Vancouver's own Strangeloop Networks and Layer 7 Technologies have both been named as "cool vendors" in Gartner's 2008 Cool Vendors Report. Strangeloop was recognized as a cool vendor in emerging technologies, while Layer 7 received a nod for SOA Governance. The awards highlight companies that solve specialized business problems or create new market opportunities, and Strangeloop's AS1000 net appliance, which optimizes web applications designed for the Microsoft ASP.NET network, certainly fits the bill. Ditto to Layer 7's ability to provide flexible gateways for defining, managing and enforcing policy-based governance policies within SOA.
