Finalists:
• Cape Clear 4, Cape Clear Software, (888) 227-3439, (781) 622-2258. www.capeclear.com

• Novell Extend Application Server 4.0, Novell, (888) 321-4272, (781) 464-8000. www.novell.com

Business intelligence is all about the process of turning raw data into useable information, and Cognos pushes the boundaries of intelligence with its Series 7 solution, offering value beyond that of its competitors. This exceptional product provides intelligent agents, which function as your own personal assistants. These agents can be taught (via rules) to recognize patterns in reports and then run additional reports based on user-configurable thresholds, ad infinitum if necessary. Smart.

Finalists:
• Brio Intelligence 6.6, Brio Software, (800) 879-2746, (408) 496-7400. www.brio.com

• WebFocus 4.3.6, Information Builders, (800) 969-INFO, (212) 736-4433. www.informationbuilders.com

Nobilis Ci is our pick here--and our Business Applications product of the year--thanks to its intuitive management interface and integrated work-flow tool that give business users a more efficient method of distributing, tracking and aggregating data while remaining within the comfortable confines of Excel.

Finalists:
• AdomoMCS for Microsoft Exchange, Adomo, (408) 996-7086. www.adomo.com

• Clientele Customer Support 8.0, Epicor Software Corp., (800) 883-4582, (949) 585-4000. www.epicor.com

Business Layers' eProvision Software makes the task of employee provisioning effortless. With out-of-the-box support for myriad systems and a unique layer on top of traditional RBAC (role-based access control), configuring and managing this product is troublefree for both technical and nontechnical users. The integrated work flow is flexible and its Web-based management console is easy to navigate. A well-designed self-service system coupled with support of notions, such as "teams" and "projects," lets the product support a wide variety of organizational structures and business processes.

Finalists:
• IBM Tivoli Identity Manager 4.4,formerly Access360 enRole 4.2, IBM, (877) TIVOLI1, (512) 286-0000. www.ibm.com/tivoli

• Waveset Lighthouse 2.0, now shipping 3.0, Waveset Technologies, (512) 338-1818. www.waveset.com

Lori macvittie is a Network Computing technology editor. She has been a software developer, a network administrator and a member of the technical architecture team for a global transportation and logistics organization. Write to her at lmacvittie@nwc.com.

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