Upcoming Events

Cloud Connect
Santa Clara
Feb 13-16, 2012

Cloud Connect brings together the entire cloud eco-system to better understand the transformation we're experiencing and promises to be the defining event of the cloud computing industry. Learn about the latest cloud technologies and platforms from thought leaders in Cloud Connect’s comprehensive conference.

Register Now!

F E A T U R E

The 9th Annual Well-Connected Awards

May 1, 2003
By Mike Lee

	Issue TOC
	Print full article
	Print this page
	Download as PDF
	E-Mail this URL
	Discuss this article
	Flame the author

Despite the economic roller coaster--and in some cases because of it--technology vendors keep coming at us with new and improved products and services. Which means we get to keep doing what we do best--hands-on testing on networks that mirror your live production environments.

This year, in fact, we took our testing to an unprecedented level, creating a fictional widgets manufacturer, NWC Inc., and building a lab to the company's specs (see "A Start-Up Is Born"). We devote most of our time at NWC Inc. to business applications testing--technology editor Lori MacVittie's April 3, 2003 cover story on Web services is a great example of what we can accomplish in the new facility. We're also using NWC Inc. as a complement to our Syracuse, Green Bay and Chicago labs to test other kinds of software and hardware--management packages and security systems, for example.

And we've integrated more business analysis into our stories because--let's face it--product performance, ease of deployment, ease of use, scalability, manageability, price, features and all the other factors we evaluate and rate don't mean much if the product doesn't deliver some business benefit--preferably one you can measure in dollars and cents--or the vendor's viability is in doubt.


		• Introduction • Security • Network & Systems Management • Mobile & Wireless • Digital Convergence • Business Applications • Infrastructure • Storage • View out On-Demand Webcast of the WCA. Ceremony. • Best of Interop On-Site Awards

To say we were impressed by many of the products we tested in the past 12 months would be an understatement. In what has become an annual tradition, we endured some agonizing internal "discussions" in selecting our Well-Connected Award winners and finalists, which span 35 categories in seven core markets, and in choosing the best of the best in each market.

Product of the Year

click to enlarge

Each year our most heated debates surround the grand prize winner. This year, we zeroed in on SecureLogix ETM (Enterprise Telephony Management). This outstanding product serves as both a management package and a security system for voice implementations, preventing that unauthorized modem from becoming a back door to your entire data network.

Let us know if you like our picks or have some favorites of your own.

--Mike Lee, mlee@nwc.com