[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI), an IT management leader serving over 85,000 licensed network management tools and solutions customers worldwide, today released the results of a survey exploring whether current network management or monitoring solutions offer enough value to justify the price tag. The survey results, along with four SolarWinds' customer testimonials, indicate that affordability and ease-of-use are the more favorable network management or monitoring qualities in terms of features and capabilities.

According to a recent survey* of over 100 IT professionals with a company size of more than 500 employees:

· Buyer's remorse is apparent, particularly among those respondents utilizing software from the traditional Big Four enterprise network solution vendors -- Cisco, IBM, HP and CA.

Two-thirds of those indicate they're paying for features and capabilities they do not need or utilize.

55 percent of respondents using solutions from those four vendors report that they would give up functionality they are not using in order to reduce their costs.

· Among customers of the Big Four enterprise software vendors, ROI on current network management or monitoring solution is not enough to justify the total cost of ownership.

More than 50 percent claim that they need to pay for staff training in order to maximize the ROI of their Big Four technology.

34 percent indicate that management and maintenance fees are a big inhibitor to maximizing ROI, and almost as many cite the reliance on system integrators.

“This research, along with EMA's own market analysis, underscores the importance of clearly understanding whether or not you are getting optimal value from your network management tools,” said Jim Frey, VP of Research, Network Management, at EMA. “Many shops are re-evaluating their choices, and switching to alternatives such as SolarWinds that cover a broad range of management needs with products that have been specifically designed for affordability and usability.”