Zenprise 2.0 led the pack in 2006 for SearchExchange.com's new Reporting and Management category. Zenprise Inc.'s second-generation namesake product received excellent marks from our judges for performance, ease of integration, ease of use, functionality, value and support -- and garnered a perfect score for innovation.

Zenprise 2.0 is the first Exchange Server management product we've come across that not only notifies administrators of configuration, performance and availability problems, but also provides detailed instructions for resolution. That is, it doesn't just bring Exchange Server issues to your attention -- it tells you exactly how to fix them.

One judge commented, "Zenprise 2.0 is an Exchange Server administrator's new best friend. It is a very innovative diagnostic and predictive tool that provides an email administrator with an easy-to-follow series of tasks that will correct an Exchange Server problem."

New and improved features in Version 2.0 include:

• Updated problem definition files: Zenprise 2.0 can proactively troubleshoot more than 4,000 distinct email problems.

• Clustered environment capabilities: Zenprise 2.0 adds the ability to proactively identify and resolve problems in clustered environments.

• Support for external expert knowledge: The Zenprise Symptom Database catalogs all known Exchange-related issues with their associated causes and solutions and supports knowledge from third-party providers, including O'Reilly Media's technical books and Microsoft.

• Enhanced prediction: Zenprise 2.0 creates a baseline of the customer's environment and checks against historical performance to identify potential problems. The Symptom Database can alert administrators to symptoms that will affect end users and provide solutions before the end user experiences any issues.

Zenprise 2.0 is simple to install and configure. An install wizard detects all existing network and server configurations automatically, requiring no manual input from administrators beyond a few configuration details. It also can collect data across the network with or without using an agent and integrates with monitoring products such as Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), NetIQ's AppManager, HP OpenView, CA Unicenter and IBM Tivoli.

Pricing: Zenprise 2.0 pricing starts at $15,000. It includes support, subscription updates and software for all Exchange servers in the customer's environment.

SearchExchange.com editors