The 2016 Tech Innovator Awards

Vision Quest

Innovation in IT requires vision -- vision to see where businesses are going rather than where they've been. And the winners and finalists in this year's CRN Tech Innovator Awards bring bold visions to the table for solution providers and their customers, in areas ranging from cloud to security to networking to mobile. This year's Tech Innovator Awards honor vendors in 28 categories, with the winners and finalists chosen from among 230 applicants.

Groundbreaking innovations from up-and-coming startups are present alongside bleeding-edge products from IT giants in the process of reinventing themselves. Cutting across all of the products is a belief in the power of technology to dramatically improve the way businesses are run in 2016 -- and beyond.

Being able to turn vision into reality is the crowning achievement of this year's Tech Innovator winners. Here's who has provided that spark this year.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND ANALYTICS

WINNER

Oracle Big Data Discovery Cloud

Oracle has developed this cloud service to transform the way businesses interact with their big data. It provides a visual user interface that lets anyone find and analyze data and then share the results -- no highly specialized skills required. Oracle further simplifies big data analytics because the software is capable of working with any type of data. Ultimately, Big Data Discovery Cloud aims to help businesses accelerate their innovation efforts by allowing users to more quickly work with their data. The product is ideal for solution providers that want to provide customers with cutting-edge analytics on a large scale, Oracle said.

FINALISTS

Snowflake Elastic Data Warehouse (pictured)

Built with the cloud and modern-day analytics in mind, this data warehousing technology aims to enable users to easily store, transform and analyze their business data with high performance. Plus, the latest update to the product brought in new automation capabilities that eliminate some of the complexity of traditional data warehousing.

Cisco Tetration Analytics

With Tetration, Cisco is offering a platform for providing crucial intelligence about what's going on inside a data center -- such as network flows and application insight, for instance. The goal is to enable companies to more quickly shift to software-defined networking, to simplify their data center operations, and to solve data center issues more quickly and intelligently.

Information Builders WebFocus Business User Edition

Working with big data can be complicated, which is why the WebFocus Business User Edition aims to provide a self-service option for business intelligence. Information Builders said its platform lets businesspeople generate insight from their data sets -- without needing to involve business intelligence developers -- and is ideal for solution providers focusing on the SMB market.

CLOUD APPLICATIONS

WINNER

Velostrata 2.0

To provide a foundation for solution providers seeking to bring their customers' environments to the public cloud, Velostrata 2.0 decouples compute from storage and makes it possible to more easily move workloads around. The application enables moving workloads to, from and between public clouds -- such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure -- without having to rewrite applications, modify images or change any management processes. The movement of workloads also can be done without degrading application performance. Velostrata 2.0 brings additional support for Microsoft Azure, giving customers greater flexibility to use both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services if they so desire.

FINALISTS

Egenera Xterity Cloud Console (pictured)

With the Xterity Cloud Console, Egenera provides a downloadable application to interface with its Xterity managed cloud service. The channel-delivered app simplifies customer onboarding and solution development for Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service, Backup-as-a-Service and cloud migration solutions.

IBM WebSphere Application Server On Cloud

IBM's WebSphere Application Server On Cloud is an integral part of helping with the development of new mobile, web and Internet of Things applications -- or with enhancing existing applications -- by providing access to hundreds of the company's Bluemix cloud services. The Bluemix services, which include IBM Watson, allow for faster application delivery as new business opportunities come into play.

Axcient Fusion

Axcient Fusion serves as a single cloud platform that consolidates multiple nonproduction IT workloads -- including data protection; business continuity and disaster recovery; and archiving and compliance.

CLOUD ORCHESTRATION AND AUTOMATION

WINNER

BitTitan MSPComplete

For solution providers looking to sell more cloud services, BitTitan's MSPComplete is a comprehensive platform for enablement that automates many key tasks and business processes. MSPComplete works by streamlining projects and workloads, empowering partners to sell more Office 365, Azure and complementary services; more quickly on-board cloud products and workloads; and better service their customers with intelligent cross-sell/upsell reports and 24/7, white-label customer support. MSPComplete ultimately provides a cloud-based "business in a box" for solution providers that are looking to transition into becoming modern MSPs.

