The 2015 Tech Innovator Awards

Top Tech Innovators

Innovation is at the heart of IT. That's why every year the CRN Test Center sets out to identify the most innovative companies reshaping the IT landscape. This year the Test Center saw entries from more than 100 companies representing mega-trends taking place in the industry right now -- cloud, social, big data and mobility.

We carefully scrutinized products within 19 categories of IT and evaluated each based on its ability to increase worker productivity and reduce cost and complexity for solution providers, IT departments and end users through innovation and technical advancement. The CRN Test Center selected winners for each category and awarded honorable mentions as well.

Here are this year's winners and worthy runners-up.

S OFTWARE: ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

Winner

Catalogic ECX

Catalogic Software s ECX is a pioneering solution for managing copy data, an issue that has long plagued IT admins. ECX allows them to tap into an existing storage infrastructure to deliver data on demand in support of mission-critical functions including business analytics, e-discovery and archive, development and test, disaster recovery and data protection. ECX allows customers to leverage their existing infrastructure to improve their operations and significantly reduce costs. This allows partners and customers alike to enhance their portfolios, deliver more value to clients and close more business. It's not often that solutions truly solve technological quandaries, but that is exactly what ECX does.

Honorable Mentions

Metalogix Software Essentials for Office 365 (pictured)

Metalogix s Essentials for Office 365 provides the functionality needed to perform the entire user and content life-cycle management for Office 365 through a unified, single install. From on-boarding and day-to-day user and environmental analysis and optimization to security and backup/ restore operations, Metalogix s Essentials for Office 365 reduces administrative workload.

Schneider Electric Data Center Operation: Cooling Optimize

Data Center Operation: Cooling Optimize adds intelligence to existing data center cooling systems. It enables data center managers to understand the complexity of airflow within their facilities, including all heat sources, cooling influences and dependencies.

Infor Configure Price Quote

Infor Configure Price Quote is an image-driven solution that provides users with a single vision from order to delivery while helping to cut costs and boost profit. Infor Configure Price Quote delivers industry-specific functionality for manufacturers and distributors of custom products.

SOFTWARE: PRODUCTIVITY

Winner

3CX WebMeeting 8

3CX WebMeeting 8 is a user-friendly videoconferencing solution that leverages WebRTC technology for plugin and download of free Web meetings within most leading Web browsers. It is available in three editions: stand-alone, integrated and on-premise. It can perform functions such as making schedules and inviting and launching of videoconferences, making it a breeze for all parties to participate. Although the use of WebRTC and its simple one-click conferencing straight through the Web browser makes 3CX WebMeeting a truly innovative product, the myriad new features, such as record and convert to video, remote control/assistance, surveys, change meeting control and the ability to anonymize participants, give it an edge over the competition.

Honorable Mentions

Trifacta v2 (pictured)

Up to 80 percent of the data analysis process is typically tied up cleaning or preparing data for analysis. To help streamline the data prep, Trifacta v2 employs visual data profiling and support for the Apache Spark processing engine in conjunction with an alliance with Databricks.

Fujitsu PaperStream Capture Pro

PaperStream Capture Pro enhances Fujitsu fi Series scanning abilities with a feature set that includes options for high-level data extraction and indexing. PaperStream Capture Pro offers cost-effective improvement tools such as PaperStream IP for optimized image capture.

InsideView Platform

InsideView makes big data accessible and actionable to drive sales and marketing productivity. It gathers, analyzes, validates and declutters data, news and social insights using a proprietary Multi-sourced, Triangulated, Validated (MTV) methodology.

NETWORKING: WIRELESS

Winner

Xirrus Easy Pass Personal Wi-Fi

EasyPass Personal Wi-Fi, a free feature included in all of Xirrus' cloud managed networks, safeguards users and their data when accessing public Wi-Fi, guest networks and hot-spot environments. Xirrus addresses the security concerns commonly associated with connecting to these networks, and makes secure personal Wi-Fi a reality.

Honorable Mentions

Ruckus Wireless SmartZone Software (pictured)

SmartZone software complements the wide range of Ruckus controller platforms that can be bundled with access points. SmartZone complements radio technologies with a unique set of WLAN management and implementation features that include active controller clustering, failure resiliency and load balancing.

Aruba 7000 Series Cloud Services Controller

Aruba's Cloud Services Controller consolidates branch IT network infrastructure solutions for distributed enterprises. The 7000 series from Aruba is easy to deploy and delivers a high level of features and functionality.

