Computing Awards for Excellence 2008 - the winners

The best individuals, teams, departments, companies and projects in UK IT have been rewarded at the Oscars of the IT industry

Were you a winner?

The winners of the Computing Awards for Excellence 2008 were announced last night at a lavish prizegiving ceremony in London.

The host for the evening, comedian Rob Brydon, presented the awards to the celebrating winners, who were:

Editor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK IT

John Higgins, director general, Intellect

It is rare these days for anyone to remain in a senior executive position for 10 years, and especially in an industry such as the technology sector. But the winner of this year’s Outstanding Contribution to UK IT award has this year celebrated a decade in his current post as director general of Intellect, the UK’s technology trade association. In that time, the IT profession grown to be the second largest private sector contributor to the UK economy, behind only financial services. Thanks to the efforts of our winner, UK IT’s influence in government has grown and his contacts around the world place our industry at the heart of the global technological revolution.

Project Awards

Private Sector Project of the Year: Citi UK Consumer - Derby Live

This challenging project merged the IT operations of two very different organisations, allowing Citi and its online subsidiary Egg to run as a single unit. It was Citi’s largest IT project in Europe for 10 years.

Public Sector Project of the Year: Southwark Council – One Touch Gov

The One Touch Gov project allows Southwark citizens to resolve all their issues through a single point of contact, demonstrating how IT can improve public services for local people.

Community Project of the Year: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council – SmartAssist

The City of Bradford has reduced the cost of social care assessments for vulnerable adults from £250 per person to just £10 thanks to its innovative use of new web-based technology.

Innovative Project of the Year: The Co-operative Group – Insight project

The Co-Op Group introduced a customer feedback system based on software installed on tills in its 1,635 retail stores. The organisation can now survey 15 million customers a week at no additional cost, and receive the results the next day.

Green Project of the Year: Reed Managed Services – Thin client computing

Reed has replaced 4,500 PCs with thin-client terminals, leading to a reduction in hourly power consumption of 5.4 million kilowatt hours. The overall IT budget is also down 20 per cent as a result.

Outsourcing Project of the Year: Highways Agency

The Highways Agency saved £4m per year after outsourcing its IT services, as well as reducing carbon emissions by 50 per cent. The agency demonstrated best practice in its approach to outsourcing and its impact on employees.

Student Project of the Year; Suzanne Prior, University of Dundee – Glu-zone diabetes monitoring system

Suzanne created a self-monitoring and management system for patients with diabetes. There was no funding for the project and participants worked as unpaid volunteers, yet the system could prove to have significant real-world benefits.

Individual and Team Awards
IT Leader of the Year: Catherine Doran, director of information management, Network Rail

All the finalists demonstrated admirable leadership qualities, but one stood out. Her track record in building a world-class IT team and delivering innovative, first-class service in a challenging environment make Catherine Doran the outstanding nominee.

IT Professional of the Year: Keith Files, delivery director, VocaLink

The winner was responsible for the successful delivery of a multimillion-pound project for faster bank payments transfers, the benefits of which are apparent to virtually everyone in the UK.

IT Department of the Year: The Pensions Regulator

The winner of IT department of the year goes to an organisation that has introduced major upgrades to its customer-facing systems, cut running costs for its server estate by 60%, and consistently exceeded service-level agreements.

IT Team of the Year: Lloyds TSB - Process, design and solutions team

The winning team clearly demonstrated a commitment to improving internal processes and delivering value to the business. Moreover, the team was able to demonstrate excellent customer service and high levels of satisfaction.

Company Awards

Best IT Strategy: Swiftcover.com

The best IT strategy of the year was one that was intimately linked to overall business strategy. The focus on building an agile IT infrastructure capable of meeting business demands in a cutthroat market, made Swiftcover stand out.

Best Small Business IT Strategy: Close Invoice Finance

The paperless office has been a pipe dream for years, but Close Invoice Finance's strategy to cut the paper chase from the invoicing process has brought it one step closer. The company’s invoice discounting facility eliminated 1.6 million sheets of paper in its first year.

IT Employer of the Year: Rackspace

The shortlisted candidates all demonstrated an enviable array of worthy employment practices, but it was Rackspace's commitment to the professional development of its IT team that set it apart. It encourages all of its "Rackers " to deliver excellent customer service, and provides the support and encouragement to help them deliver.

Industry awards

Business hardware supplier of the year: Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) impressed the judges with their innovation, especially around their carbon-neutral facility in Iceland and their virtual tape library appliance.

Business software supplier of the year: Sage

Sage stood out from the other entrants in this category due to its positive customer testimony and strong focus on user requirements, as well as its continuing innovation in the business software space – a fact that the judges felt was often overlooked due to its position as a more established player in the market.

IT services supplier of the year: Glasshouse Technologies

The judges were impressed by Glasshouse Technologies’ ambitions for growth and broader expertise, as demonstrated by three acquisitions made in the past year alone. Also by the fact that Glasshouse is helping UK firms find additional ways of saving cost across their organisation through optimised IT use.

Networking and communications supplier of the year: BlackBerry

BlackBerry has become one of the most instantly recognisable brands in business technology. More than 16 million people worldwide use its services, and in the past year the company has continued to innovate with new devices such as the Bold, the Curve and the Storm.

IT PR Company of the Year: Lewis PR

Lewis particularly impressed the judges through its use of technology as an integral part of its service to clients and the media.

Recruitment Consultancy of the Year: La Fosse Associates
The judges were impressed with LaFosse Associates’ financial growth – on track to treble its turnover and double its profit in its second year - and the fact that for a small and young company, satisfied customers include the CIOs of News International, Bacardi and Yell and Birdseye.

Technology Advertising Campaign of the Year: DWA Media for Konica Minolta

DWA’s campaign for Konica Minolta stood out from the other entrants due to its success in raising brand awareness for Konica, as demonstrated by the pre/post campaign research, and the breadth of the campaign across various media types.