FINALISTS

IBM Cloud VMware Solutions (pictured)

IBM Cloud VMware Solutions offers a way to integrate, expand or migrate on-premise VMware workloads onto cloud platforms more quickly and seamlessly. And it does so without changing existing policies, tools or skill sets.

Cisco CloudCenter

For solution providers looking to deliver an application-centric hybrid cloud management offering, the Cisco Cloud Center offers capabilities including the secure provisioning of infrastructure resources and deployment of applications to the public cloud, private cloud and data center.

Agiloft Contract Management Suite

To more easily manage contract work, Agiloft's Contract Management Suite offers features such as automation of the contract life cycle, streamlining of the approval process, and integration of contract information into related business processes.

CLOUD BACKUP/DISASTER RECOVERY

WINNER

Datto Siris 3 X1

Designed to be sold through MSPs, Datto's Siris 3 X1 is the first all-flash device to deliver complete data protection and business continuity that is also cloud-connected. The Siris 3 X1 uses image-based backup to take a complete picture of a source machine, regardless of whether it's Windows, Linux or Mac -- or even if it's physical or virtual. The 3 X1 appliance receives the backup, as does the Datto Cloud, which provides remote data protection and Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service. The protection can be accomplished in minutes and data can be recovered from the local device or from the cloud.

FINALISTS

Barracuda Backup Intronis MSP Edition Virtual Appliance (pictured)

For protection of virtual environments, the Intronis MSP Edition Virtual Appliance provides a scalable backup offering for MSPs that want to use their own storage -- or are looking to reduce their investment in dedicated hardware.

Zerto Virtual Replication 4.5

With Virtual Replication 4.5, Zerto offers a data replication and recovery offering across leading hypervisors and Amazon Web Services. Features include replication from one storage technology to another, and recovery of data for any point in the past 14 days.

CLOUD SECURITY

WINNER

Zscaler Private Access

In contrast to the traditional way of securely providing remote access -- the VPN gateway -- Zscaler has developed its Private Access product for the cloud era. Zscaler Private Access provides remote users with on-demand access to specific applications, which have been abstracted from the networks they reside upon. The approach is more secure than VPN because it reduces the potential attack surface, while it also doesn't require hardware infrastructure. The Private Access product is ideal for the channel because it allows solution providers to offer better security than VPN, and at a lower cost, according to Zscaler.

FINALISTS

GuardiCore Centra Security Platform (pictured)

With the Centra Security Platform, GuardiCore has brought together a number of technologies as a way to pinpoint and prevent cyberattacks in both public and private cloud environments. Those technologies include threat deception, process-level visibility, semantics-based analysis and automated response.

Dome9 Compliance Engine

Dome9's Compliance Engine aims to make it easier for today's businesses to manage their regulatory compliance requirements in all public cloud environments. With the product, solution providers can give organizations a faster way to identify risks and gaps, fix issues and prove compliance in audits.

Thycotic Secret Server Cloud

For solution providers that have helped customers move to the cloud, Thycotic's Secret Server Cloud aims to be the go-to approach for managing privileged passwords. It provides enhanced security for storage and sharing of passwords, as well as control of user activity by permission level.

CONTAINER TECHNOLOGY

WINNER

Docker Datacenter

Docker Datacenter enables solution providers to deliver to customers container-as-a-service solutions -- self-provisioning application environments that facilitate rapid application building and deployment. Docker Datacenter integrates with enterprise IT environments by bringing security, orchestration, policy and controls to the application life cycle. And that's accomplished without giving up agility or application portability. Docker Datacenter also offers a simplified installation and upgrade process, and it runs on any infrastructure -- physical, cloud or virtual -- and with any operating system.

DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE

WINNER

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hyper Converged 380

Built on the HPE ProLiant DL380, HPE's Hyper Converged 380 enables IT teams to deploy virtual machines more quickly, simplify operations and reduce costs. Infrastructure can be managed from a mobile device, and the offering is designed for IT generalists. Compute and storage capacity can be added within 15 minutes, while deployment of VMs is intuitive.

FINALISTS

Tintri VM Scale-Out (pictured)

Using data points from thousands of virtual machines, Tintri VM Scale-out optimizes distribution across multiple pools of storage -- ultimately enabling modern scale-out architecture, in the vein of Amazon Web Services, for Tintri's customers.

SimpliVity OmniStack 3.0

With the third generation of OmniStack, SimpliVity has improved performance and scalability for single-site deployments while launching new offerings optimized for multisite deployments.

Cisco HyperFlex

Built on Cisco's Unified Computing System, the inaugural release of HyperFlex offers networking, computing and storage, all integrated with unified management (and engineered entirely by Cisco). The product's features include automation of application services through integration with Cisco's application-centric network services.

Dell EMC VxRail Appliance

The VxRail Appliance from Dell EMC offers ease of management, scalability and performance benefits as a hyper-converged infrastructure offering due to having been jointly engineered by Dell EMC and VMware -- and having been based on new software from VMware.

DISPLAYS

WINNER

LG 55-Inch Dual-View Flat OLED Display

Organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, technology means better colors and a brighter picture than what is available with LCD -- and LG's 55-inch Dual-View Flat OLED Display makes full use of that technology. The OLED display renders blacks that are up to 200 times deeper than those of an LCD panel, vastly improving contrast ratios and colors. The LG 55-inch display also features a slim, 0.4-inch profile and comes with three installation options -- ceiling suspension, wall-mount and floor stand. Notably, LG is unique in making OLED display technology available through channel partners.

FINALIST

Epson Pro L1405U

Available only through authorized channel partners, the Epson Pro L1405U is a large-venue projector that combines a laser light source and 3LCD technology for producing high image quality. The projector delivers 8,000 lumens of color brightness and 8,000 lumens of white brightness, and can go long spans without needing maintenance, according to Epson.

INTERNET OF THINGS

WINNER

Zebra Technologies 3600 Ultra-Rugged Series

Extending the Internet of Things to the most challenging business environments -- such as manufacturing plants and warehouse aisles -- the 3600 Ultra-Rugged Series bar-code scanner from Zebra verges on indestructability with its rugged features. Those include waterproofing and protection against dust and sprays. Not to be overshadowed is the performance of the 3600 Series, which allows for rapid scanning that works for bar codes that are in practically any condition.

MANAGED SERVICES

WINNER

Adtran ProCloud Subscription Services

With its ProCloud Subscription Services, Adtran offers access to next-gen networking technologies -- wired and wireless -- on a managed services basis. The service allows IT operations to offload their network management, support more mobile devices and deploy high bandwidth without the capital costs. ProCloud also includes automatic product refreshes -- every two years -- for all infrastructure technology, including Ethernet switches, Gigabit routers, IP Business Gateways, Session Border Controllers and Wi-Fi access points. The service is ideal for MSPs that are looking to provide predictable and flexible solutions to customers, Adtran said.

MOBILE DEVICES

WINNER

HP Elite x3

HP has developed the first "3-in-1" device -- able to provide the computing for mobile, desktop and laptop experiences. To do that, HP has developed the new Desk Dock that enables the 6-inch phablet to turn into a Windows 10 desktop, using Microsoft's Continuum technology. The Elite x3 can also offer a laptop experience by connecting to HP's new Lap Dock, a 12.5-inch screen-and-keyboard combo. The device uses Qualcomm's speedy quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor and runs Windows 10 Mobile, which includes security features such as Bitlocker encryption and enterprise-grade VPN.