Relay2 RA200 Service-Ready Access Point

The Relay2 RA200 is a unique Service-Ready Access Point (SR-AP) designed for at-the-edge delivery of business-critical applications. Utilizing a powerful processor, dedicated memory and solid-state storage, business applications and services can be brought to life.

NETWORKING: VOICE/DATA/UC

Winner

Nectar UCMP for Skype for Business

Nectar's Unified Communications Management Platform completely integrates and takes advantage of the Microsoft software-defined networking API. When deployed, Nectar becomes the core of monitoring Microsoft's Skype for Business ecosystem. It is Nectar's unique and complete API integration of its Unified Communications Diagnostics module, which allows additional insight and guidance for customers using Skype for Business, allowing them to achieve fast problem identification and resolution -- all in real time. In addition, Nectar's Perspective module of UCMP, a synthetic traffic generation engine, enables solution providers to perform pre-deployment network assessments to efficiently measure the impact of anticipated voice and video sessions over IP.

Honorable Mentions

Logitech ConferenceCam Connect (pictured)

ConferenceCam Connect is optimized for workgroups of one to six people. This videoconference solution offers multidevice connectivity and sets up in a snap. ConferenceCam Connect offers 90-degree field of view with digital pan, mechanical tilt, 4X digital full HD zoom, and ZEISS optics with autofocus.

Panasonic KX-NS700 Compact Hybrid Communication Platform

The KX-NS700 platform not only provides a flexible and cost-effective solution for SMBs, but also offers rich IP features such as high-definition voice quality and seamless integration with desktop applications such as Microsoft Outlook.

AVer VC520

AVer VC520 delivers a professional-quality all-in-one videoconferencing system that is both USB-friendly and plug-and-play-compatible. The system is built for groups of six to 20 people and sports a 12X zoom 1,080p videocamera. It also sports true full-duplex audio with noise-suppression technology.

NETWORKING: ENTERPRISE

Winner

Opengear Resilience Gateway

Designed to increase network uptime at branch offices and remote sites, the Resilience Gateway utilizes Opengear's innovative Smart OOB and Failover to Cellular technologies to enable efficient access, monitoring and control of edge routers, servers, switches, firewalls, PDUs and UPSes. With Opengear's Failover to Cellular feature to high-speed 4G LTE networks, the Resilience Gateway improves WAN resilience and business continuity at remote sites, stores and throughout the enterprise. The Resilience Gateway reduces IT costs and mean time to repair by detecting and alerting network administrators to faults and outages (including proactive monitoring and fault repair), and by equipping them with situational awareness and remote system control. Opengear's Smart OOB delivers a deeper feature set and level of reliability than typical out-of-band offerings, enabling the Resilience Gateway to provide secure remote monitoring and control of distributed networks for true out-of-band management of critical equipment, including proactive monitoring and smart automated response capabilities.

Honorable Mentions

Cumulus VX (pictured)

Cumulus VX is a virtual appliance that helps potential customers by giving them access to a platform to deploy applications into a production environment. Cumulus VX runs on all popular hypervisors, making traditional networking protocols such as BGP and MLAG, and Cumulus Networks-specific technologies such as Prescriptive Topology Manager, available for testing and configuration.

Big Switch Networks Big Cloud Fabric 3.0

Big Cloud Fabric 3.0 is the industry's first unified physical and virtual SDN fabric for deploying resilient OpenStack clouds, dramatically reducing networking complexity and improving performance and resiliency at scale.

DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE

Winner

SimpliVity OmniCube CN-1200

Businesses today have many locations and require data center management, which has put pressure on businesses to deliver IT infrastructure and resources at remote and branch offices. However, these offices can present challenges to IT related to limited bandwidth, budget, on-site expertise and facilities. And while these sites require less scale than core office locations, there is still a need for performance and high availability.

The OmniCube CN-1200 Unified Protected solution addresses the challenge of distributed enterprises. The product improves performance, streamlines operations and increases agility, and is capable of being managed remotely, therefore requiring no expertise at the remote sites. By deploying at a remote site, businesses can eliminate the need for costly legacy hardware components, reducing power and cooling requirements.

Honorable Mentions

HP Integrity Superdome X (pictured)

Superdome X sets new high standards for x86 availability, scalability and performance, the ideal platform for critical Linux and Windows workloads. Superdome X blends x86 efficiencies with proven HP mission-critical innovations for a superior uptime experience and groundbreaking performance.

