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IT Pro’s 2021 Products of the Year feature named winners in 14 categories, from laptops and servers to printers and security software. It is a historical awards selection published on 31 December 2021—not a current buying guide. Its specifications, prices and test observations below are reported as they appeared at the time, not verified as current.
How to read the 2021 awards
IT Pro said there is no single perfect product because business and individual needs differ. The awards are most useful as a record of what the publication selected and why: portability and display quality for personal devices; compute, memory and expansion for servers; and throughput, connectivity or running costs for office equipment.
Prices identified as “exc VAT” are UK prices excluding VAT reported in the 2021 feature. They are not current quotes. The award title also does not establish that every selected model launched in 2021.
The feature disclosed that IT Pro may earn an affiliate commission when readers purchase through links on its site. That disclosure does not establish current availability, present-day value, or the terms of any other affiliate programme.
#1 Best Overall
- FABBLE EXCLUSIVE BUNDLE: This pro-level kit features the Fix It Sticks Archery Field Toolkit with a modular T-handle, 26 bits, broadhead wrench, and sharpener in a rugged case. It includes the Fix It Sticks All-in-One Torque Driver for precise 15-65 in-lb adjustments to prevent gear damage. Complete with a Fabble microfiber cloth, this set ensures your high-performance archery equipment is field-ready and spotless.
- COMPREHENSIVE 34-PIECE PRECISION KIT: This professional-grade toolkit features a high-torque T-Handle driver and an extensive array of 26 specialized bits, providing the exact leverage and fit required to maintain finely-tuned compound bows and crossbows without the risk of stripping hardware.
- SPECIALIZED BROADHEAD & GEAR MAINTENANCE: Equip yourself with the essential tools for full gear upkeep, including a composite broadhead wrench designed to protect delicate blade edges and a 2-stage ceramic/carbide sharpener that ensures your broadheads and hunting knives remain razor-sharp for every shot.
- ULTRA-PORTABLE & ORGANIZED DESIGN: Built for life in the field, all components are housed in a rugged, medium-sized carrying case featuring a stackable bit holder and PALS webbing, keeping your technical tools organized, secure, and ready for immediate deployment during any field emergency.
- VERSATILE MULTI-FUNCTIONAL TOOLS: Beyond bow adjustments, this kit includes a mini plier bit and a steel pin punch, making it a truly versatile field armorer's solution that can handle everything from minor repairs to complex equipment modifications on the fly.
Personal computers and mobile devices
Best laptop: LG Gram 17
IT Pro selected the LG Gram 17, citing its 17-inch display in a reported 1.35kg chassis, 11th-generation Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6. The feature reported nearly 13 hours of battery life and a starting price of £1,599 exc VAT. Its highly commended choice was the Razer Book 13, described with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, USB and HDMI ports, 1.4kg weight and a bright, colour-capable screen.
Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 713
The Spin 713 won for its 13.5-inch QHD 3:2 display, convertible hinge, HDMI, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 and reported 1.2kg weight. IT Pro noted that the screen lacked an anti-glare coating. The highly commended Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook had a 360-degree display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, USB-A and USB-C, and Wi-Fi 6.
Best tablet: Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch
IT Pro’s winner paired Apple’s M1 processor with a 120Hz mini-LED display. The feature reported a weight of 680g and around 13.5 hours of battery life, and listed a base price of £916 exc VAT. It also noted that the 12.9-inch size and optional keyboard add bulk and cost. The highly commended Nokia T20 has a 10.4-inch display; the feature listed it at £150 exc VAT for Wi-Fi and £167 exc VAT for LTE.
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Rank #2
- 10X BETTER CORROSION RESISTANCE* with black chrome plating
- DESIGNED FOR LESS SLIPPAGE AND STRIPPING: MAX FIT tips engineered to provide better contact with fasteners
- BEND-RESISTANT STRUCTURE: High-durability S2 steel bar
- SECURE, COMFORTABLE GRIP with bi-material handle and magnetic tips to firmly hold screws
Best smartphone: Apple iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 won in a comparison framed by its 2021 context. IT Pro noted that standard-model storage rose from 64GB in the iPhone 12 to 128GB in the iPhone 13, and named the A15 Bionic CPU. In its own tests, the publication reported almost two additional hours of daily performance. Its highly commended choice was the OnePlus 9 Pro, with a 120Hz AMOLED display and Snapdragon 888; the listed price was £829 exc VAT.
Servers and storage
Best desktop server: HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 Plus
The winning MicroServer Gen10 Plus had a 245mm-square chassis and four LFF SATA bays. The feature described configurations with a Pentium Gold G5420 or Xeon E-2224, plus optional iLO5 enablement. Its entry-level diskless system was listed from £395 exc VAT. The highly commended Dell EMC PowerEdge T550 was tested with a 12-core Xeon Silver 4310; IT Pro reported support for up to two CPUs, 24 SFF or eight LFF drives, and up to 1TB DDR4 RAM.
Best 1U server: Dell EMC PowerEdge R650
IT Pro selected the PowerEdge R650, reporting support for Xeon Scalable CPUs up to 40 cores, up to 4TB memory and up to ten SFF drives. The reviewed configuration was priced at £15,417 exc VAT. The highly commended Broadberry CyberServe Xeon E-RS100-E10 was described with a Xeon E-2224, 16GB RAM upgradeable to 128GB, four SFF bays and two M.2 slots.