FINALIST

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S

Samsung's Galaxy TabPro S is a 2-in-1 designed to meet the needs of on-the-go professionals. The Windows 10 device attaches to a full-size keyboard; includes Intel's Core m3 processor; features a 12-inch, Super AMOLED display; and weighs just 1.53 pounds.

MOBILE SECURITY

WINNER

Samsung Knox 2.6

The latest edition of Samsung's Knox mobile security platform, Knox 2.6 adds a number of upgrades to benefit organizations that have Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones in use. Easy integration with popular mobile device management offerings and optimization for Android 6.0 Marshmallow are both part of Knox 2.6, as is deeper support for the Android for Work program. The platform also includes security enhancements -- including around the process of bulk enrollment of devices -- and improvements to enable more user productivity in the Knox container.

FINALIST

IBM MaaS360 Enterprise Mobility Management

IBM's MaaS360 EMM software meets the needs of both IT and the business by providing device management, data containment, threat management and other capabilities. The latest version of the software includes updates around secure chat and container UI/UX.

MOBILE SOFTWARE

WINNER

Kony MobileFabric 7

As a way to help enterprise IT keep up with the surging demand for mobile app development capabilities, Kony has developed its mobile middleware -- aka mobile-back-end-as-a-service -- solution. The offering allows developers to more easily create and configure data objects using metadata from back-end systems, allowing them to focus on development work itself. The latest update to Kony's software, MobileFabric 7, includes optimizations for the integration process with back-end systems and integrates with the visual application design and development offering Kony Visualizer 7.

FINALIST

ProntoForms Enterprise

ProntoForms Enterprise is a configurable mobile form that offers benefits beyond just moving paper forms onto mobile devices. ProntoForms' offering optimizes business performance with features including improvements to the accuracy of collected field data; embedding of photos, sketches and audio directly into forms; and automatic adding of time stamp and GPS data to forms.

NETWORKING -- ENTERPRISE

WINNER

Viptela vEdge 100

One of the emerging players in the software-defined wide-area network space, Viptela works with service providers to target small and midsize businesses. Viptela's vEdge 100 offers those businesses benefits such as fast rollout -- including to remote offices and branches -- along with boosted cloud performance and bandwidth. Centralized configuration and management is built in through the integration of vEdge 100 with Viptela's dashboard, which also provides a single view of application performance and resource usage. The vEdge 100 is ideal for solution providers that are looking to help their customers build carrier-agnostic, cost-effective WANs, according to Viptela.

FINALISTS

Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module (pictured)

For customers looking to rapidly deploy applications and services, Cisco's APIC EM automates the provisioning of the required infrastructure from end to end. Cisco partners are able to help their customers deploy a software-defined network that is programmable using the Cisco APIC EM.

Cumulus Linux 3.0

With Cumulus Linux 3.0, Cumulus Networks is aiming to use an open networking approach to help customers achieve web-scale IT. The latest release of Cumulus Linux added a number of compatible hardware platforms, including four 100G platforms.

Versa FlexVNF

Versa Networks' Versa FlexVNF has the flexibility to offer a range of virtualized network and security architectures, whether that means putting those functions in the data center or in the branch office. In all cases, Versa FlexVNF aims to enable easier provisioning and management of network and security components.

VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN 2.0

With Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN from VeloCloud, solution providers can deliver a software-defined WAN offering via a pay-as-you-go subscription. Services include network overlay control, dynamic path selection and secure network segmentation.

NETWORKING -- VOICE/DATA/UC

WINNER

Cisco Spark

Cisco developed Spark from the ground up to meet the needs of the modern cloud- and mobile-oriented workforce. Spark -- part of the Cisco Collaboration Cloud -- is a single platform bringing together a business messaging app, conferencing solution and phone system, all accessible through a simple-to-use interface. Secure file sharing from any device and video calling on both desktop and mobile devices are enabled, while Spark also provides HD voice for its integrated business phone. In addition, Cisco offers a Spark Hybrid version of the service for the integration of on-premise assets.

FINALISTS

ShoreTel Connect Hybrid Sites (pictured)

For solution providers looking to deploy different phone systems across customers' different locations, ShoreTel's Connect Hybrid Sites enables the mix and match of its Connect Onsite and Connect Cloud services and applications. Features include synchronization and a common dial plan for extension-to-extension dialing.

Logitech Group Kit

Aimed at solution providers serving small and midsize businesses, Logitech's Group Kit provides a cohesive offering for conference rooms. The kit includes Logitech Group ConferenceCam, a Logitech K400+ keyboard, an Intel NUC and the Intel Unite application, and Iluminari Tech QuickLaunch SE software.

Nectar Perspective as a Service

With Nectar's Perspective as a Service, systems integrators can generate synthetic transactions, which simulate voice and video traffic patterns. That allows for assessment prior to the deployment of on-premise, hybrid and cloud UC networks, and active monitoring after.

NETWORKING -- WIRELESS

WINNER

Mist Wireless Platform

Mist has developed a new way of delivering wireless networking by blending a number of powerful technologies. The wireless platform is centered around the Mist cloud, a programmable microservices cloud architecture that can adapt to user needs. The Mist cloud utilizes machine learning with proactive analytics, event correlation and predictive recommendations. The technology eliminates many manual processes previously required by using legacy architectures, while also offering a high degree of location accuracy. The platform is ideal for MSPs looking to simplify wireless operations for customers while adding new personalized services, Mist said.

FINALISTS

Extreme Networks ExtremeCloud (pictured)

As a cloud-based network management solution, ExtremeCloud enables organizations to manage applications with a simplified interface, while also being highly scalable. Notably, ExtremeCloud lets organizations transform their networks without having to re-architect or rip and replace their infrastructure.

Aruba Clarity

To aid in productivity and business continuity, Aruba Clarity from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, offers detailed visibility into network access at the user, device and app level. The software provides IT teams with forensics on network activity so that they can address connectivity issues before users are even impacted.

Aerohive Networks SD-LAN solution

While SD-WAN is a hot area within software-defined networking, Aerohive has its own offering in the form of SD-LAN, which aims to reduce complexity compared with other offerings. It does so through a network architecture that is self-organizing and centrally managed, and with an easy startup, requiring just an access point, switch and cloud license.

PC–LAPTOPS/CONVERTIBLES

WINNER

Dell Latitude 7370

With the Latitude 7370 -- an ultraportable, attractively designed touch-screen laptop -- Dell offered up its vision for where business-class computing may be headed. The laptop is durable but very thin (0.56 of an inch) and light (2.48 pounds), and still has a sizable display (13.3 inches, very thin bezel). The black exterior is made from "aerospace-grade" carbon fiber, and the machine uses an Intel Core M processor, which enables it to be both low power and speedy.

FINALIST

Panasonic Toughbook 20

Panasonic's Toughbook 20 manages to be both fully appropriate for rugged environments and also able to serve as a convertible. Switching the device from laptop to tablet can also be accomplished with one hand, and the display can be used with or without gloves.

PC–SERVERS

WINNER

IBM Power System S822LC

To meet the needs of the age of high-performance computing -- such as artificial intelligence, deep learning and high-performance data analytics -- IBM has developed the S822LC. The system uses IBM's OpenPower LC Linux server, ideal for accelerating high-performance computing operations. It also introduces the Power8 with Nvidia NVLink, which maximizes speed and efficiency. The result is more rapid data flow from CPU to GPU than on x86-based systems, IBM said.

PC–WORKSTATIONS/DESKTOPS

WINNER

IGEL Universal Desktop 3 Thin Clients

For environments with intensive use of graphics and multimedia, the new thin clients from IGEL -- Universal Desktop 3 (UD3) -- are a strong option thanks to a number of key features. Those include an AMD Embedded G-Series System-on-Chip quad-core processor; support for Citrix HDX, VMware Horizon and Microsoft RDP; and integrated DisplayPort supporting 4K resolution. The UD3 thin clients are also differentiated through the use of the user-friendly Universal Management Suite (UMS), and recently integrated the VMware Blast Extreme Protocol -- which allows IT to centrally configure and add new features via UMS firmware updates and UMS profile management.

