SolarWinds' agentless application and server performance monitoring solution, SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM), formerly SolarWinds Application Performance Monitor, won Best of TechEd in the systems management and operations category at the Microsoft TechEd North America 2012 conference on June 14 in Orlando.

The Best of TechEd North America Awards, produced by Windows IT Pro, SQL Server Pro, SharePoint Pro and Dev Pro, recognize the innovative products and services showcased at Microsoft TechEd North America 2012.

More than 297 products were nominated with 46 finalists selected in 15 categories.

“We narrowed down a list of almost 300 products this year to 46 extremely deserving finalists — an honor in itself,” said Jason Bovberg, Senior Editor of Windows IT Pro. “All 46 finalists represent highly distinguished products and services in their categories. We love all these products! But through our research and show-floor interview process, we managed to choose this year’s winners."

"Our 2012 Best of Best of TechEd winners stand apart from the pack, either offering an edge in product functionality, boasting enhanced feature sets in new versions, or introducing innovative technology,” Bovberg added.

Winners were chosen based on their innovation, strategic importance to the market, competitive advantage, and exceptional value to customers.

In addition to being named the winner in the systems management and operations category, SolarWinds Virtualization Manager and SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) were finalists in the virtualization and networking categories, respectively.

SolarWinds SAM, SolarWinds Virtualization Manager and SolarWinds NPM are available to download on SolarWinds website for a free, 30-day evaluation.