Softricity's SoftGrid Application Virtualization platform has been selected as a finalist in the Best of MMS Awards sponsored by Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine. Entries were evaluated based on their strategic importance to the market, competitive advantages and value to customers. Winners will be announced April 26 at the MMS conference.

At the summit, Softricity will be showcasing the way it helps Microsoft customers to leverage application virtualization, on-demand streaming and self-provisioning technologies to simplify and reduce the cost of managing their desktop environments. Softricity, which boasts more than 500 global customers and more than 20,000 virtualized Windows applications, recently announced SoftGrid for SMS, which enables Microsoft Systems Management Server customers to seamlessly integrate application virtualization and streaming into their existing infrastructures.

Softricity's SoftGrid platform turns locally installed Windows applications into virtual network services that are centrally managed and deployed on-demand -- without any recoding -- to any desktop, server or laptop. Softricity's streaming technology instantly sends only the code needed to run applications to the client machine, and its patented application virtualization technology enables these applications to run in a protected "sandbox" environment without installation or alteration to the host operating system, and without conflicting with any other applications. This eliminates the possibility of application conflicts and the need for time-consuming regression testing previously required prior to deployment of new applications, upgrades and patches.

"Microsoft Management Summit is the premiere event for organizations wanting to leverage the newest technologies and most effective approaches for accelerating their ROI," said David Greschler, co-founder and vice president of marketing at Softricity. "We are thrilled to highlight our SoftGrid platform at this event, which uniquely combines the cost-saving advantages of application virtualization with the on-demand capabilities of streaming software."