The 2008 RDN Innovator Awards showcase application development projects built either with Microsoft programming tools or using alternative programming environments to run on the Windows .NET Framework. Not only do the winners demonstrate excellence in software development but they were also considered for their business outcomes.

Redmond Developer News invited any project manger overseeing an enterprise development project to submit their work for consideration, through an extensive call for entries. The editors created a scorecard to evaluate all of the entries and came up with four leaders in each category. The winners are as follows:

• SOA: Southwest Florida Water Management District, which used the .NET Framework (Visual Studio 2005 with C# and ASP.NET) to integrate Unix, Linux, and mainframe-based system. The project centered around making it easier for contractors to file for permits to build wells. While "The District" had the option of moving its legacy systems to a new mainframe, it opted for a services oriented architecture (SOA) built on the Microsoft .NET Framework. The solution ties together disparate COBOL applications, Oracle databases, an enterprise content management repository, and a geographic information system from ESRI.

• Pure Windows: GivenHansco Inc. built a real-time process controller based on the .NET 2.0 Framework running in Windows XP. The new system, called Keystone Batch, is a distributed application that uses a star configuration to allow plant operators to run their production facilities locally or remotely in real time. While performance was a key concern as to whether Windows clients would make the cut, after some intrepid coding, that involved a hybrid of C# for the GUI, managed C++ for the business app, and standard C++ for the real-time logic, Keystone Batch uses roughly 40 percent of CPU processing on a single core, 2.8 GHz Intel processor.

• Collaboration: When DMJM Harris found itself challenged to achieve full compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) information reporting and management requirements, it turned to SharePoint, via Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Neudesic for expertise. The resulting application extends the native business process automation features of SharePoint, allowing DMJM Harris managers to automate their own workflow processes.

• Mobile: A project rolled out by the St. Louis Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS) Information Technology Division used Microsoft’s .NET Framework to allow police officers to issue traffic violations using laptop computers and portable printers. The development effort, which involved uniting legacy COBOL programmers and .NET developers, has led to a blueprint that has automated the process of issuing summonses and processing them through the entire judicial system. Not only is that important from a data sharing perspective, it allows the officer to give prosecutors the information they need to successfully prevail in court.

The winners were interviewed by the RDN editorial team of Michael Desmond, Kathleen Richards, and Jeffrey Schwartz. The full article is available online at: http://reddevnews.com/features/article.aspx?editorialsid=2508

About Redmond Developer News
Redmond Developer News provides news and product coverage to corporate development managers working with Microsoft tools and technologies. Through its print, online, and newsletters offerings, it gives influential readers insight into Microsoft's plans, and news on the latest happenings and products in the Windows development marketplace. For more information, visit http://RedDevNews.com.

About Redmond Media Group
The 1105 Redmond Media Group (RMG) provides B-to-B media solutions targeting the Microsoft market. The growing portfolio includes Redmond, Redmond Developer News, Visual Studio Magazine, Redmond Channel Partner magazine, a dozen Web sites including MCPmag.com RedDevNews.com and RCPmag.com, plus numerous events. 1105 RMG provides news, in-depth analysis and hands-on information for IT directors, managers, developers, administrators and partners in the Microsoft community. For more information, visit http://redmondmediagroup.com.

Contact:
Michael Desmond, Editor-In-Chief

Jeffrey Schwartz, Executive Editor