MEDIA STATEMENT  
for immediate release

SINGAPORE, October 15, 2008 — Microsoft Singapore was the stand-out performer — followed by IBM, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard Singapore and SAP —in the prestigious 13th annual Readers Choice Awards. The awards, which have been dubbed the ‘Oscars of the Singapore IT community’, were presented tonight by leading technology and business publication Computerworld Singapore .
 
Other award winners included APC, Blue Coat Systems, Check Point Software Technologies, Fuji Xerox Printers, InFocus, Lenovo, Nokia, Oracle, Polycom, Samsung Asia, SingTel and Symantec.

The coveted Computerworld Singapore Readers Choice Awards go to vendors that score well with their customers (who vote for products) in the areas of price, performance, functions and ease of use of their products and services.

Fairfax Business Research, the research arm of Fairfax Business Media, annually conducts the awards survey on behalf of Computerworld Singapore, following industry best practices to deliver statistically valid results from the magazine’s Singapore readership.

There were more than 900 product and service contenders in 45 product categories this year, a significant increase over 2007. At a ceremony tonight at Raffles Hotel, technology companies proudly received a total of 45 Computerworld Singapore Readers Choice Awards trophies.

There were seven award sections this year; Platform & Tools, Security, Enterprise Applications, Communications, Storage, Hardware and Services.

Microsoft Singapore took home a total of nine awards. Four awards (system management software, application server software, database management system, IT asset management system) in the Platform & Tools section, two awards (identity management, patch management software) in the Security section, two awards (collaboration platform, enterprise content management) in the Enterprise Applications section and one awards (unified communications software suite) in the Communications section.

IBM garnered a total of seven awards. Three awards (entry-level server, mid-range server, high-end enterprise server) in the Hardware section, two awards (tape systems, enterprise disk systems) in the Storage section, and two awards (service oriented architecture services provider, consulting & integration services provider) in the Services section.

Cisco won a total of six awards. Three awards (enterprise routers, enterprise switches, wireless routers) in the Hardware section and two (intrusion detection/prevention system, unified threat management) in the Security section and one award (unified communications hardware provider) in the Communications section.

Hewlett-Packard Singapore bagged a total of five awards. Three awards (consulting & integration services provider, support & maintenance services provider, data centre & hosting services provider) in the Services section, and two awards (storage management software, SAN switches) in the Storage section.

SAP was presented four awards (customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, supply chain management) in the Enterprise Applications section.

Symantec won a total of three awards. Two awards (backup software, e-mail archiving system) in the Storage section, and one award (information security suite) in the Security section.

And the country’s top connectivity and communications services provider SingTel retained its Readers Choice Award-backed supremacy as most favoured managed connectivity services provider with a comprehensive line up of services to meet the needs of every enterprise, even as it extends into new territory with a win in the WAN accelerator category. 

The complete winners list will be available at www.computerworld.com.sg/RCA08 from 16 October 2008, from 9am.

Andrew Smart, Asia Regional Manager of Fairfax Business Media said that winning a Readers Choice Award (RCA) was one of the strongest endorsements that IT professionals from end-user organisations could give to technology vendors.

"By winning a Computerworld Readers Choice Award, an enterprise receives confirmation that its product or solution has delivered on its promise and has achieved market leadership," Smart said. "It’s heartening to see that the benchmark for quality products and services is continually being raised."

Computerworld Singapore Editor, Teng Fang Yih, said: "Don’t complain if you don’t win. Don’t thank us for giving you an award. The people have spoken. Work on your product and service delivery. And show your customers you care enough about them to give them what they need to do their increasingly difficult jobs more easily every day."

 
For inquiries, please contact:

Andrew Smart – W: +65 6395 8059 – M: +65 9873 3306 – E: asmart@fairfaxbm.com
Teng Fang Yih – W: +65 6395 8028 – M: +65 9127 7056 – E: fyteng@fairfaxbm.com

About Computerworld - Computerworld Singapore and Computerworld Malaysia magazines carry a stimulating mix of analytical reporting, in-depth discussions of current and emerging technology trends, enterprise IT, plus key technological developments and solutions that have an impact on regional IT professionals.