Looking back, 2004 was a year when IT pulled itself together, took stock of its surroundings, and began to rebuild. From network edge to datacenter core, IT managers continued to emphasize value, squeezing maximum efficiency out of existing systems and demanding proven solutions to real problems. And judging from this year’s product reviews, vendors answered the call. See for yourself: In our annual year-end roundup, you’ll find summary evaluations of every product we tested this year — listed alphabetically by vendor in eight categories.
Source-code analysis and rich Internet application tools shone in 2004
Applications
CRM didn’t rise to the top, but Web services management fared well
Data management
From databases to content management, data wrangling became easier
Hardware
64-bit buzz made a lot of noise, but management software still has room for improvement
Networking
VoIP gets the call, wireless security and management improve, and switches grow smarter
Platforms
Linux progresses nicely with the v2.6 kernel, while mobile middleware makes a move
Security
From intrusion detection to spam, security solutions were high on our list in 2004
Storage
There was no shortage of innovation or value from storage vendors this year
Facts and figures
Compiling 289 reviews meant looking at lots of numbers -- here are some we found interesting
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