xkoto, Inc. (http://www.xkoto.com), the database virtualization company, today announced that GRIDSCALE for SQL Server was named as a Winner in the Best of Tech•Ed 2009 awards program in the database administration category by Penton Media’s Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine.

The Best of Tech•Ed 2009 awards recognize companies who offer innovative products for the industry. The judges reviewed more than 170 products and services submitted for the contest and chose 35 finalists to be interviewed at the Tech•Ed 2009 IT Pro Conference in Los Angeles, Calif. Winners were announced on May 13, 2009, at an evening reception and are also posted on http://www.WindowsITPro.com/awards.

“Every year, selecting winners from the outstanding pool of highly qualified nominations is challenging, with this year’s submissions no exception,” said Jeff James, IT Group editor in chief and web content strategist. “Our judging criteria – innovation, strategic importance to the market, competitive advantage and exceptional value to customers – are clearly reflected in the winners’ products.”

GRIDSCALE enables businesses to scale application load horizontally across multiple, active/active instances of SQL Server running on clusters of low-cost hardware, mid-range systems and virtual machines. Businesses can eliminate planned and unplanned database outages since all SQL Servers managed by GRIDSCALE are fully active. With GRIDSCALE for SQL Server, businesses can improve application performance and achieve continuous availability for business-critical applications. For more information about GRIDSCALE for SQL Server, visit http://www.xkoto.com/products/gs-sql.php.

“Winning the Best of TechEd Award is a tremendous honor, and it allows us to build on the momentum we are seeing for GRIDSCALE in the SQL Server market,” said David Patrick, President and CEO of xkoto. “GRIDSCALE’s ability to scale-out SQL Server applications and eliminate database downtime generated significant buzz at TechEd 2009.”