CNET Networks UK


Call For Entries: CNET Networks UK Business Technology Awards 2008

Call For Entries: CNET Networks UK Business Technology Awards 2008

Nominations for the sixth annual awards celebrating technology excellence now open

London, 16th April 2008: CNET Networks UK, the publisher of leading websites silicon.com and ZDNet.co.uk, today announces a call for entries for its sixth annual Business Technology Awards. The Awards, which celebrate the greatest achievements of the UK's business technology innovators, leaders and doers, will be announced at a networking dinner and awards ceremony at the London Hilton Park Lane on 23rd September 2008.

The Awards feature 17 categories including two new awards for individual excellence. In addition to the illustrious 'CIO of the Year' award, new categories include 'IT Team of the Year' - recognising the team that delivers most value to their organisation's IT strategy and performance, and the importance of that to the broader business - and the 'IT Community Hero of the Year', the winner of which will be the person, team or organisation who has done the most to make the lives of people in IT easier through building connections that foster a sense of community.

To enter these prestigious Awards and demonstrate to the industry elite how their organisation is helping drive business technology forward, entrants must register their submission online at www.cnetnetworks.co.uk/awards. The deadline for entries is 30th May 2008.

Last year's event was attended by more than 600 guests and recognised 16 companies and individuals for their achievements in business technology. New to the awards in 2007 was the highly successful 'Green IT Initiative of the Year', included to reflect increasing environmental concerns and the positive role IT can play in protecting the environment.

This year's winners will be selected from the entries received by the Awards Judging Council, comprising leading experts from the technology industry, government and media, including The London School of Economics and Political Science, Ovum, the UK National Outsourcing Association and Post Office Ltd.

The full list of award categories for 2008 are:
Supplier Awards

  • Server or Storage Product of the Year
  • Business Application of the Year
  • Networking Product of the Year
  • Security Product of the Year
  • Communications Product of the Year
  • Mobile Product or Service of the Year
  • Technology Innovation of the Year

User Awards

  • Public Sector Technology Project of the Year
  • Financial Services Technology Project of the Year
  • Retail & Leisure Sector Technology Project of the Year
  • Technology Outsourcing Project of the Year
  • Green IT initiative of the Year

Campaign Awards

  • Technology Marketing Campaign of the Year
  • Technology PR Campaign of the Year

Individual Excellence Awards

  • IT Team of the Year
  • IT Community Hero of the Year
  • CIO of the Year

Tony Hallett, Editorial Director of Business Media, CNET Networks UK, says: "The CNET Networks UK Business Technology Awards are designed to recognise key achievements from the IT industry from the last 12 months and the impact that they have had on both business and society as a whole. Each year the standard of entries gets higher and higher, which is always encouraging to see. We expect the competition will be just as fierce this year and will be looking for products and projects with that extra spark that make them stand out from the crowd. We look forward to announcing and meeting the winners at the Awards ceremony in September, which has quickly established itself as one of the most important networking events of the year."

The CNET Networks UK Business Technology Awards will have two official media partners for 2008, Fullrun and Sourcewire.

Companies interested in nominating their products or projects can find out more at www.cnetnetworks.co.uk/awards or contact awards@cnet.com.

-Ends-

 Notes Editors:

1. 2008 Awards Judging Council

  • Jeremy Green, Principal Analyst Enterprise Mobility, Ovum
  • Clive Longbottom, Service Director, Business Process Facilitation, Quocirca
  • Carsten Sorensen, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Information Systems, The London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Dr. Richard Sykes, Chairman, Outsourcing and Offshore Group, Intellect
  • David Birch, Director, Consult Hyperion
  • Julie Meyer, Chief Executive, Ariadne Capital
  • Professor Peter Cochrane, Co-Founder, ConceptLabs
  • John Higgins (CBE), Director General, Intellect
  • Sir Robin Saxby, founding CEO and Chairman, ARM Holdings plc
  • Ric Francis, Executive Director, Operations, Post Office Ltd
  • John Suffolk, CIO, UK Government
  • Rob Wirszycz, Managing Director, Norton Consulting
  • Mark Kobayashi-Hillary, Director, UK National Outsourcing Association
  • Ian Campbell, Chairman, Corporate IT Forum
  • Brinley Platts, Chairman, CIODevelopment.com
  • Daryl Wilcox, Chairman, DW Publishing
  • Eric Woods, Government Practice Director, Ovum
  • Colin Cobain, ex-CIO, Tesco
  • Giles Andrews, Cofounder and Managing Director, Zopa
  • John Fischer, Chief Executive, Citizens Online

2. Last year's winners

  • Enterprise Hardware Product of the Year: Cisco, Cisco Telepresence
  • Enterprise Software Product of the Year: 1E Ltd, Nightwatchman v5
  • Networking Product of the Year: Zeus Technology, ZXTM VA (Zeus Extensible Traffic Manager Virtual Appliance)
  • Security Product of the Year: Lumension Security, Sanctuary 4.1
  • Mobile Product or Service of the Year: iPass, iPass Mobile Office
  • UK Internet Innovation of the Year: Bebo
  • Public Sector Technology Project of the Year: Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Building a 21st century enterprise infrastructure
  • Financial Services Technology Project of the Year: Zopa Ltd, Consumer Credit Act Contract Signing
  • Retail & Leisure Technology Project of the Year: Betfair, Flywheel
  • UK Technology Partnership of the Year: 5i and CNT
  • IT Services Technology Project of the Year: ABN Amro, London Message Hub Project
  • Green IT Initiative of the Year: IBM, Project Big Green
  • Technology Marketing Campaign of the Year: Tidalwave, Canon UK 'Diet' Campaign
  • Technology PR Campaign of the Year: Octane PR, Postini 'Making Postini the fastest growing security start-up in Europe'
  • CIO of the Year: Colin Cobain, Tesco
  • Outstanding Contribution to the UK Technology Industry: Peter Cochrane

3. Further award details www.cnetnetworks.co.uk/awards

For more information contact:

Natalie Godsell / James Ellerington, Brands2Life
020 7592 1200
natalie.godsell@brands2life.com / james.Ellerington@Brands2Life.com

Helen Cooke, CNET Networks UK
020 7021 1100
Helen.Cooke@cnet.com

 About CNET Networks UK
CNET Networks UK (www.cnetnetworks.co.uk) is a part of CNET Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CNET), an interactive media company that builds brands for people and the things they are passionate about, such as gaming, music, entertainment, technology, business, food, and parenting. Founded in 1992, CNET Networks has a strong presence in the US, Asia, and Europe.

CNET Networks UK focuses on business technology, personal technology and entertainment categories through seven UK-focused websites: ZDNet.co.uk, silicon.com, atlarge.com, CNET.co.uk, CNET TV, GameSpot UK and SmartPlanet.com. CNET Networks UK also delivers one-to-one services through its direct marketing arm CNET Direct.