Who's Hardware Is Best? RIS Announces 2008 LeaderBoard Winners

By Joe Skorupa

In times like these you learn only the strong will survive. In times like these you need to know who is the best of the best. In times like these the RIS Hardware LeaderBoard 2008 provides critical insight into the leading hardware vendors in retailing to help you make better decisions.

As with other RIS head-to-head vendor rankings, the 2008 Hardware LeaderBoard measures customer satisfaction of IT vendors operating in the retail vertical. The six categories measured include: POS Units, Peripherals, Kiosks, Networking, Back of Store and RFID.

POS Units
To be considered for the POS Units category vendors must make and warranty the following technologies: complete fixed units, self-checkout units, mobile units and hand-held units.

Although HP is a 60-year-old IT powerhouse, it is relatively new to retail POS. By topping the POS Unit category in 2008 it makes a clear statement that its affordable, retail-specific approach is winning over retailers.

Tied for second place, and separated from the top score by hundredths of a point, are DigiPOS and UTC Retail. Both companies receive consistently high marks from retailers year after year in the LeaderBoard. DigiPos, a worldwide vendor, occupied the top spot in last years ranking and came close to doing it again.

UTC Retail (formerly Ultimate Technology) is also familiar with being highly rated, having occupied the top spot in 2006. This year it not only tied for second in a close race, but it captures two wins in individual criteria: Support and Service and Price and Value.

Other criteria winners in the POS Unit category are IBM, which came out on top in Product Reliability and Overall Performance, and Zebra Technologies in Product Features and Technology Innovation.

Peripherals
Devices considered to be Peripherals in the Hardware LeaderBoard include: keyboards, scanners, receipt printers, electronic payment devices, signature capture pads, check imagers, biometric identification readers, pole units, screens and cash drawers.

In the three years the Hardware LeaderBoard has been published Epson is batting a perfect thousand (in baseball terms), going three for three in capturing the top spot. Retailers especially cited Epson for excellence in Technology Innovation, Price and Value, and Overall Performance.

Coming in a close second is Metrologic, which topped the category in Product Features and Product Reliability.

IBM led the field in Support and Service.

Networking
Cisco regains the top spot in the Networking category this year as it did in 2006. The Networking category includes vendors that make switches, hubs, routers, wireless access points, servers and similar networking devices and appliances.

Cisco registered top scores in five of the six criteria: Product Features, Technology Innovation, Support and Service, Product Reliability, and Overall Performance.

The one criteria in which Cisco did not beat it rivals is Price and Value, which was captured by second-place finisher Motorola (Symbol).

Kiosks
Kiosks are defined as self-contained fixed or hand-held access points that can perform well defined functions for either customers or associates. They are used for both delivering information and collecting it.

Two vendors dominate the kiosk category: NCR and IBM. Topping the list this year is NCR, which earned the top spot by winning four of the six criteria: Product Features, Support and Service, Product Reliability and Overall Performance.

IBM, last year's winner, came in a close second and scored decisive wins in two individual criteria: Technology Innovation and Price and Value.

Back of Store
In the Back of Store category, we focus on printers, scanners, desktop computers, and personal digital assistants. Last year Dell came out on top by a few hundredths of a point, but this year HP pulls ahead to achieve its second category win in 2008. HP's leading score is the result of topping the field in four of the six criteria: Product Features, Technology Innovation, Support and Service and Product Reliability (in a tie).

Dell came in a close second and took top honors in three major criteria: Price and Value, Product Reliability (tied) and Overall Performance.

RFID Technology
Last year, Motorola was the only provider that had enough marketshare to acquire the minimum number of votes to make the list. This year two companies achieve this distinction: Motorola and ADT. For this category we consider vendors that make and warranty RFID readers, chips, printers, tags and antennas.

Motorola tops the list by getting impressive scores in all six individual criteria. ADT also scored well across the matrix and tied for first in the Price and Value criteria.

Methodology
The final rankings are based on evaluations submitted by a sample of retailers from the RIS subscriber pool, a meticulously qualified list of senior-level executives that have significant IT responsibility. The respondent pool cuts across all major retail categories. It focuses on tier one, two and three retailers. Job titles are C-level and VP-level executives.

Data is supervised and gathered by Litchfield Research, an independent firm that specializes in polling and surveys. Rankings are based on a cumulative score in six criteria that are each worth a maximum of 10 points (for highest satisfaction). These criteria are Product Features and Functionality, Price and Value, Overall Performance, Technology Innovation, Support and Service, and Product Reliability.

The complete RIS 2008 Hardware LeaderBoard will be mailed to subscribers in the August issue and the posted on the RIS Web site the first week of August.