Smart Bunker CX

Smart Bunker CX is ideal for companies that want to reduce latency and quickly add capacity at the same time, ensuring a secure and easy way to manage the data center environment. Smart Bunker CX is delivered in a single enclosure that includes power, cooling and management software.

OpenLegacy eSuite Integration Platform

OpenLegacy eSuite makes it easy for enterprises to integrate their back-end systems of record with mobile, Web or cloud applications through a set of standard APIs.

DISPLAY: LCD/ SINGE-AGE/ PROJECTION / GPU

Winner

Raritan AV-over-IP (RAV-IP) distribution system

Raritan's RAV-IP distribution system is for customers who want to avoid the time, cost and effort of complex audio/video control systems. It consists of a simple encoder- and decoder-based system and installs in minutes. Users simply connect the encoders and decoders to input and output devices, and then to a Gigabit Ethernet switch with Cat5/6 cabling or fiber. The system is unique in its flexible support for both Cat5 and fiber cabling in a single system. The system automatically sets the IP addresses. RAV-IP eliminates investing in traditional AV switches that can cost thousands of dollars.

Honorable Mentions

ViewSonic CDE7060T 70-Inch 10-Point Touch Interactive Commercial Display (pictured)

ViewSonic's CDE7060T 70-inch full HD interactive LED display solution is engineered with a unique 10-point touch-enabled screen. The display is perfect for interactive business and educational applications and comes preinstalled with annotation software that allows multiple users to simultaneously write or draw on the display's surface using fingers or styluses.

Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor (U3415W)

Dell s UltraSharp 34 Curved Monitor allows users to enter a new dimension of multitasking, delivering both an immersive and panoramic screen that surrounds the senses and amazingly detailed edge-to-edge WQHD (3,440 x 1,440) imagery.

Epson PowerLite 1985WU

The PowerLite 1985WU brings WUXGA performance with full HD 1,080p support and outstanding image quality to large venue commercial spaces in education and corporate environments. Versatile features of the PowerLite 1985WU include split screen capability, as well as multi-PC projection that allows up to 32 participants to connect to the projector.

INTERNET OF THINGS

Winner

KISI keyless access control for offices

Leveraging existing keycard infrastructures, KISI provides a fast-to-deploy gateway to run out-of-the-box enterprise-level physical access control software to manage user access. With this solution, company device managers can turn employee smartphones into easy-to-manage, secure and scalable office keys. KISI's mobile credentials allow for seamless scaling, enabling companies to deploy this solution worldwide without the need for heavy infrastructure. The KISI keyless access control integrates into nearly all major brands and any access point such as doors, turnstiles, gates and elevators.

MOBILE: DEVICES

Winner

Dell Venue 8 7000

Dell's Venue 8 7000 Series tablet is not only one of the thinnest (6mm) slates on the market today, but also the first tablet with Intel's RealSense Snapshot Depth Camera. The Venue 8 7000 chassis consists of an anodized aluminum finish, giving it maximum grip for drop-free use. It also features a stunning 8.4-inch OLED (2,560 x 1,600) Infinity edge-to-edge screen with more than 4 million pixels -- a bright display with sharp viewing at multiple angles. In addition to delivering premium specs, the crown jewel of this tablet is its integration of Intel's RealSense Depth Camera and Dell Gallery. Three cameras create a high-definition depth map that enables measurement, refocus and selective filters with the touch of a finger. No matter where the lens is focused when users snap a picture, they can refocus afterward.

Honorable Mentions

AVerCharge L12i (pictured)

L12i is a charging locker for the education market that s uniquely designed to secure and charge devices for classrooms with limited space. Its compact size makes it a cozy fit in even the most confined spaces. The L12i's stackable design and daisy-chain technology can accommodate multiple lockers connected together from a single outlet.

Spectralink PIVOT:S

The PIVOT:S smartphone has all the physical attributes needed for use in shift environments where durability and battery management are important. It also lets customers leverage their Wi-Fi network investment so it saves the costs of deploying another network or paying for cellular service.

MOBILE: SOFTWARE / SOLUTIONS

Winner

IBM MobileFirst Protect Threat Management

IBM MobileFirst Protect is a secure Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) platform that quickly deploys devices and delivers productivity apps while enabling secure content collaboration on smartphones, tablets and laptops. IBM's platform delivers a comprehensive set of business apps that includes email, calendar, contacts, tasks, browser, app controls, and content collaboration and editing. To defend against cybercriminals taking advantage of mobile devices, IBM recently introduced a new mobile threat management technology into the IBM MobileFirst Protect offering. With this addition, MobileFirst Protect provides highly intuitive threat management against would-be hackers who are increasingly targeting corporate and BYOD devices used for work.

