Everything Channel Announces the 2009 Annual Report Card Winners, Recognizes Outstanding Partner Programs and Superb Vendor Service

WASHINGTON, -- Everything Channel, a division of United Business Media, congratulates the 24th Annual Report Card (ARC) award winners, announced last night at an awards ceremony at the XChange '09 conference. The conference, held August 17-20 at the Gaylord National Hotel in Washington, D.C., recognized outstanding partner programs and superb vendor service in 18 major product categories.

"The Annual Report Card offers tremendous insight on vendor-partner relationships. The companies on top offer great products coupled with solid channel support programs," said Robert C. DeMarzo, senior vice president and editorial director, Everything Channel. "The Annual Report Card has become the defining source to showcase a vendor's level of commitment to the partner community. We congratulate each of the vendors named on this year's list."

Winners include:

Client Security Software:
Overall Category: Kaspersky Lab
Product Innovation Subcategory: Sophos
Support Subcategory: Sophos
Partnership Subcategory: Kaspersky Lab

Data & Information Management:
Overall Category: IBM
Product Innovation Subcategory: Microsoft Corporation
Support Subcategory: IBM
Partnership Subcategory: Microsoft Corporation

Display Technologies:
Overall Category: Samsung
Product Innovation Subcategory: Samsung
Support Subcategory: Samsung
Partnership Subcategory: Samsung

External Portable Hard Drives:
Overall Category: Western Digital
Product Innovation Subcategory: Western Digital
Support Subcategory: Western Digital
Partnership Subcategory: Western Digital

Middleware:
Overall Category: Microsoft Corporation & Oracle Corporation (TIE)
Product Innovation Subcategory: Oracle Corporation
Support Subcategory: Oracle Corporation
Partnership Subcategory: Microsoft Corporation

Midrange (High-End) Servers:
Overall Category: Hewlett-Packard
Product Innovation Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard
Support Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard
Partnership Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard

Network Security Appliances:
Overall Category: Fortinet
Product Innovation Subcategory: Fortinet
Support Subcategory: Fortinet
Partnership Subcategory: Fortinet

Network Security Software:
Overall Category: Trend Micro
Product Innovation Subcategory: McAfee
Support Subcategory: Trend Micro
Partnership Subcategory: Trend Micro

Network Storage:
Overall Category: EMC
Product Innovation Subcategory: EMC
Support Subcategory: EMC
Partnership Subcategory: EMC

Networking Infrastructure Enterprise:
Overall Category: Cisco
Product Innovation Subcategory: Cisco
Support Subcategory: Cisco
Partnership Subcategory: Cisco

Notebooks/Mobile Computers:
Overall Category: Panasonic Computer Solutions Company
Product Innovation Subcategory: Panasonic Computer Solutions Company
Support Subcategory: Toshiba
Partnership Subcategory: Toshiba

Server Virtualization Software:
Overall Category: VMware
Product Innovation Subcategory: VMware
Support Subcategory: VMware
Partnership Subcategory: Microsoft Corporation

SMB Networking Hardware:
Overall Category: Adtran
Product Innovation Subcategory: Adtran
Support Subcategory: Adtran
Partnership Subcategory: Adtran

Storage Software:
Overall Category: EMC
Product Innovation Subcategory: EMC
Support Subcategory: EMC
Partnership Subcategory: EMC

Unified Communications/ Voice-over-IP Technology:
Overall Category: Cisco
Product Innovation Subcategory: Cisco
Support Subcategory: Cisco
Partnership Subcategory: Cisco

Volume Mainstream Business Servers:
Overall Category: Hewlett-Packard
Product Innovation Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard
Support Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard
Partnership Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard

Wireless Infrastructure:
Overall Category: Cisco
Product Innovation Subcategory: Cisco
Support Subcategory: Cisco
Partnership Subcategory: Cisco

Workgroup Color Printers:
Overall Category: Hewlett-Packard
Product Innovation Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard
Support Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard
Partnership Subcategory: Hewlett-Packard

Winners were determined based on a weighted total of product innovation, support and partnership. Winners were selected by Everything Channel's editorial team, based on the survey results of more than 5,000 systems integrators, IT consulting organizations, value-added resellers (VARs), solution providers and software developers.

Sponsors of the ARC event include Cisco, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba.

A special report on the ARC award winners will be in the October issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.channelweb.com.

About Everything Channel (www.everythingchannel.com, www.channelweb.com)

Everything Channel is the one-stop shop for managing and accelerating technology sales. From branding and recruiting to marketing and sales, Everything Channel offers technology marketers the unmatched breadth and depth of global brands and market intelligence combined with unparalleled audience loyalty and credibility serving all technology sales channels through an extensive database. Everything Channel provides innovative field sales and marketing solutions to arm the sellers of technology with the resources they need to achieve measurable and significant results.

About United Business Media Limited (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com)

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.