Second Tier Vendors

Second tier software vendors are those who aren't one of the big, household names. They don't advertise on TV, but they're selling perfectly acceptable products - often very good ones - & they're generally trying really hard to become one of the big guys. That means, if you're careful, you can get a great product & excellent support for a very attractive price. There are dangers, of course. Some go under, but that happens even with the big guys. Look at what Symantec did with their firewall hardware in June 2006. Dropped it cold & the customer can go to hell.

Another disadvantage is that it's tough to sell a high profile system, such as email, to the suits if they've never heard of it. Everyone has heard of the big 3 of email (Microsoft, Lotus, Novell) although Novell's perceived future isn't as good as it could be. (I've struggled to keep Novell for years. Their marketing department hasn't helped a lick. They should be shot!)

It's not just the suits. I'm making extensive changes to our network, a great time to put in new systems, but my VARs (Value Added Reseller, sells me hardware, software & engineering support) don't seem to know anyone except the big names, either.
Backup: Symantec's Veritas or CA's ArcServe. (Acronis? Why not?)
Antivirus: Symantec or McAfee - one mentioned TrendMicro. No Sophos?
Firewall: Cisco, maybe SonicWall (WatchGuard, Fortigate?)

I hate Symantec & CA. They’re big companies who have grown far too big. They’re more interested in running me through paperwork games than letting purchase the software & get on with the job at hand. Their default tech support generally sucks, is hard to get to & hampered by language or draconian rules. Their better grades of support are generall too expensive for small companies. I don't recall what Symantec wanted for their Platinum AV support, but I do recall I've never been able to afford it. Since their AV product now sucks, I've gone to Sophos. They're small enough to try harder, support their customers 24x7 & send me licensing along with the purchase. No hoops to jump through!

I bought a Fortigate FW rather than a Cisco (I also looked at SonicWall & WatchGuard), but I have limited time & experience to pick out all my own products. I need to know they work in the field. Who can better tell me than my VAR? I'm looking at 3 different VARs since they mostly don't want to look at new solutions, but only at the ‘proven’, big name companies.