CRN Names Three Best Of Show Winners

Seneca Data, North Syracuse, N.Y., captured the Stretch Award, which is given to a solution provider who taps a new vertical market or extends into a new product area.

The company used proprietary software to integrate technologies such as X-ray cameras and storage devices for the oral health-care market. Products used ranged from front-desk PCs using Intel's 1.8GHz Pentium 4 technology to an imaging station with an Intel S478 845E motherboard and a 2.8GHz Pentium 4.

Seneca Data President Scott Falso said Intel's marketing literature, with titles such as "Why Buy From a Premier Provider," was extremely helpful in gaining credibility for his company and winning the trust of the customer.

Proactive Technologies, Carrollton, Texas, garnered the Best in Show Award for small and midsize business, for a solution it developed for Williamson Printing, a Dallas-based printing company. The award was given to recognize the breadth of technology and skills required for the solution.

Kenny Kremm, president of Proactive Technologies, said the project was a challenge for the company and Proactive needed to use every in-house resource and skill set to win the deal. The customer was provided with Intel-based graphics workstations, Intel-based notebooks and Gigabit adapters, Cisco Systems routers, SonicWall firewalls and Qualstar tape libraries.

Granite Microsystems, Mequon, Wis., captured the enterprise Best in Show Award. Granite demonstrated it could move up the food chain by providing a solution to be used in the computed tomography modality with the potential to establish a long-term relationship with its customer, a global top-10 medical device company. The deal was a windfall as it was the first contract for Granite with the customer and is worth an estimated $8 million to $10 million annually and will run for several years.

The deal follows a series of strategic wins for Granite in the medical-imaging arena using the advanced technologies of Intel processors chipsets and validated platforms.

Granite President Hans Dittmar said the company had targeted this customer for a long time and viewed the project as the perfect venue to gain a toehold for future lucrative deals.