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The Windows IT Pro Editors’ Best awards recognize products and services that our editors and contributors have selected as standing out from the rest in more than a dozen product categories. Our judging team narrowed the list down to dozens of finalists, then winnowed that list even further. After some heated discussions and testy email exchanges, we arrived at the list you see here: the Windows IT Pro Editors’ Best awards winners. All these products can help you do your jobs faster, more efficiently, or more economically.
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| Product of the Year |
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VMware ESX Server 3.5 • VMware www.vmware.com
The Windows IT Pro editorial team looks at dozens if not hundreds of products every year, and picking one winner out of all those in a particular category is always a challenge. That predicament is further amplified when considering a product for our most prestigious Product of the Year award. VMware ESX Server 3.5—a subset of the VMware Infrastructure 3 bundle—made our decision easy this year. Virtualization has shaken the IT industry to its roots over the past few years, and no product influenced that sea change more than the ESX Server family. In addition to the energy and cost savings that ESX Server 3.5 has generated, it has also helped radically redefine how IT pros manage their infrastructures. |
| Breakthrough Product |
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Google Docs • Google docs.google.com
Online alternatives to Mircrosofts Office have been gaining traction, and chief among those is Google Docs, a collection of business applications hosted by Google. While we should be under no illusions about Google Docs replacing Office as the dominant office productivity software suite, the success of Google Docs shows that there is strong interest in easy-to-use productivity software that can be quickly accessed online |
| Special Achievement |
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iPhone • Apple www.apple.com
Apple is making a concerted effort to get the iPhone into the hands of more enterprises.
For the iPhone 2.0 firmware update, Apple has licensed Microsoft’s ActiveSync protocol, a technology that will let IT departments integrate iPhones with Microsoft Office Outlook email, contacts, address lists, and calendars; erase data on lost devices; manage passwords; and configure VPN settings on iPhones used in the enterprise. The firmware update will also support Cisco IPsec VPN and the Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 and 802.1x wireless protocols. |
| Hardware Winners |
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Gold: |
Barracuda Spam Firewall • Barracuda Networks www.barracudanetworks.com
Spam management is a frustrating, time-consuming process. The Barracuda Spam Firewall’s appliance-based approach takes the sting out of the task. |
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Silver: |
Steelhead • Riverbed Technology www.riverbed.com
Riverbed's Steelhead appliances offer a scalable approach to application acceleration across your WAN. Our readers have sung the praises of the Steelhead appliances, reporting incredible compression and bandwidth savings after installing them. |
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Bronze: |
HP ProLiant DL585 • HP www.hp.com
If you’re looking for a rackmounted enterprise-class server, you can’t go wrong with the HP ProLiant DL585. The system’s four-way dual-core Opteron configuration provides amazing performance, and HP’s Insight Manager and iLO enable effective remote management for enterprise deployments.
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| Interoperability Winners |
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Gold: |
Centrify DirectControl • Centrify www.centrify.com
Centrify DirectControl easily and seamlessly integrates Linux, UNIX, and Mac OSs with Active Directory and provides robust UNIX and Linux personality management and strong migration management. |
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Silver: |
Splunk • Splunk www.splunk.com
Splunk lets IT pros index and search all sorts of enterprise data, such as alerts, logs, and config files. If you're drowning in data, Splunk can help you find what you need when you need it. |
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Bronze: |
Likewise Open Spring '08 • Likewise Software www.likewisesoftware.com
If you have a heteregenous shop and need to incorporate Linux, UNIX, or Macintosh systems into AD, Likewise Open Spring '08 has you covered. It offers a single, unified username and password solution for all those environments. |
| Messaging Winners |
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Gold: |
PostPath Server • PostPath www.postpath.com
PostPath Server is a drop-in, compatible alternative to Microsoft Exchange Server that saves money on licensing, hardware, and management tools. |
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Silver: |
3CX Phone System for Windows • 3CX www.3cx.com
The 3CX Phone System for Windows is a software VoIP system that runs on Windows. It replaces the traditional hardware PBX and is much less expensive. |
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Bronze: |
Unify Enterprise Edition • Ensim www.ensim.com
Ensim's Unify Enterprise Edition automates provisioning and change requests as part of a comprehensive systems management solution. It’s a market leader in managing all the elements of a unified communications environment: recent upgrades solidify this position by enhancing features such as security, mobility, and management of Exchange deployments. |
| Mobile and Wireless Winners |
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Gold: |
Zenprise 3.3 for Blackberry • Zenprise www.zenprise.com
Zenprise for BlackBerry is the best overall management solution for an area that's often an IT administrative black hole. |
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Silver: |
REDFLY Mobile Companion • Celio Technology www.celiocorp.com
The cost-effective REDFLY Mobile Companion lets mobile IT pros use smartphones as their primary computing devices while on the go, saving both time and money in a market where both are tight. |
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Bronze: |
Amazon Kindle • Amazon.com www.amazon.com
Amazon Kindle is a completely wireless portable reading device lets users download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. IT pros can keep up on technology from anywhere in the world. |
| Networking Winners |
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Gold: |
Engineer’s Toolset • SolarWinds www.solarwinds.com
The tools in the Engineer’s Toolset cover a broad spectrum of functionality but give you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. There’s something in the kit for everyone, and it’s priced attractively. |
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Silver: |
Observer • Network Instruments www.networkinstruments.com
Our editors value Network Instruments’ Observer as a ground-up, end-to-end networking-monitoring solution from a company that’s always at the bleeding edge of the latest networking technologies and features, such as 10GbE and IPv6. |
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Bronze: |
OmniPeek • WildPackets www.wildpackets.com
