all of them involved in networking and/or security, we made sure to ask about how they choose solutions and suppliers. What makes a vendor attractive or unattractive? When would they consider a network security solution from a new supplier? And where should those new suppliers focus their efforts in order to convince prospective buyers?

The answers summarized below will make interesting reading for technology partners such as system integrators, resellers and VARs, and indeed for anyone else seeking to understand what motivates those who influence and authorize purchases.