Executive Summary:
Selected by readers voting online, the Windows IT Pro Community Choice awards present the three top vote-getting products in eight categories: Light Database Tools, Antispam Solution for Business, Disk Imaging Software, Backup and Recovery Appliances, Exchange Server Monitoring Tools, Uninterruptible Power Supplies, Laptop Synchronization Tools, and KVM over IP Switches. |
In contrast to all the other award categories in this issue, the Windows IT Pro
Community Choice Awards are selected by you, the readers of Windows IT
Pro and SQL Server Magazine. Hundreds of Windows IT Pro Web site visitors
and online forum members voted in these awards, which eventually resulted in
24 finalists and winners in eight categories.
As with all the other awards presented in this issue, we want to hear what you think
about the choices made here. Do you think an important product was overlooked, or that a
lackluster product was given accolades that it doesn’t deserve? Please visit the Windows IT
Pro online forums (www.windowsitpro.com/forums) and let us know what you think!
Light Database Tools
Winner: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express
Microsoft
www.microsoft.com
Why it won: This limited-feature variant of Microsoft
SQL Server 2005 is long on value as well as capability:
It’s free! You’ll be amazed at how much you can
accomplish with SQL Server 2005 Express—it’s an
excellent choice for someone whose database needs
are modest.
In a world where weighty IT applications
such as SQL Server 2005 command hefty
prices, it’s nice to find a product that’s long
on capability but light on your IT budget. You
can’t beat free as far as pricing goes, a lesson
not lost on Microsoft when it created SQL
Server 2005 Express Edition.
Granted, SQL Server Express doesn’t offer as many
features as its costly counterpart does. In his Webexclusive
article “Contenders for the Express Database
Crown” (www.sqlmag.com, InstantDoc ID 94459), Windows
IT Pro Technical Director Michael Otey extols the
virtues of SQL Server Express over some of its light-duty
database competitors.
“SQL Server Express provides high levels of performance
and deep CLR and XML integration. If, like most
developers, you’re using Microsoft .NET technologies
and you’re developing for the Windows platform that
makes up the bulk of the desktop market, SQL Server
Express is a great choice because its integration with the
Visual Studio 2005 development product is unequaled,”
says Otey. “SQL Server Express Advanced Edition also
includes the SQL Server Management Studio Express
(SSMSE) management GUI and support for SQL Server
2005 Reporting Services, a component that has no
equivalent in the other lightweight database products.”
Other SQL Server Express features are a
boon for helping DBAs get new projects up
and running quickly. Microsoft includes 10
database schemas that take the guesswork
out of creating small database projects,
including ones for e-commerce, product
catalogs, nonprofit groups, and contact
management. Combine that with a wealth
of sample databases, tutorials, online help,
and other free training tools, and SQL
Server Express emerges as a powerful entryto
midlevel database tool in its own right.
—Jeff James
Silver: MySQL 5.0
MySQL AB
www.mysql.com
Bronze: Microsoft SQL Server
Compact 3.5
Microsoft
www.microsoft.com
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