The impressive WildPackets OmniPeek family of products gives you real-time visibility into every part of your network—from a single interface. Also, WildPackets recognizes the benefit of statistical and packet monitoring working together. |
| Scripting Winners |
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Gold: |
Admin Script Editor • iTripoli www.adminscripteditor.com
Busy Windows systems administrators can use scripts to save time, but trying to write them can be frustrating when you're new to scripting. Admin Script Editor helps turn that frustration into success. |
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Silver: |
PrimalScript 2007 • SAPIEN Technologies www.sapien.com
Although SAPIEN Technologies' PrimalScript has been around for two decades, the company isn't resting on its laurels. PrimalScript 2007's new customizable UI and an ActiveX Data Objects wizard are among the improvements in the newest version. |
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Bronze: |
UltraEdit • IDM Computer Solutions www.ultraedit.com
Administrators who are jacks-of-all-trades will find UltraEdit's environments as versatile as they are. UltraEdit offers preconfigured and customizable environments for automating a systems administration task with a VBScript script, editing a Web page, creating a Visual Basic project, or performing some other task. |
| Security Winners |
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Gold: |
Astaro Security Gateway • Astaro www.astaro.com
Web filtering has taken on increased importance as attacks on business networks have expanded from viruses in email attachments to phishing attempts embedded in Web sites. Astaro Security Gateway addresses these and other Internet threats and is easy to configure and reasonably priced. |
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Silver: |
Catbird V-Agent • Catbird Networks www.catbird.com
Security for mixed physical and virtual assets is becoming a top priority for IT pros, and Catbird V-Agent is one of the best solutions available. It also helps handle complex compliance and auditing requirements for virtual machines. |
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Bronze: |
OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian • Alcatel-Lucent www.alcatel.com
As the workforce becomes ever more mobile, managing and securing laptops can be—and often is—a full-time job. The Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian gives you the tools you need to track and manage mobile assets with ease. |
| Storage Winners |
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Gold: |
RamSan-500 • Texas Memory Systems www.superssd.com
The RamSan-500 makes the jump into solid-state-disk technology, providing the most storage capacity for the best price. |
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Silver: |
Dell EqualLogic PS5000E • Dell EqualLogic www.dell.com/equallogic
The Dell EqualLogic PS5000E iSCSI array provides cost-effective capacity, scalability, and optimal performance for common business applications. |
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Bronze: |
E-Disk Altima ATA-133 • BiTMICRO www.bitmicro.com
The E-Disk Altima ATA-133 provides huge storage capacities in a standard disk drive form factor. |
| SharePoint Winners |
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Gold: |
File Migrator for SharePoint • Quest Software www.quest.com
As companies flock to Microsoft's SharePoint collaboration platform, they face having to move massive quantities of information from their file share infrastructure into SharePoint. File Migrator for SharePoint provides the best solution to that problem. |
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Silver: |
DocAve 4.5 Backup and Recovery for SharePoint • AvePoint www.avepoint.com
A comprehensive backup system is essential for protecting an organization's valuable SharePoint content. DocAve 4.5 Backup and Recovery for SharePoint offers granular, real-time backup and on-demand restore capabilities for your entire SharePoint environment. |
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Bronze: |
Colligo Contributor for SharePoint • Colligo Networks www.colligo.com
As the mobile workforce continues to grow, the ability to collaborate both online and offline becomes more and more important. Colligo Contributor for SharePoint lets mobile users bring the SharePoint environment to their desktops, letting them easily access, modify, and create SharePoint content through familiar interfaces. |
| Systems Management Winners |
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Gold: |
Active Administrator • ScriptLogic www.scriptlogic.com
Managing AD and Group Policy can be an onerous task, but Scriptlogic’s Active Administrator steps in to lessen the load. The product includes a host of features, but the streamlined UI, helpful support, and overall ease of use make Active Administrator a clear winner. |
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Silver: |
ActiveRoles Server • Quest Software www.quest.com
ActiveRoles Server offers role-based management of AD, letting admins delegate tasks while maintaining security and control. Especially useful for overworked IT pros is its Web interface and automated user provisioning process |
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Bronze: |
AppManager • NetIQ www.netiq.com
Designed for easy deployment, AppManager big appeal is its ability to be customized. Its visual mapping of IT resources helps when prioritizing admin responses to system problems. |
| Training and Certification Winners |
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Gold: |
KSource Online Learning • AppDev www.appdev.com
A high-quality on-demand training program, combined with a flexible online delivery method, makes KSource Online Learning the best online training and certification program currently available. |
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Silver: |
MCSE Boot Camp • Mountainview Systems www.mntview.com
High-quality content and affordable program options make Mountainview System’s MCSE Boot Camp an excellent choice for IT pros looking to update their skills. |
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Bronze: |
MCSE 2003 Exam Preparation • Transcender www.transcender.com
With seven exams and specialized information on messaging and security, Transcender's MCSE 2003 Exam Preparation is one of the best MCSE training programs currently available. |
| Virtualization Winners |
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Gold: |
Parallels Virtuozzo Containers • Parallels www.parallels.com
A unique OS-level virtualization approach makes Parallels Virtuozzo Containers a better (and cheaper) solution than other virtualization offerings. |
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Silver: |
VMware ThinApp • VMware www.vmware.com
Thinstall's name changed to VMware ThinApp in the midst of our judging, but everything that makes this a great application virtualization product has remained the same. If you’re looking for an easy, no-fuss way to virtualize applications, you need look no further than ThinApp. |
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Bronze: |
everRun VM • Marathon Technologies www.marathontechnologies.com
Do you need to protect your virtual infrastructure from data loss and catastrophic outages? EverRun VM does that—and more. It’s easy to use, easy to deploy, and is bundled with top-notch support options. |
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