Best 2U server: Broadberry CyberServe SP2 208-8I G3
The award went to a tested configuration with two 36-core Xeon Scalable Platinum CPUs, 512GB DDR4, five 960GB SATA SSDs, eight Intel Optane PMEM modules and two dual-port 100GbE cards. IT Pro listed its price as £21,895. The highly commended Dell EMC PowerEdge R750 was tested with two 28-core Xeon Gold 6330 CPUs and 1TB RAM. The feature said memory could reach 8TB and described multiple drive-bay configurations.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Best storage array: HPE MSA 2060 Storage
The HPE MSA 2060 won with features including thin provisioning, snapshots, volume copies, SSD caches, RAID options, MSA-DP+ and automated data tiering. The highly commended QNAP TS-h2490FU QuTS hero Edition was described as a 24-drive U.2 NVMe appliance with a ZFS-based operating system, data-reduction features and 25GbE networking.
Best NAS drive: QNAP TS-h973AX
IT Pro’s winning QNAP TS-h973AX has five LFF SATA bays, four SFF bays, one 10GbE port and two 2.5GbE ports, alongside QuTS hero storage features. The feature put its diskless enclosure at just over £1,000 exc VAT at publication. The highly commended QNAP TS-873A is an eight-bay model that runs QTS or, after installation, QuTS hero.
Rank #4
- The product is easy to use and easy to handle
- The product is highly durable
- This product is made of high quality material
- Includes Factory Warranty
Office equipment
Best printer: Epson EcoTank ET-5880
The winning Epson EcoTank ET-5880 is an A4 multifunction printer using bottled ink. IT Pro estimated ink costs at 0.2p per mono page and 0.8p per colour page. It described two 250-sheet cassettes and a 50-page duplex automatic document feeder, and reported a speed of 25 pages per minute in standard-quality mode. These are estimates and specifications reported by the feature, not current operating-cost quotes.
The highly commended Kyocera Ecosys M6235cidn was reported at 35 pages per minute with estimated mono consumables of 1p per page. Its basic price was listed as £696 exc VAT.
Best scanner: Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600
The ScanSnap iX1600 won with Wi-Fi, a 50-sheet feeder, duplex scanning and a 4.3-inch touchscreen. In IT Pro’s test, it scanned at 43 pages per minute while making 200dpi scans. The feature praised software destinations including applications and cloud services. The highly commended Canon imageFormula DR-S130 was reported at 30 pages per minute and offered OCR and configurable scan profiles; IT Pro noted it could not scan directly to cloud services.
Best Value
- 89-PIECE TOOL SET: This versatile set is meant for your repair & maintenance jobs around the home & on the job. It features a variety of tools designed to grip, pull, twist, tighten, nail, screw, measure & more.
- TOOL SET WITH CASE: All of the tools in the heavy duty carrying case have a cushion grip handle for a comfortable grip & smooth operation during extended use. Made of forged steel.
- MADE TO LAST: Our durable and long-lasting tools help you with home, garage & industrial projects. With professional-grade quality, easily repair & fix issues with our tool cabinet essentials.
- THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB: We engineer a range of bolt cutters, clamps, chisels, folding carts, hammers, pliers, saws, screwdrivers, tape measures, utility knives, vises, bolt cutters, saws & wrenches.
- SUPERIOR INSTRUMENTS: Olympia Tools provides quality & innovative hand & specialty tools, tool accessories & outdoor equipment for construction, woodworking, mechanical maintenance & home repair.
Best monitor: Dell UltraSharp 25 USB-C
The Dell UltraSharp 25 USB-C was selected for its 25-inch, 2,560 × 1,440 panel, sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage, HDR400 certification, USB-C video and power, DisplayPort daisy chaining and portrait rotation. The highly commended Acer ConceptD CP5271UV offered HDR600, refresh rates up to 170Hz, stated peak brightness of 480cd/m², Ethernet and four USB 3.1 ports. IT Pro listed it at £667 exc VAT.
Security software
Best endpoint security suite: Sophos Intercept X Advanced
IT Pro’s winner was described as combining machine-learning-based malware detection with ransomware protections, file restoration, data-leak controls, an analysis centre and central web management. The highly commended Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud Plus was described as covering workstations, laptops, servers and mobile devices, with a Microsoft 365 security component. These are descriptions in a 2021 awards feature, not current independent efficacy assessments.
Best antivirus suite: Kaspersky Internet Security
The feature selected Kaspersky Internet Security and mentioned browser protection, ransomware blocking and firewall controls. It also reported perfect 100% protection scores in multiple independent tests, but did not identify the tests in that passage; that figure should not be treated as a current or independently verified result. The subscription was listed at £15 per year at the time. Avast Antivirus Free was highly commended and described as an option for older Windows versions, with in-app ads for paid products.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat the awards do—and do not—tell you
The selections provide a useful snapshot of IT Pro’s 2021 editorial choices across personal computing, infrastructure, office equipment and security. For a purchase today, verify the exact model and generation, compatibility, current availability and current price; the feature establishes none of those present-day details. Treat its rankings as historical recommendations rather than a current head-to-head comparison.
