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We've identified more than 100 "cool vendors," small companies that just may produce the next "big thing" in IT. Gartner defines a cool vendor as one that is innovative, interesting, and has or will have a business impact on the future of IT. We've included companies that have not yet received much attention or publicity due to their size, but seasoned IT professionals know that innovation often comes from small technology providers. This compilation is by no means exhaustive, but we believe you'll find something here that will grab your attention. Read More Cool Vendors in Application Development, 2005 This year's "cool" AD vendors, Agitar Software, Identify Software, iRise, Sofea, VA Software and Wind River, provide innovative tools supporting quality application development from requirements definition through collaborative activities, testing and maintenance. Cool Vendors in Application Integration, 2005 IT integration projects and solutions are maturing and converging. Nevertheless, innovation continues to flourish among both emerging and well-established vendors. Cool Vendors in Application Platforms and Service-Oriented Architecture, 2005 Small vendors are among the most innovative developers of application platforms and products that support the implementation of SOA. We outline promising products from Appistry, Kabira, Paremus and WebLayers. Cool Vendors in Business Activity Monitoring and Data Integration, 2005 Deriving value from ever-increasing volumes of data in an efficient manner is a top priority for many large organizations. New business activity monitoring and data integration vendors are emerging to address this challenge. Cool Vendors in Client Computing, 2005 This year's "cool vendors" have made dual-purpose notebooks more affordable, improved tablet PC functionality for Microsoft's customers, developed tools to enliven learning and removed the note-taking chore from meetings. Small vendors are filling user needs that might be ignored by larger vendors. Cool Vendors in Customer Relationship Management, 2005 This appears to be a mature market, with self-proclaimed leaders and high-profile mergers and acquisitions. But there's always room for innovation. These 12 newcomers help companies build relationships with customers in new ways. Cool Vendors in Emerging Trends and Technologies, 2005 Vendors are working on technologies that tame complexity. Emerging sensor networks will need location sensing to succeed. New software architectures will require sophisticated new debugging tools. The life sciences field remains a fertile area for IT. Cool Vendors in Enterprise Network Solutions, 2005 Enterprise networking continues to evolve. The focus on hardware, with little application awareness, is giving way to a focus on software that enables new business processes. Six vendors demonstrate the creativity and innovation that is driving the enterprise communications market. Cool Vendors in IT Service Portfolio Management and IT Service Dependency Mapping, 2005 As IT organizations adopt a business-oriented service management strategy, they seek greater efficiency in discovering, defining, documenting and reporting on IT services. A new "cool" set of vendors focuses on enabling organizations to become more IT service-centric. Cool Vendors in IT Services and Outsourcing, 2005 Many vendors exploit technology developments in the IT services and outsourcing market. Four "cool" vendors are at the forefront of service delivery and business innovation: Avanade, BlueRoads, CaseCentral and Softtek. Cool Vendors in Knowledge Support, 2005 This year's eight cool vendors in knowledge support offer companies and workers clever new solutions to persistent problems. The vendors described here illustrate the range of innovation that's available. Cool Vendors in Mobile and Wireless, 2005 Mobile and wireless technology spans hardware, software and services for consumers and enterprises. Many of the "cool" products appeal to both groups, because many offerings are used for home and business. Cool Vendors in Network Infrastructure, 2005 The public network infrastructure market is moving from traditional legacy technology to packet-based technology. A new breed of vendors will use specialized capabilities to build new applications and services allowing operators to run advanced service bundles over network architectures. Cool Vendors in Network Services, 2005 We profile seven innovative vendors of network services. They offer products in areas such as connectivity, Internet data centers, VoIP services and the "triple play" of telephony, Internet access and video services. Cool Vendors in Security and Privacy, 2005 Many providers are supplying innovative solutions to a wide range of security problems; however, the 15 vendors we have identified as "cool" have earned this distinction for their ability to develop technologies that add value in a real-world environment. Cool Vendors in Semiconductors, 2005 Innovations that promise to revolutionize semiconductor technology include new memory devices, communications functions and biological microarrays. We profile six noteworthy vendors of new products. Cool Vendors in Web Services, 2005 Innovative "cool" vendors Systinet, SOA Software, Sarvega and Agentis Software provide functionality that addresses the Web services framework, and enables companies to extend that functionality to the entire organization (internal and external) in a runtime and design time environment.