Since commencing vendor ratings on the four big hardware infrastructure vendors – Dell, HP, IBM and Sun – 18 months ago, Gartner has changed the ratings of two.

Dell and IBM, though vastly different in their strengths, both retain their “positive” ratings, the second-best on a scale of five. HP`s rating improved to “promising” from “caution”, in recognition of the success of its merger with Compaq.

“We were pleasantly surprised – shocked even – at the success to date with minimum impact,” says analyst Andy Butler, recalling that Gartner was a vocal critic of the merger in 2001.