Best of VMworld 2009 nomination form

Deadline, Categories and Criteria

Judging:
A team of expert judges -- consisting of editors, independent analysts, users and consultants -- will evaluate nominations. Not all nominees will be contacted directly by judges or interviewed in person during the show. The Best of Show category will be determined by a judging panel; nomination forms should not be submitted for this category.

The deadline for submission has been extended to Aug. 13, 2009. If you submit multiple products, fill out one form for each product, and provide only one entry per product.

If you receive an error in submitting your nomination, email your entry to bestofvmworld@techtarget.com in a Word document with the desired category in the subject line.

Categories:
1. Business continuity and data protection
Legitimate entrants are technologies that are designed to back up, restore and replicate data, and/or achieve fault tolerance.

2. Security and virtualization
Legitimate entrants monitor and protect hypervisors, guest OSes, and virtual networks and enforce security and compliance best practices.

3. Virtualization management
Legitimate entrants monitor, track and troubleshoot virtual machine (VM) availability and performance problems; migrate files; manage VM lifecycles; configure and provision VMs; or provide other VM management functions.

4. Hardware for virtualization
Legitimate entrants are hardware platforms and devices, including servers, storage and networking devices that are optimized for virtual environments.

5. Desktop virtualization
Legitimate entrants are software and hardware platforms that deliver or enhance the delivery of virtualized end-user desktops. Examples include desktop virtualization software, client devices and connection brokers.

6. Cloud computing technologies
Legitimate entrants are those that use virtualization to enable private and public cloud computing.

7. New technology
Legitimate entrants are new technologies in the previously listed six virtualization categories that have not shipped but that will be available by the end of 2009.

8. Best of show
Only products that have been released and are available for demonstration can be chosen. No user-submitted entries for this category; judges select best of show.

Judging Criteria:

Innovation
Does the product introduce new capabilities or provide significant improvements to standard capabilities? Does it break new ground or redefine the product category?

Performance
Does the product perform to the degree that it could improve overall data center operation?

Ease of integration into environment
How easily does the product integrate with other products? Can the product operate effectively in heterogeneous environments? Have vendors certified the product?

Ease of use and manageability
Is the product easy to install? Are the product's functions clear and easy to learn and run? Will the product scale smoothly to accommodate growth in an environment?

Functionality
Does the product deliver as promised? Does the product provide greater or more useful functionality than others in its category? Are there serious functional omissions?

Value
Does the product represent a cost-effective solution? Can the ROI be easily justified?

Fills a market gap
Highlight the needs it fills and the problems it solves.

Welcome to SearchServerVirtualization.com's Best of VMworld Awards submission page. Judges will visit contenders' booths at VMworld 2009, and winners will be announced at the VMworld show on Wednesday, September 2, on the show floor. Products must be from a company exhibiting at VMworld 2009. In addition to the other awards, a single Best of Show award will be given at the judges' discretion. Do not submit a product for the Best of Show category.

* Indicates field is required

		Company name:*


		Marketing/PR contact information and email:*


		VMworld booth number:*


		Contact person at booth:*


		Contact phone (your constact be able and available to answer questions about the product prior to and during the show):*


		Product name:*


		Date introduced:*


		Is it generally available?*
		Yes No

		Which category are you entering this product in?*
		Business continuity and data protection Security and virtualization Virtualization management Hardware for virtualization Desktop virtualization Cloud computing technologies New technology

		Describe how your product excels in terms of innovation (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.*


		Describe how your product excels in terms of performance (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.


		Describe how your product excels in terms of ease of integration into an environment (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.


		Describe how your product excels in terms of ease of use and manageability (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.


		Describe how your product excels in terms of functionality (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.


		Describe how your product excels in terms of value (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.


		Describe how your product excels in terms of filling a market gap (see category and criteria descriptions at left). Note the field below has a 1,600-character -- or approximately 230-word -- limit.


		Please provide two users, including contact information, to serve as reference. Please specify whether these contacts are public or private; if we need additional references, we will contact you.*


		If there is a webpage with more information on this product, please include the URL here:


		Corporate email address: