AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Sep 11, 2012) - SolarWinds (NYSE: [ SWI ]), a leading provider of powerful and affordable [ IT management software ], invites IT professionals to enter its "[ NPM Demo Challenge ]," an online contest challenging IT pros to explore and complete tasks within SolarWinds' award-winning, flagship network management product Network Performance Monitor (NPM) for a chance to win one of 20 prizes collectively valued at over $10,000.

For 20 consecutive business days between August 30 and September 27, IT pros can enter the NPM Demo Challenge ([ www.solarwinds.com/prize-a-day ]) to explore the powerful [ network monitoring software ] that offers real-time views and dashboards of the users' networks. The contest takes only 10 to 15 minutes and asks participants to troubleshoot real-life network performance monitoring issues and complete a five-question quiz.

The largest contest in SolarWinds history, the NPM Demo Challenge offers over $10,000 in tech gadgets. To date, seven winners have been awarded:

• Apple MacBook Air
• Jawbone BIG JAMBOX wireless Bluetooth speaker
• Xbox 360 Limited Edition Halo 4 console
• $500 Amazon gift card
• Star Wars R2D2 Interactive Astromech Droid Voice Activated
• Roku streaming player
• iRobot Roomba automatic vacuum

13 more lucky challenge participants will win prizes including:

• Dell Alienware M14x laptop
• LG 42-Inch Cinema 3D 1080p HDTV
• Tornado Sport foosball table
• And more!

Participants will also have the opportunity to win a bonus prize by sharing their challenge experiences on Twitter. By mentioning @SolarWinds and including the #prizeaday hashtag, participants have a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones. 

"With SolarWinds' experience serving over 75,000 licensed network management tools and solutions customers worldwide and through our investment in our flagship Network Performance Monitor product, we believe we've built a tool that could help improve and make every network engineer's job easier -- from the seasoned pro to those just getting started," said Sanjay Castelino, VP and market leader, SolarWinds. "The NPM Demo Challenge represents an opportunity for IT pros to try it out in a fun way and enter to win some great geek gear while they're at it."

The Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the United States who are at least eighteen (18) years old. For the daily prize reveal, visit SolarWinds' online community, [ thwack ], where more than 100,000 members of the IT management community interact, providing industry insight, tips and tricks, advice and more.

Pricing and Availability

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor starts at $2,475 and includes a year of maintenance. For more information, including a downloadable, [ free 30-day evaluation ] trial, visit the SolarWinds website or call 866.530.8100.

Related Links:
Video: [ Network Management Software: An Intro to NPM from SolarWinds ]
Case study: [ SolarWinds Receives Top Marks from Monroe City Schools ]
Product review: [ Comparative Review: Network Management Tools ]

About SolarWinds
SolarWinds (NYSE: [ SWI ]) provides powerful and affordable IT management software to customers worldwide from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses. In all of our market areas, our approach is consistent. We focus exclusively on IT Pros and strive to eliminate the complexity that they have been forced to accept from traditional enterprise software vendors. SolarWinds delivers on this commitment with unexpected simplicity through products that are easy to find, buy, use and maintain while providing the power to address any IT management problem on any scale. Our solutions are rooted in our deep connection to our user base, which interacts in our online community, [ thwack ], to solve problems, share technology and best practices, and directly participate in our product development process. Learn more today at [ http://www.solarwinds.com/ ].

SolarWinds, SolarWinds.com and thwack are registered trademarks of SolarWinds. All other company and product names mentioned are used only for identification purposes and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.