Versatility and ease of use propelled NetIQ's AppManager Suite 6.0 to a Gold Award in the network and systems management category of TechTarget's Windows Products of the Year.

The upgrade boasts improved performance and scalability over its previous version -- managing twice the number of servers -- and it offers enhanced levels of security. It also has the ability to converge voice and data networks and applications with voice over IP management tools for Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks devices. The suite also contains event and job management applications and a program to monitor abnormal system conditions before they create problems.

All three judges agreed that the product's ability to support a wide variety of applications was a huge asset. It can be used to manage networks that contain Windows-, Linux- and Unix-based servers.

"I'm a really big believer in the NetIQ product," said one judge. "It's really intuitive --far and away the best." While another judge criticized the suite for not showing "huge improvement," he said it was already a "solid product." The third judge said that of all of the products in this challenging category, NetIQ's AppManager Suite 6.0 was the easiest to use.

Released in July 2004, AppManager Suite 6.0 is priced on a per-server basis and begins at $600.

Jennifer Lawinski, news writer