Honorable Mention

Google Android for Work (pictured)

Android for Work enables companies to deploy and manage Android devices, both corporate and employee-owned, in a secure and simple manner without affecting the end-user experience. Android for Work leverages the multiuser framework in Android to create a Work Profile that separates business data and apps from personal content.

Zebra Technologies RhoMobile Suite 5.1

The RhoMobile Suite 5.1 app development platform offers solution providers building mobile apps significant time-savings and efficiency through the introduction of its new Live Update capability, which automatically bundles, deploys and displays changes to program code on target devices without the need to recompile.

MANAGED SERVICES

Winner

AVG Business Managed Workplace 9.2

AVG Business Managed Workplace 9.2 is the latest version of AVG s fully integrated, open ecosystem, remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. Managed Workplace 9.2 now features a Premium Remote Control capability from ISL Online, which is fully integrated into the dashboard. The new AVG Business Premium Remote Control is included as a key capability of Managed Workplace 9.2 and eliminates the need to purchase expensive, third-party remote control solutions. The built-in Premium Remote Control is compatible across all Windows and Mac OS X managed devices, and it enables MSPs to quickly and easily access remote computers, transfer files, chat, record sessions and perform administrative tasks for their clients without switching interfaces.

Honorable Mention

SolarWinds N-able N-central 10

N-central 10.0 turns everyday MSPs into extraordinary MSPs by giving them access to an advanced, highly automated monitoring, management and remediation platform. N-central 10's single dashboard, which can be viewed on multiple screens, aims to simplify and optimize the IT services life cycle as well as NOC and help desk services.

PC: SERVERS

Winner

HP Apollo 2000 System

HP Apollo 2000 is a dense multinode platform that packs a lot of performance and workload capability into a small amount of data center space, delivering twice the density of standard 1U servers at a comparable price while delivering the efficiencies of a shared infrastructure. The Apollo 2000 system is flexible enough to support a variety of workloads, from the remote site to HPC clusters and everything in between. It can even be deployed with a single node, leaving room to scale as needs grow. The Apollo 2000 System also is the perfect bridge to scale-out infrastructure; it s designed to seamlessly integrate into traditional enterprise data centers without disruption or the need to change anything in the environment. It can be managed at the individual server level with the same hardware and software tools used with traditional rack servers, eliminating any cost of change for introducing efficient, space-saving, scale-out architecture.

Honorable Mentions

Dell PowerEdge FX2 (pictured)

Dell's FX architecture is a revolutionary approach to converged infrastructure for enterprise computing that combines the density and innovative agility of hyper-scale computing with the ease of use and efficiency of advanced management technologies.

IBM Power Systems S824L server with GPU accelerators

The S824L unites the data processing compute power of IBM's Power8 processor with the acceleration of parallel operations driven by Nvidia GPU technology.

PC: WORKSTATIONS/DESKTOPS/AIOS

Winner

Lenovo Chromebox Tiny

Lenovo's newest addition to the ThinkCentre Tiny business desktop family is the ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny. Designed for education, the Tiny is designed for small-business users looking to leverage the benefits of a cloud-based solution. This space-saving desktop is versatile, easy to manage and has a full ecosystem of optional accessories. The new ThinkCentre is the first Chromebox on the market that can combine with the ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One to instantly offer a 23-inch all-in-one experience. ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny helps education institutions and small businesses that want to deploy secure and easy-to-manage technology within manageable budgets. The simplicity and flexibility of Chrome OS devices offer a fast and easy way to manage computing and provide access to the Web's vast education and collaboration resources.

PC: LAPTOPS/CONVERTIBLES

Winner

Dell XPS 13

Dell's XPS 13 offers end users a high-performing laptop in a small form factor. The XPS 13 pushes the envelope in design and proves the business laptop does not have to be boring and boxy. With long battery life and superb display technology, Dell offers a laptop that will satisfy end users from the executive to the power user. The XPS 13 has a virtually borderless Infinity Edge display with touch, powerful Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB of memory with a fast SSD drive on board, and a battery that lasts inflight from Los Angeles to Miami.

