Apple is the winner of the eighth annual American Brand Excellence Awards (http://macte.ch/bOwHu)as the brand that best meets the needs of small to mid-sized businesses. The award is given each year by The Business Journals, a division of Washington Business Journal parent company American City Business Journals.

“Apple has become the premier business brand, and as the leader of the tablet category with the iPad, Apple is redefining how we work,” says Godfrey Phillips, vice president of research for The Business Journals. “Our study found that 9% of business owners currently use an iPad for business.”

More than 250 brands were rates by more than 2,000 small to mid-sized business owners. Criteria included “forward thinking,” “behaves ethically,” and “has a good price for what you get.”