IDG's InfoWorld Names Top Technologies Impacting IT in 2006; Annual Technology of the Year Awards Honor 46 Innovative Solutions

Business Wire, Jan 2, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- IDG's InfoWorld, the leading integrated media brand for strategic technology decision-makers, today officially announced the recipients of its 2006 Technology of the Year honors, recognizing 46 products across 45 categories. Results appear at InfoWorld.com/3754, as well as the Jan. 2 print edition.

Last week, InfoWorld pre-announced the winners through three special editions of the InfoWorld Daily podcast. These editions are available for download at:

http://akamai.infoworld.com/podcasts/IFW_Daily_12-27-05.mp3

http://akamai.infoworld.com/podcasts/IFW_Daily 12-28-05.mp3

http://akamai.infoworld.com/podcasts/IFW_Daily_12-29-05.mp3

"Our annual awards highlight progress across nearly the entire enterprise IT landscape," said Steve Fox, InfoWorld's editor-in-chief. "InfoWorld's 2006 Technology of the Year Award winners represent the best products defining, and often redefining, the role of IT and resulting business impact."

InfoWorld's 2006 Technology of the Year Award winners (listed alphabetically by category) include:

APPLICATIONS AND MIDDLEWARE

Best Application Performance Manager: Indicative Service Director and
 SLA Manager 6.5
Best CRM Application: Salesforce.com Winter '05 Enterprise Edition
Best Enterprise Service Bus: Sonic SOA Suite 6.1

COLLABORATION

Best Exchange Killer: Gordano Messaging Server 10.05
Best Live Collaboration: WebEx WebOffice

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Best Document Manager: Xerox DocuShare 4.0.1
Best Enterprise CMS: EMC Documentum 5, Collaborative Edition
Best Enterprise Search: Vivisimo Velocity 4.2
Best Web Analytics: Omniture SiteCatalyst 12

DATABASES

Best Enterprise Database: Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Best XML Database: eXist 1.0

IDENTITY MANAGEMENT

Best Identity Manager: Novell Identity Manager 2

NETWORKING

Best Enterprise Switch: Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Supervisor
 Engine II-Plus-10GE
Best IP PBX: Siemens HiPath 8000 Real-Time IP System
Best Network Analysis Tool: Niksun NetVCR 2005
Best SMB Switch: Dell PowerConnect 3424P
Best WAN Accelerator: Riverbed Steelhead 3010
Best WAN Traffic Manager: Packeteer PacketShaper 9500

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Best Client Operating System: Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger
Best Server Operating System: Mac OS X Server v10.4

SECURITY

Best Anti-Spam: Symantec Mail Security 8200 Series
Best Anti-Spyware: F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security 6
Best Insider Threat Defense: Vontu 4.0
Best Network Access Controller: Elemental Compliance System 1.1
Best SSL VPN: Juniper Secure Access 5000

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Best AJAX Toolkit: Tibco General Interface 3.1
Best Application Test Tool (tie): Agitar Agitator 3.0 and Parasoft
 Jtest 7.0
Best IDE: Visual Studio 2005
Best Java IDE: IBM Rational Software Architect 6.0
Best Rules Management: ILOG JRules 5.0
Best Security Analysis Tool: Fortify Source Code Analysis 3.0

STORAGE

Best Director Switch: McData Intrepid i10K Director
Best iSCSI SAN: EqualLogic PS200E
Best NAS: NetApp FAS3020c
Best NAS Killer: HP StorageWorks Enterprise File Services Clustered
 Gateway with PolyServe Matrix Server
Best SAN: Compellent Storage Center QuickStart
Best Storage Management Software: HP Storage Essentials 4.0
Best Storage Virtualization: EMC Invista

SYSTEMS

Best Blade System: ClearCube PC Blade System
Best Enterprise Server: IBM eServer OpenPower 710
Best Industry Standard Server: HP ProLiant DL585
Best Workstation: Apple Power Mac G5 Quad
Most Innovative Server: Sun Fire T2000

VIRTUALIZATION

Best Server Virtualization: VMware ESX Server and VirtualCenter
Best Workstation Virtualization: VMware Workstation 5.5

InfoWorld's annual Technology of the Year Awards identify significant technologies of the past year that promise to make the greatest impact on enterprise IT strategies, and honor the products that best exemplify the implementation of those technologies. The Technology of the Year Awards are not open to outside nominations. The final selections are made by InfoWorld's Test Center analysts and editors.

About InfoWorld Media Group

InfoWorld Media Group helps senior technologists connect technology and business strategy for maximum impact at their organizations. Through integrated channels including online, events, demand generation and a weekly print magazine, InfoWorld reaches the most influential senior-level information technologists -- those who drive their enterprises' strategies and technology purchases. Powered by a continued investment in an independent Test Center, InfoWorld analysts and editors provide both hands-on analysis and evaluation, as well as expert commentary on issues surrounding emerging technologies and products. Visit InfoWorld at www.InfoWorld.com.

About IDG

International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately-held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), DEMO(R), and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at www.idg.com.