Windows & .NET Magazine and SQL Server Magazine Name Best of TechEd 2004 Awards Winners

Windows & .NET Magazine Network announced the winners of the Best of TechEd 2004 Awards at a reception at the Marriott Marina hotel in San Diego. Kim Paulsen, Group Publisher for Windows & .NET Magazine, SQL Server Magazine, and Connected Home Magazine, presented awards to Windows technology vendors in 10 categories and announced an overall Best of Show winner. The field included more than 260 entries, and the judges evaluated products based on their strategic importance in the market, competitive advantage, and value to the customer. The categories included: Business Productivity Solutions, Data Management, Developer Tools (Components and Middleware), Developer Tools (Software), Management & Operations, Messaging, Mobile PCs & Devices, Security, Windows Infrastructure Solutions (Software), Windows Infrastructure Solutions (Hardware), Editor’s Choice for Services, and Most Interesting New Product.

“Among all the products evaluated for the Best of TechEd 2004 awards, the finalists stood out as market leaders by providing the most competitive advantage and value to end-user organizations,” said Mike Otey, Senior Technical Editor for Windows & .NET Magazine and SQL Server Magazine. The Overall Best of TechEd winner was AMD’s AMD64 Platform. “Simply put, AMD64 Platform redefines the way people think about the future of X86 architecture computing,” said Otey.

The winner of the Business Productivity Solutions category was Oracle Corporation’s Oracle Collaboration Suite. “Oracle Collaboration Suite provides an enterprise-wide and highly customizable portal solution. It facilitates collaboration within enterprise level businesses and provides a seamless integration with Outlook. Best of all, it’s very easy to manage,” commented Otey.

Quest Central for SQL Server won the Data Management category. “Quest Central for SQL Server enhances enterprise management of SQL Server by providing add-on functionality,” said Otey. “The product offers two significant tools: Spotlight, a diagnostic monitoring tool; and a SQL tuning tool that generates different version statements and finds the most efficient statement.”

ComponentOne’s Studio Enterprise won in the Developer Tools (Components and Middleware) category. “ComponentOne Studio Enterprise offers a full suite of .NET controls. The product provides more than 100 controls that the developer can use to build .NET and COM solutions,” said Otey.

The winner in the Developer Tools (Software) category was Altova’s XMLSpy. “Altova’s XMLSpy offers a complete solution for building XML projects,” commented Otey. “The product offers full debugging and connects to multiple database platforms including SQL, MYSQL, and DB2.”

The winner in the Management & Operations product category was Reflectent Software’s EdgeSight 3.0. “Reflectent Software’s EdgeSight 3.0 does for clients what MOM does for servers,” said David Chernicoff, judge and Senior Contributing Editor for Windows & .NET Magazine. “It offers comprehensive operations management for the desktop and provides a level of service and support only expected on the server side.”

Akonix Systems’ L7 Enterprise won in the Messaging category. “Akonix Systems’ L7 Enterprise takes control of instant messaging before it takes control of you,” said Chernicoff. The winner in the Mobile PCs & Devices category was Intellisync Corporation’s Mobile Suite. “Intellisync Mobile Suite provides a set of tools for managing a broad selection of smart mobile phones/devices,” said Chernicoff.

BindView’s Vulnerability Management Suite was the product winner in the Security category. “BindView’s Vulnerability Management Suite offers a comprehensive security product. It detects intrusion, provides internal and external scans, patch management and executes overall vulnerability scanning,” said Otey. “The Vulnerability Management Suite integrates best practices.”

The Windows Infrastructure Solutions (Software) category winner was NSI’s Double-Take. “NSI’s Double-Take offers an inexpensive solution for geographical replication of database servers and a range of offerings for customers,” said Chernicoff. “This product provides the most functionality to the largest number of IT professionals.”

The Windows Infrastructure Solutions (Hardware) category winner was IronPort Systems’ C60 Gateway Appliance. “IronPort Systems’ C60 Gateway Appliance combines spam blocking and anti-virus protection,” said Chernicoff. “It combines a number of different sources to determine if mail is real, provides the best support for spam, and minimizes an enterprise’s exposure to threats that arrive via email.”

Also honored was Postini’s Perimeter Manager for The Editors’ Choice for Services award. “Postini Perimeter Manager is a great service because it gives the power of a dedicated email manager to organizations that can’t afford one,” said Chernicoff.

This year’s Most Interesting New Product award went to Xprime’s Xprime Database Accelerator. “Xprime Database Accelerator provides linear scaling and improves the performance of SQL Server,” said Otey. “No schema or database changes are required, which makes the Database Accelerator a plug and play device. It truly offers a transparent solution to database management.”