CMP Media's CRN Honors Leading Vendors at the 4th Annual Channel Champions Awards Ceremony

At an awards ceremony last night during the CMP XChange Solution Provider conference, CMP Media's CRN, vital information for VARs and technology integrators, announced the 15th annual Channel Champions award winners. The CRN Channel Champions study measures overall business and technology integrator perceptions of vendor products and services. The result is a premier resource used by business and technology integrators throughout the industry to evaluate vendors and their programs.

The CRN Channel Champions survey is the largest and broadest-based technology integrator market study in the industry. This year's survey was the most detailed and wide-ranging in the 15-year history of the project. Between October 2004 and January 2005 nearly 1,500 Solution Providers rated vendors in 28 categories, providing a total of more than 8,000 individual vendor ratings.

The Solution Providers were chosen at random from CRN's subscriber list and were pre-qualified to ensure that they worked in the category, were familiar with the products, and had a significant relationship with the vendor(s) being rated. CRN specified that business and technology integrators rate only those vendors with whom they had either a strategic partner type of business relationship, when possible.

136 technology vendors participated in the study. Vendors rated in each category were chosen on the basis of market share data provided by major research firms. In the case where market share data was not available, vendors were chosen by CRN senior editorial staff recommendations.

   The 2005 CRN Channel Champions Overall winners are as follows:

   *  Network Laser Printers -- HP
   *  Notebooks -- IBM
   *  Flat Panel Displays -- Viewsonic
   *  UPSes -- APC
   *  Wireless LANs -- Cisco
   *  Switches and Routers -- Cisco
   *  Business Class Communications Services -- Sprint
   *  Databases - Microsoft and IBM
   *  VoIP Networking Gear -- Cisco
   *  LCD projectors - HP and Sony
   *  KVM switches -- Belkin
   *  Systems & Network Management - IBM/Tivoli
   *  Network Infrastructure Security -- Cisco
   *  Anti-Virus -- Symantec
   *  Anti-Spam - Symantec/Brightmail
   *  Application Integration Middleware -- IBM
   *  Integrated Development Environments -- Microsoft
   *  Advanced Desktops and Workstations -- IBM
   *  Email/Collaboration Software -- Microsoft
   *  Network Operating Systems -- Microsoft and Novell
   *  Storage Area Network Arrays -- IBM
   *  Network Attached Storage Appliances -- IBM
   *  Storage Backup Subsystems -- IBM
   *  Low End Servers -- IBM
   *  High End Servers -- IBM
   *  Storage Management Software -- IBM
   *  SMB Business Software Suites -- Microsoft
   *  Enterprise Business Software Suites -- Oracle

Additional awards were given to the following vendors for receiving the highest average rating in the categories in which they competed.

   *  Technical Criteria Champion -- Cisco
   *  Rookie of the Year -- Sony
   *  Channel Criteria Champion -- IBM

"We commend the leading vendors recognized as Channel Champions. They represent the 'best of the best' by Solution Providers and VARs who recommend them to their customers," said Dan Dignam, publisher, CRN. "An essential resource for the channel for 23 years now, we continue to provide Solution Providers with the information they need to help drive their company's sales."

"The Channel Champions Survey, now in its 15th year, is our longest- running research project. Each year we survey Solution Providers to learn their satisfaction of the vendors they work closely with to deliver solutions to their customers," said Michael Vizard, editor in chief of CRN. "The champions are those vendors that set the standard for delivering strong products and solid support on a consistent basis."

The Channel Champions awards will be published in the April 25 issue of CRN.

The 15th annual CRN Channel Champions awards are generously supported by: Cisco, Lexmark, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Symantec and Toshiba.

About CRN

CRN provides Solution Providers and Technology Integrators with the crucial information and analysis they need to drive their company's sales. As an advocate for and voice of the Channel, Solution Providers turn to CRN first for immediate information. With more than 20 years of experience, CRN is the most trusted source for 117,000 channel professionals. CRN can be found on the Web at http://www.crn.com/.

About CMP Media LLC

CMP Media LLC (http://www.cmp.com/) is a leading integrated media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum-the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, and custom publishing.

   Contact:
   Gordon Plutsky
   CRN
   516.562.7766, or
   gplutsky@cmp.com

SOURCE: CMP Media LLC

CONTACT: Gordon Plutsky of CRN, +1-516-562-7766, or gplutsky@cmp.com

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/141733.html