FINALISTS

Dell Precision 5510 (pictured)

This mobile workstation includes all the right specs for getting a lot of work done -- including Intel's top-of-the-line Core processors, a 15-inch 4K display and up to 2 TB of storage -- while also having a thin and light profile (0.66 of an inch thick and weighing 3.93 pounds).

Intel Core M vPro Processor Compute Stick

The latest version of the Intel Compute Stick -- which converts monitors into basic Windows PCs, digital signs and kiosks -- features the Intel Core M vPro Processor, making the performance of Intel's powerful Core m5 processor available in a stick form factor.

PRINTING AND IMAGING

WINNER

HP PageWide Pro 577dw MFP

Aimed at small businesses and workgroups, HP's PageWide Pro 577dw multifunction printer offers a number of enhancements to allow users to accomplish more in the office. Features include fast two-sided scanning directly to the cloud or email; printing from mobile devices -- over Wi-Fi or NFC -- without the need for a network connection; and printing speeds of up to 70 pages per minute. The PageWide Pro 577dw has also been designed to use less energy than other multifunction printers in its class, HP said.

SECURITY – DATA

WINNER

vArmour DSS Deception

For protecting an organization's critical data, proactive new approaches are necessary, according to vArmour. The vendor's DSS Deception is a cyberdeception offering that creates the illusion of attackable hosts in order to lure attackers away from key assets. The offering can create thousands or even millions of such hosts, and the result is that attackers essentially give themselves away -- allowing security teams to remediate the threat. The simplicity and scalability of the offrering -- which can be deployed within minutes -- helps make DSS Deception a good fit for solution providers, vArmour said.

FINALISTS

Distil Networks API Security (pictured)

Distil Networks' API Security product is a line of defense against hijacking, scraping and other hacks of APIs. The product is simpler and less costly than other options since it doesn't require any coding work to deploy, Distil Networks said.

Barracuda Essentials for Office 365

Barracuda Essentials aims to offer the same level of security for Office 365 email that organizations previously enjoyed with on-premise Office. That includes protection not just against spam, viruses and known malware, but also detection of more advanced threats such as zero-day and ransomware.

ExtraHop Ransomware Solution

Because speed is critical in responding to a ransomware attack, ExtraHop's Ransomware Solution enables organizations to pinpoint such attacks within minutes. The offering does that by proactively detecting and tracking ransomware behavior in real time.

SECURITY–ENDPOINT

WINNER

Crowdstrike Falcon

To produce truly comprehensive endpoint protection, Crowdstrike has brought together next-gen antivirus with endpoint detection, response and managed threat hunting into a single agent. And Crowdstrike delivers all of that over the cloud. Recent enhancements to the Falcon platform include malware prevention based on machine learning; prevention of sophisticated browser- and server-based exploits; and new continuously recorded system events across three additional categories. Partners working with Falcon are offered an open framework for deploying security services, including access to a collection of APIs and tools for faster and better threat management, Crowdstrike said.

FINALISTS

llusive 3.1 With Attacker View (pictured)

The new Attacker View feature in Illusive Networks' Illusive 3.1 reveals previously hidden attack vectors that are found on every individual machine in a network. That provides security teams with a detailed map of how cyberattackers view their organization's network.

Symantec Advanced Threat Protection

Defeating sophisticated cyberattacks, according to Symantec, means correlating threats across multiple control points -- including endpoint, email and network. By doing so, the company's release of Advanced Threat Protection allows organizations to contain and remediate such threats, all within minutes.

ForeScout CounterACT

The instant that a device or application connects to an organization's network, ForeScout CounterACT will identify and evaluate them. From there, the product provides continuous monitoring and remediation of the devices and applications as they come and go from the network.

Cryptzone AppGate XDP

In contrast to some of today's labor-intensive traditional network security, Cryptzone's App- Gate XDP automatically controls network access -- and at a fine-grained level. The software renders unauthorized network resources invisible, preventing attackers from even seeing unauthorized applications.

SOFTWARE–ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

WINNER

Stratoscale Symphony

As many enterprises continue to rely on their data centers, but yearn for some of the benefits of the public cloud, Stratoscale Symphony relieves organizations from having to choose between the two. The software can be deployed quickly on existing infrastructure and can be used to support legacy applications. The power is in breaking down the silos between different elements of an organization's infrastructure, as Stratoscale Symphony enables a single administrator to manage virtualization, networking and storage. Meanwhile, in addition to serving enterprises, the software supports service providers that are looking to compete with the big cloud players.

FINALISTS

HPE OneView 3.0 (pictured)

Using automation, HPE OneView 3.0 cuts down on the complexity of IT service delivery through means such as letting IT teams design resources in reusable templates. That can speed up the configuration of server, fabric and storage -- not just once, but on a repeatable basis.

FireEye HX 3.1 With Exploit Guard

FireEye's HX 3.1 brings a high degree of intelligence in order to determine the likelihood that an exploit is occurring on an endpoint. The approach avoids problems with false positives, and the offering is easily updated in order to stay current.

SECURITY–NETWORK

WINNER

Sophos Synchronized Security

With unique, zero-day attacks now becoming common, Sophos has developed network protection that works with endpoint security and encryption to more quickly uncover previously unknown threats. Sophos Synchronized Security includes better visibility through analysis of the root cause of cyberattacks, allowing security teams to view the full range of impacts of an attack. Recent updates to the Synchronized Security technology included the Security Heartbeat capability, which "pulses" continuous information about suspicious behavior between endpoints and the network firewall. Synchronized Security is ideal for solution providers that are looking to simplify cybersecurity for their IT professional customers by offering a single unified solution, Sophos said.

FINALISTS

ProtectWise Grid (pictured)

As complex threats develop over time, the ProtectWise Grid offers enhanced visibility into the detection of those threats, allowing security teams to halt attacks before they are able to succeed. ProtectWise's cloud-based product provides the ability to retrospectively look at a network in order to hunt for any threats that may be lurking.

SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection

With Capture Advanced Threat Protection, SonicWall provides three layers of defense to safeguard against sophisticated threats. Those include agentless, hypervisor-based threat analysis and detection (VMRay Analyzer); Lastline Breach Detection; and SonicWall's Sonic Sandbox sandboxing engines.

Archive360 Archive2Anywhere

Archive360's Archive2Anywhere is email archive migration software that brings a number of benefits around scale (horizontally for performance needs, vertically for additional functionality); data extraction (it integrates fully with legacy archives at the database and storage level); and performance (extraction rates at more than 7 TB per day, per server).

Metalogix Essentials for Office 365

For solution providers looking to simplify the management of their customers' Office 365 environments, Metalogix's Essentials for Office 365 can provide all the necessary functionality in a single platform (and with a single installation). That functionality includes analysis and optimization, security and backup/restore operations.

SOFTWARE–PRODUCTIVITY

WINNER

Workato Workbot

In an age when the use of Software-as-a-Service has created silos for an organization's data, solution providers can leverage Workato's Workbot to bring data sources from applications together -- enabling users to take action based on all of their data. And Workbot does so in real time, and within messaging applications such as Slack. Features include personalized notifications, a 360-degree view of customers across all apps, and an ability to easily command all apps to find data and generate reports -- for instance, creating a command to view the company's biggest accounts. Workbot can be used for accessing data from more than 1,000 apps, and it also automatically adapts to an organization's needs over time.

FINALISTS

Intel Unite (pictured)

With the needs of modern collaboration in mind, Intel Unite enables users to take part in meetings by connecting -- and sharing content -- wirelessly. That eliminates the inefficiencies that often plague meetings because of incorrect or misplaced adapters.

