Cisco Systems Tops Green Network Equipment Vendor Matrix

ABI Research has announced the release of its latest "Green Network Equipment" Vendor Matrix in which Cisco Systems (News - Alert) has been ranked at the top.

 

This vendor matrix is one of three newly-released ABI Vendor Matrix's related to green networking practices.

 

ABI Research (News - Alert) focuses its attention on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. This research analyzed the internal green initiatives as well as the greenness of the switches developed by vendors. In the company's new evaluation, Nortel Networks and Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert) (HP) have claimed the second and third spots.

 

For the Vendor Matrix, vendors are assessed on the basis of important parameters of "innovation" and "implementation" across several criteria unique to each vendor.

 

ABI Research examined vendors' carbon footprints, their regulatory compliance and recycling practices and internal green initiatives. The use of video conferencing, telepresence and telecommuting, and participation in environmental organizations were other factors that were also taken into account in the category.

 

In the matrix, Nortel (News - Alert) finished first in the Implementation category. The company builds the 'greenest' switches, which have been optimized for low power consumption, says ABI Research.

 

In the same category, Cisco finished just behind Nortel, and also received points for its Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) and its ability to schedule power deliver to IP devices. Cisco stood first in the overall rankings with its Implementation score and strong internal green efforts.

 

While in the Innovation category, Cisco tied Hewlett-Packard. This category measures how green a company is internally. The factors contributing to companies' scores in this category are their commitment to telepresence, recycling and establishing and meeting their carbon footprint goals.