Usually I don’t cover awards received by vendors. But this is too interesting to pass up. Syspro, the manufacturing and accounting software publisher, has been voted the world’s favorite software company. This was based on a worldwide vote in which more than 35,000 individuals cast their ballots in the first People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies. The 8th Annual International Business Awards are being presented on October 11 at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but given the installed base numbers of companies like Sage and Microsoft, the population voting seems a tad small to make this declaration. Oh well, congratulations.

ConnectWise, which makes products for managed service providers, has extended hours for telephone and email support to 24 hours a day, 363 days of the year. Support for its partners is provided from the company’s Tampa, Fla. office. Chat support hours stay the same: 5 a.m. through 11 pm., Monday through Friday, and 4 p.m. through 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Support services are closed Christmas and New Year’s Days while partner training sessions continue to be held between 8 a.m. and midnight Eastern time.

Relational Investors, which said it would sharply cut its Intuit stock position, has sold 4.3 million shares of Intuit common stock for about $204.6 million. The trades were executed from September 6 through September 13 at prices ranging from $46.63 per share to $47.55 per share. The shares were sold in the name of David H. Batchelder, the firm’s partner who holds a seat on the Intuit board of directors.