Honorable Mentions

Acer Aspire Switch 10 (SEW5-015) (pictured)

The Acer Aspire Switch is durable, flexible and aggressively priced for budget-conscious schools. Customers often request technology based on Intel for reliability. The Acer Aspire Switch 10 has an Intel Atom quad-core Z3735F processor for fast performance and multitasking.

Panasonic 3E

Panasonic's 3E laptop is the first and only purpose-built 2-in-1 device for K-12 students. The 3E is comprised of a tablet that comes with a detachable keyboard to deliver laptop capabilities and allows students to connect to lessons in the classroom and at home.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015)

Don't let Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon's 14-inch Ultrabooks lightweight fool you. Despite it being one of the lightest notebooks on the market, this laptop delivers powerful performance along with ample bells and whistles. The 2015 ThinkPad includes touch, voice and gesture control and a three-button click pad.

PRINTING & IMAGING

Winner

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-R8590 Network Multifunction Color Printer

Revolutionizing the industry, the WF-R8590 utilizes Epson's innovative Replaceable Ink Pack System, delivering up to 75,000 printed pages in both black and color before the ink needs to be replaced. Epson designed the WorkForce Pro WF-R8590 and WF-8590 MFPs to satisfy the performance demands of decentralized workgroups, specifically addressing the need for convenient color printing with low intervention and significantly lower printing cost than similar lasers. The WorkForce Pro WF-R8590 A3 multifunction printer, powered by PrecisionCore, delivers a fast business color printing solution that can print at speeds of 24 ISO ppm (black and color), and a 1,830-sheet maximum capacity supporting up to A3 (tabloid-size) media features.

Honorable Mentions

Epson TM-m10 POS Receipt Printer (pictured)

The industry's smallest POS 2 receipt printer in its class, the TM-m10 saves valuable counter space, while offering the freedom to print receipts from virtually any mobile device and/or desktop PC.

Fujitsu fi-6400

For the paper-intensive back office, the Fujitsu fi-6400 scanner digitizes tens of thousands of documents a day. With proven feed mechanics and high-quality image cleanup, the fi-6400 sustains a spectacular throughput, providing businesses with an exceptional ROI.

Panasonic KV-S1057C and KV-S1027C Workgroup Document Scanners

Engineered to enhance document imaging workflow and information management, the KV-S1057C and KV-S1027C feature the fastest speeds in their product class. Users can scan all kinds of mixed documents from extremely thin paper to passports and even heavy embossed ID cards. With a robust paper-feed mechanism and advanced image quality functions, the KV-S1057C offers performance and reliability.

SECURITY

Winner

Hexis Cyber Solutions HawkEye G 3.0

HawkEye G 3.0 is an integrated detection and automated response platform that detects, verifies, remediates and removes cyberthreats at machine speed within the network -- before they can compromise intellectual property or wreak havoc. HawkEye G's ThreatSync unified threat scoring model fuses threat alerts and applies behavioral analytics that measure how successfully the adversary is meeting its objectives in exploiting and taking control of the endpoint. If the threat is confirmed, the threat score is raised and incident responders can execute automated countermeasures to kill/stop the threat before breach, or receive an alert that allows them to follow machine-guided actions to remove the threat. Its own host-based and network-based detection capabilities integrate transparently with an enterprise's existing security infrastructure by consuming, fusing and verifying third-party alerts, including dashboard and event management systems including Splunk, SIEMs and a separate big data security analytics product offered by Hexis, HawkEye AP.

Honorable Mentions

Palo Alto Networks Traps (pictured)

Palo Alto Networks Traps is an advanced endpoint solution that prevents known and unknown exploits and malicious executables used in sophisticated targeted cyberattacks without relying on signatures.

Lieberman Software Enterprise Random Password Manager (ERPM) v5.0.1

ERPM is a proactive cyberdefense solution with the unique ability to mitigate risk exposure by enforcing frequent privileged credential changes that block attackers lateral movements. Even if an intruder steals credentials, those credentials are changed by ERPM so they cannot be exploited by attackers.

SentinelOne Endpoint Protection Platform

SentinelOne Endpoint Protection Platform enables service providers to replace antivirus solutions while enabling their enterprise customers to meet industry and government regulatory requirements.

