Like it does every year, WindowsITPro magazine has a full list of awards in its September 2005 issue. The list along with its description are quite long, 50 pages, with a whole lot of categories. Here I listed some of them that I am interested as well as some my votes to share with you and for the future reference.
Most Innovative Product: DesktopStandard's Policy Maker (http://www.desktopstandard.com)
Best Software: Sunbelt Software's iHateSpam (http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com)
Rookie of the Year (Best New Product): Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy Enterprise (http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com)
Disaster Prevention & Recovery
Enterprise Backup/Recovery/Archive Software: Winternals Software Recovery Manager 2.0 (http://www.winternals.com)
Desktop Backup/Recovery/Archive Software: Veritas Software VERITAS Backup Exec for Windows Servers (http://www.veritas.com)
Enterprise Backup/Recovery/Archive Hardware: Dell PowerVault Storage (http://www.dell.com)
Replication/Data Availability Solution: Neverfail Group Neverfail for Windows Product Suite (http://www.neverfailgroup.com)
Messaging and Collaboration
Mail Server: Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 (http://www.microsoft.com)
Exchange Backup/Disaster Recovery: Neverfail Group Neverfail for Exchange (http://www.neverfailgroup.com)
Mail Archiving: GFI Software GFI MailArchiver for Exchange (http://www.gfi.com)
comments: highly recommended. With its method of storing internal and external messages in Microsoft SQL Server database (saving as much as 80 percent over personal folder store - PST storage), this solution is a sweet dream.
Antispam/Server: Sunbelt Software iHateSpam for Exchange (http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com)
My vote, however, is GFI Software GFI MailEssential for Exchange/SMTP (http://www.gfi.com)
IM Monitoring and Security: Websense Web Security Suite (http://ww2.websense.com)
Collaboration Solution: Citrix Systems Citrix GoToMeeting Corporate (http://www.citrix.com)
Network Management
Load Balancer: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (http://www.microsoft.com)
Network Analyzer: Sunbelt Software LanHound (http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com)
Network Layout and Design Tool: Ipswitch WhatsUp Professional (http://www.ipswitch.com)
Remote Computing
Remote Control Software: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services
VPN Solution: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
Security
AntiVirus/Mail Server: Trend Micro ScanMail for Microsoft Exchange (http://www.trendmicro.com)
My vote: Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange
Firewall/Server or Standalone: Check Point Software Technologies Check Point VPN-I Pro (http://www.checkpoint.com)
Proxy Server/Web Access Control and Monitoring: Websense Enterprise (http://www.websense.com)
Intrusion Detection and Prevention: eEye Digital Security Blink (http://www.eeye.com)
Vulnerability Scanner: Sunbelt Software Sunbelt Network Security Inspector (http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com)
Password-Management Software: RSA Security RSA Sign-On Manager (http://www.rsasecurity.com)
Authentication Solution (Two-Factor/Nonbiometric): RSA Security RSA SecurID (http://www.rsasecurity.com)
Authentication Solution (Biometric): Lenel Systems International OnGuard ID CredentialCenter (http://www.lenel.com)
System Management
Active Directory Management Tool: Microsoft Group Policy Managment Console
Performance Tuning Tool: Microsoft Operation Manager 2005
Patch Management Tool: Microsoft Windows Server Update Services
Disk Imaging Software: Symantec Norton Ghost (http://www.symantec.com)
Help Desk Software: Help Desk Technology International HelpSTAR (http://www.helpstar.com)
My vote: AdventNet Help Desk & Asset Management (http://www.adventnet.com)
Monitoring and Alerting Software: Sunbelt Software ServerVision
My vote: AdventNet OpManager (http://www.adventnet.com)
Registry Management Tool: DesktopStandard PolicyMaker Registry Extension (http://www.desktopstandard.com)
Remote Client Management Tool: LANDesk Software LANDesk (http://www.landesk.com)
Virtualization Software: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005
My vote: VMWare VMWare Workstation (http://www.vmware.com)
Application and Operations Management Tool: Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005
Asset Management Software: Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003
Software Deployment Tool: Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003
Utilities
Defragmentation Utility: Raxco Software PerfectDisk (http://www.raxco.com)
Emergency Recovery Console Utility: Winternals Software ERD Commander 2005 (http://www.winternals.com)
File-Compression Tool: WinZip Computing WinZip (http://www.winzip.com)
Undelete Utility: Diskeeper Undelete (http://www.executive.com)