Alcatel Unleashed

I am currently trying to define the main differences between hp, Cisco and Alcatel-Lucent switches. I have struggle to find any differential between the devices, obviously comparing them to their equivalent from each brand, so my question is: Is there any advantage that differentiates Alcatel-Lucent Omniswitch from Cisco and hp devices?
Thanks.

Why Choose a VW over a Kia?

Both are Cars, both are doing fine on the road, both take you from A to B.

In the end all Switches do their thing. For most customers even a unmanaged switch or a managed netgear would do.
Alcatel tends to be cheaper than cisco, while cisco may support more "features" which most user do not need.
So often it's a I am used to Switch type X or the company i trust and supports me offers switch type Y.

Alcatel is good and cheap, so no issues with that, HP is also aggressivle priced, but i have no personal experience with them.

More or less all manufactures have similar switches (24/48Gig + 2/4 10Gig or 24 10Gig + X 40Gig..) so that is not really a difference here.

Cisco is (in my eyes) better when you need to debug. And the Cisco TAC is (in general) very good. But more expensive, you may need smartnet for support ...
With alcatel you may get a lab-built firmware if you report a bug, where as Cisco will happily let you wait 6-9 month for a fixed version without any chance to test whether the bug was really fixed.

But that is just my personal experience.. YMMV