There’s a reason so many of today’s awards are attached with the word “Choice”. Let’s be honest, they mean a little more; they carry more weight. And Choice Awards address what we’ve all suspected at one time or another—awards based on judging by a panel of “experts” are fraught with problems. Here’s an example, but keep in mind that I’ve conducted absolutely zero research on the subject―in 1977, Star Wars DID NOT win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It made over a gazillion dollars; people in other solar systems lined up to see it. Not to belittle the winner, but…Annie Hall? Really? I think this gross oversight is the very reason “Choice” awards were invented in the first place. “Enough,” said moviegoers, “we’ll start selecting winners.”
The 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice Awards
There are awards for the people’s choice, the kids’ choice, the editor’s choice, and on and on. In the business world, though, there’s nothing better than winning a customers’ choice award. It suggests that you’re doing “it” well, whatever “it” refers to. No question, it’s great to be honored by industry experts, trade publications or professional associations. But when customers have stood up to proclaim that what you offer, deliver and manage is exactly what they’d contracted for, it carries more weight. No question. Now combine a customers’ choice award with Gartner, one of the IT industry’s most influential and trusted research firms, you’ve exponentially added more cachet into the mix—that’s no secret to Juniper Networks. They were recently named one of only three recipients of a 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice Award for Data Center Networking (there were dozens that didn’t make the cut). Gartner’s Customers’ Choice Awards are presented to vendors who received at least fifty published customer reviews in the last twelve months, and when averaged have a rating of at least 4.2 stars. Juniper Networks received more than twice the required reviews, and comfortably exceeded the 4.2-star rating. But before you head down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and suspect fictitious reviews were uploaded, consider who is presenting the awards—Gartner. They understand how to ensure evaluations are fair and untainted. Remember, they’re Gartner; they’re one of the most noteworthy and quoted IT research firms on the planet.
What makes Juniper Networks so special in the world of data center networking?
Because it’s a customers’ choice award, I’ll let several of Juniper’s customers take this one. The following were actual quotes that Gartner utilized in calculating award winners (their titles range from IT administrator to CIO, and everything in between): “Juniper EX switches are tanks that just work. Junos is a dream to work with.” “Juniper allows smarter networks for less money.” “Technology and, more importantly, the people at Juniper have proven to be second to none.” “Juniper robust, wire speed and flexible technology.” “Implementation has been easy, and the Juniper switches integrate well into our existing network.” “Implementation ease, operations, and scalability are top-notch with Juniper.” You get the idea. There are several dozen just like them that were crafted by technical professionals who work for companies of different sizes and from a wide array of industries. But they all discovered the same thing: selecting Juniper Networks was another type of choice—the perfect one.
Have questions about how your organization can soon enjoy the same features and benefits as these Juniper Networks’ customers? These experts have the answers
GDT’s tenured, talented solutions architects, engineers and security analysts understand how to positively incorporate data center solutions that help customers realize greater productivity, enhanced operations and more revenue. GDT utilizes key partnerships with best-of-breed technology companies, like Juniper Networks, to help organizations transform their legacy environments into highly productive digital infrastructures and architectures. You can reach them at SolutionsArchitects@GDT.com or at Engineering @GDT.com. They’d love to hear from you.
