Network Computing and Interop have announced the 2013 Best of Interop finalists. Best of Interop Award winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 7 at 5:30 pm at the Interop Theater on the Expo Floor during Interop Las Vegas, taking place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. (Logo:

"The Best of Interop awards program supports Interop's goal of fostering innovation and showcasing the latest products from leading technology solution providers," said Jennifer Jessup, Interop general manager. "We're pleased to acknowledge the accomplishments and innovations of the companies at the forefront of the industry, truly making unique contributions to our marketplace."

Best of Interop recognizes some of the world's most innovative technologies across seven major categories. Nearly 150 companies' submitted products for consideration and judges selected finalists based on the products they believe have the greatest potential to impact and advance business technology efficiencies. The Best of Interop Judging Committee is comprised of 16 award-winning IT editors and analysts.

"The Best of Interop Awards acknowledge innovative products and services in business technology," said Andrew Conry-Murray, editor of Network Computing. "At Interop, attendees can see these products on the show floor and have the opportunity to interact first hand with the latest advancements. The selected finalists for 2013 have put forth the most compelling offerings and we congratulate each of the Best of Interop finalists."

The finalists selected for each category include:

Cloud Computing & Virtualization

• Brocade Software Networking Solution – Brocade
• ExtraHop for Amazon Web Services (AWS) – ExtraHop Networks
• Next Generation ADC Technology – Riverbed Technology

DataCenter& Storage

• Dell Networking S5000 – Dell
• HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage – HP
• ZD-XL SQL Accelerator – OCZ Technology

Management & Monitoring

• AppQoS – iTrinegy
• EH8000 – ExtraHop Networks
• ScienceLogic EM7 v7.3 – ScienceLogic

Networking

• Network as-a-Service (NaaS) – Aryaka Networks, Inc.
• New 7000-series Data Center Switch – Arista Networks
• nGenius 3900 series packet flow switch – NetScout Systems, Inc.

Performance Optimization & Testing

• APN 3.0 Operating Software – Talari Networks
• PathSolutions Network Performance Manager, Release 4.3 – PathSolutions
• Unstructured Data Accelerator (UDA) Version 3.1 – Mellanox Technologies Inc.

Security

• Application Delivery Firewall – F5 Networks
• HackRack – The Hacker Academy
• Solera DeepSee Virtual Appliance – Solera Networks

Wireless, Mobility & BYOD Support

• Adaptive Radio Modules for the 3600 Access Point – Cisco
• Solstice – Mersive
• The Citrix Mobile Solutions Bundle – Citrix

In addition to the seven category winners, there will be special awards presented from Interop including: "Best of Interop" Award which is the overall grand prize and will be determined by the judges from the pool of category winners; "Best StartUp" which selects a vendor that has existed as an independent company for two years or less; and for the first time, an "Audience Choice Award" which will be determined by attendees of the keynote address on the morning of Wednesday, May 8, 2013.