Alfresco Platform

The Alfresco Platform integrates process and content management into a single offering, with the end result being a simplified workflow and improved customer service. In addition, the platform helps companies meet their compliance requirements by capturing relevant content.

Fujitsu PaperStream Server

Fujitsu's PaperStream Server is web-based document processing software appropriate for businesses from the small end up to enterprise. The software lets organizations efficiently collect, enhance, process, index and route content into their line of business or enterprise content management systems.

STORAGE

WINNER

Nimble AF1000 Predictive All-Flash Array

Nimble Storage has differentiated itself in the flash storage market with its InfoSight Predictive Analytics, used to prevent storage (and non-storage) issues inside an organization's infrastructure. And with the AF1000, the company expanded its predictive all-flash approach beyond just midsize and large enterprises -- with entry-level pricing for a system that still offers the same features and scalability of Nimble's other all-flash arrays. The AF1000 runs NimbleOS, just like Nimble's other all-flash systems, providing management of arrays as a single entity in a unified fabric. And when customers are looking to grow, upgrading the AF1000 to any other Nimble all-flash array model is possible without disruption to the infrastructure.

FINALISTS

Hedvig Distributed Storage Platform v1.6 (pictured)

With version 1.6 of Hedvig's Distributed Storage Platform, native integration with Docker and VMware is included. In addition, companies can migrate to newer container architectures as needed -- all while being able to keep operations consistent at the storage level.

Veeam Availability Suite v9

Version 9 of the Veeam Availability Suite includes new features such as simplified backup storage management (using a software-defined backup repository); data-reduction technology, BitLooker, for reducing backup file size; and integration with Dell EMC snapshots to minimize impacts on production virtual machines.

IBM FlashSystem A9000

For service providers and enterprises alike, IBM's FlashSystem A9000 offers benefits such as high availability (99.999 percent, according to IBM); enterprise-class data protection (through features like IBM Variable Stripe RAID technology); and flash-optimized data reduction capabilities.

VIRTUALIZATION

WINNER

IBM Spectrum Virtualize Software V7.7

Aimed at end customers that are looking to move to a hybrid cloud approach, the latest update to IBM's Spectrum Virtualize Software offers a number of benefits to the cloud service providers and managed service providers who'll be aiding customers in that journey. The focus of the new version of Spectrum Virtualize Software is on enabling service providers to reduce storage costs in their own data centers while also improving their data availability, reliability and security -- benefits that can all be shared by their end customers. The software is available as a perpetual license or a monthly subscription, and there are no software co-requisites (such as a certain operating system or hypervisor) to using the new version of Spectrum Virtualize.

FINALIST

Verizon Managed SD WAN

Among the benefits of Verizon's Managed SD WAN are application-aware routing, which provides enterprises with more granular control of application routing in order to better utilize their resources. The offering also provides the flexibility to offload Internet-bound traffic so that private WAN services are kept available for mission-critical applications.

Editors' Choice

The Editors' Choice awards for 2016 honor two vendors in cybersecurity whose innovations do not fit neatly underneath any of the five security categories in our Tech Innovator awards (cloud, network, data, endpoint or mobile). We felt they were deserving of recognition for their work in pushing the envelope in this crucial space.

WINNER

SafeBreach Continuous Security Validation Platform

SafeBreach takes an alternative approach to that of many traditional security vendors in the market today by acting not as a defender, but as a hacker. The company's platform continuously validates an organization's security posture by executing hacker breach methods -- analyzing weaknesses with the full context of systems and network relationships in mind -- in order to see how an attack could actually occur, as well as what its impact could be.

WINNER

LookingGlass Cyber Solutions ScoutPrime

With ScoutPrime, LookingGlass Cyber Solutions has developed an advanced threat intelligence management platform that enables users to correlate, prioritize and act upon threats. ScoutPrime provides a large collection of threat intelligence data feeds layered on real-time, global Internet intelligence -- ultimately enabling quicker action to protect against complex threats.