SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES
Best Enterprise Server
IBM eServer'OpenPower 710
Multiprocessing powerhouse with excellent fault-tolerance features
Best Industry Standard Server
HP'ProLiant'DL585
Outstanding out-of-band management and serviceability
Most Innovative Server
Sun'Fire T2000
Changes the math for threaded performance and power consumption
Best Blade System
ClearCube PC Blade System '
Powerful management software for high-availability workstations
Best Workstation
Apple
Power Mac G5 Quad
Impressive hardware specs, sub-US$5,000 price tag, and the magic of OS X
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OPERATING SYSTEMS
Best Server Operating System
Mac'OS X Server v10.4
A powerful, extensible Unix server with a uniquely robust set of standard features
Best Client Operating System
Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger
A rich and friendly desktop OS built with professional users in mind
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VIRTUALIZATION
Best Server Virtualization
Mware'ESX Server'and VirtualCenter
Dynamic duo points to new possibilities in datacenter management
Best Workstation Virtualization
VMware'Workstation 5.5
Indispensable companion to software developers and testers
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NETWORKING
Best Enterprise Switch
Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Supervisor Engine II-Plus-10GE
Wire-rate 10-Gig switching and granular QoS support for the edge
Best SMB Switch
Dell PowerConnect 3424P
Delivers an array of enterprise-class features in a tidy package
Best WAN Traffic Manager
Packeteer PacketShaper 9500
The Cadillac of QoS for WAN circuits, upholstered with extensive reporting
Best WAN Accelerator
Riverbed Steelhead 3010'
Amazing caching and optimization techniques overcome chatty apps and slow links
Best IP PBX
Siemens HiPath 8000 Real-Time IP System
Full-featured, scalable phone system that set the standard for SIP support in our test
Best Network Analysis Tool
Niksun NetVCR 2005
Complete network analysis package that puts complete historical data at your fingertips
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STORAGE
Best SAN
Compellent Storage Center QuickStart
Extensive management, strong performance, great scalability, and superb ease-of-use
Best iSCSI SAN
EqualLogic PS200E
A well-designed and superbly executed storage array, boasting extremely good performance
Best Director Switch
McData Intrepid i10K Director
Fabric partitioning and long-haul connectivity take the sting out of distributed SANs
Best NAS
NetApp'FAS3020c
Solid performance, flawless fail-over, exceptional scalability, and a jack of all trades
Best NAS Killer
HP'StorageWorks Enterprise File Services Clustered Gateway'with PolyServe Matrix Server '
Brings the processing power and high-availability of clustering to'Linux and'Windows
Best Storage Management Software
HP'Storage Essentials 4.0
Accurate discovery, powerful provisioning, and seamless support for heterogeneous hardware
Best Storage Virtualization
EMC'Invista
Preserves investments in existing hardware without sacrificing manageability or performance
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APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
Best IDE
Visual'Studio'2005
A unified, end-to-end, role-based toolset that extends the IDE's reach in all directions
Best Java IDE
IBM'Rational Software Architect 6.0
The most feature-complete Java development environment for architects and coders
Best AJAX Toolkit
Tibco General Interface 3.1
Friendly, capable toolkit for building sophisticated applications that run in a browser
Best Application Test Tool
Agitar Agitator 3.0 and Parasoft Jtest 7.0
Two great ways to create unit tests and exercise code forced us to call it a draw
Best Security Analysis Tool
Fortify Source Code Analysis Suite 3.0
Thorough analysis and detailed recommendations make remedial action quick and effective
Best Rules Management System
ILOG'JRules 5.0
Adds depth and polish to an already rich set of tools, including customizable rule language
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APPLICATIONS AND MIDDLEWARE
Best CRM Application
Salesforce.com Winter '05 Enterprise Edition
The undisputed champ of hosted CRM combines strong features and unparalleled extensibility
Best Enterprise Service Bus
Sonic SOA Suite 6.1
Complete, flexible, and powerful, delivering the reliability necessary for high-volume transactions
Best Application Performance Manager Indicative'
Service Director'and SLA Manager 6.5
Especially strong at linking real-time performance measures with service-level agreements
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DATABASES
Best Enterprise Database
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Ambitious, enterprise-oriented overhaul creates a new measuring stick for database management
Best XML Database
eXist 1.0
A smooth, even pleasurable introduction to the power of XQuery and XML content management
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CONTENT MANAGEMENT
Best Enterprise CMS
EMC'Documentum'5, Collaborative Edition
Impressively unified approach to managing content creation, reuse, archiving, and disposal
Best Enterprise Search
Vivisimo Velocity 4.2
Advanced capabilities that can be deployed faster and less expensively than competing solutions
Best Document Manager
Xerox'DocuShare 4.0.1
Strong mix of collaboration, personalization, ease-of-use, and extensibility
Best Web Analytics
Omniture SiteCatalyst 12
Makes site traffic data easier to analyze and streamlines the process of fixing problematic pages
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COLLABORATION
Best Exchange Killer
Gordano Messaging Server 10.05
Feature-rich messaging server that eases swaps with unique real-time mailbox migration
Best Live Collaboration
WebEx'WebOffice
Shared databases, documents, and discussions, plus seamless integration with real-time meetings
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IDENTITY MANAGEMENT
Best Identity Manager
Novell Identity Manager 2
Powerful graphical workflow and design tools plus intuitive user interface set it apart
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SECURITY
Best Anti-Spam
Symantec Mail Security 8200 Series
Best-in-class accuracy and ease-of-use with great policy-driven filtering and e-mail firewall features
Best Anti-Spyware
F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security 6
The best real-time protection we've seen, backed by first-rate detection and removal
Best Insider Threat Defense
Vontu 4.0
Exceptional administration combined with the best collection of built-in compliance policies
Best Network Access Controller
Elemental Compliance System 1.1
Powerful policy engine and deep reporting constitute a major step toward enterprise-wide NAC
Best SSL VPN
Juniper Secure Access 5000
A beast of a box that provides exceptional remote access capabilities with fine-grained control