STORAGE

Winner

Infinio Accelerator Version 2

An alternative to costly, hardware-based solutions, Infinio Accelerator Version 2 delivers all-flash performance that removes storage bottlenecks and reduces latency for enterprise applications and virtual desktop environments. Infinio Accelerator can be installed in less than 30 minutes, with no disruption to ongoing operations, and delivers immediate results. Starting with just 8 GB per host, Infinio creates a global, de-duplicated server-side cache from the existing, idle RAM in hosts, building an effective cache size in the hundreds of GB. Eliminating the need to rip-and-replace aging arrays or buy new SSD shelves, Infinio is one of the most cost-efficient, least disruptive, easiest solution on the market to improve storage performance. Infinio Accelerator delivers 10X improvement in latency, all-flash performance without additional hardware, reduced performance costs per IOPS, reduced capacity costs and an ability to extend the life of existing arrays and easy scale-out of storage performance with application growth.

Honorable Mentions

Dell Storage SC4020 with Triple Level Cell all-flash drives (pictured)

Dell is out in front when it comes to being a storage array vendor that supports Triple Level Cell 3D NAND flash drives. By combining the Dell Storage SC4020, Dell Data Progression intelligent data placement architecture and TLC technology, Dell Storage is able to significantly lower flash costs, offering all-flash solutions for as low as $1.66 per GB street price and 56 cents per GB.

Scality Ring

Scality's Ring 5.0 delivers a complete and seamless integration with the modern enterprise software-defined data center. It is perfect for capacity-driven workloads such as cloud services, video and enterprise archiving.

IBM FlashSystem V9000

IBM's FlashSystem V9000 is an all-flash enterprise storage solution delivering the full capabilities of IBM FlashCore technology plus a rich set of software-defined storage features, including IBM real-time compression, dynamic tiering, thin provisioning, snapshots, cloning, replication, data copy services and high-availability configurations.

CLOUD SOLUTIONS

Winner

Google Container Engine

Google Container Engine is a powerful cluster manager and orchestration system for running Docker containers and can be set up extremely fast. Container Engine schedules containers into the cluster and manages them automatically based on requirements that are completely user-defined.

The solution is built on the open-source Kubernetes system, which gives users the flexibility of on-premise, hybrid or public cloud infrastructure, as well as the ability to easily port workloads between cloud providers as needed.

Honorable Mentions

F5 Silverline (pictured)

F5 Silverline is a suite of managed, cloud-based services that lets organizations rapidly deploy enterprise-grade app services across hybrid environments minus up-front investments in IT infrastructure and support. Utilizing a globally distributed architecture, expert staff, an intuitive user interface and robust reporting.

RingCentral Office 7.3

With RingCentral Office 7.3, Ring Central allow partners to successfully stack service offerings to their clients through integrated solutions such as Google for Work, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, Zoho and Zendesk.

SkyKick Cloud Management Platform

SkyKick's new Cloud Management Platform enables IT solution providers to manage their customers' cloud-based applications from one single platform. SkyKick's Cloud Management Platform enables IT partners to migrate, back up and centrally manage cloud data and services for popular cloud products such as Microsoft Office 365 and Dropbox.

VIRTUALIZATION

Winner

PernixData Architect

Complex virtualization and storage solutions often require a vendor's technical teams to lead the deal while partners are brought in at the end of the sales cycle. That leaves little room for partner-led services and solutions. With Architect, underlying infrastructure partners now have a powerful sales and assessment tool that puts them at the forefront of all virtualization and storage solutions for the end user. Architect combines a best-in-class user experience with robust real-time analytics and design recommendations to deliver unprecedented visibility and control of virtualized applications and the underlying storage infrastructure.

Honorable Mentions

ExtraHop Citrix Module (pictured)

Tens of thousands of enterprise IT organizations rely on Citrix XenDesktop and Citrix XenApp for application and desktop virtualization; however, the complexity of the Citrix stack can prove a daunting challenge for IT organizations and the partners who support them. The ExtraHop Citrix Module provides visibility into end-user and infrastructure performance for Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp.

nGenx nFinity nWorkspace

nGenx's nFinity nWorkspace simplifies the process of cloud-enabling desktops and applications. As the market continues to shift from on-premise technologies to the cloud, nFinity nWorkspace allows customers to accelerate a cloud migration without the need to redevelop existing software solutions or be concerned about compatibility issues.

IBM Storwize V7000 with IBM Spectrum Virtualize Software

The name of the game especially for midmarket firms is chasing after growing storage demands. With IBM's Spectrum Virtualize Software, Big Blue gives companies more storage flexibility, responsiveness and efficiency via virtualization with the resources they already have.