And the winners are ....
The stars of the Scottish technology industry were recognised last night at the inaugural Digital Technology Awards, (#digtech2011 on twitter) run by industry body, ScotlandIS at The Arches in Glasgow.
The Scottish Digital
Technology Company of the Year Award, sponsored by bright purple resourcing, was won by iomart Group Plc.
Based
in Glasgow, iomart is one of the Europe’s leading providers of managed hosting and cloud computing services. The judges made the award in recognition of the grit and determination shown by the mangement team in re-engineering their business, divesting themselves of non core business and strengthening the company through acquisition to position themselves firmly as a leading European hosting company, offering cloud and managed services.
Polly Purvis Executive Director of ScotlandIS commented:
“The digital technology industry is one of the bright spots in the Scottish economy and the awards honour the achievements of these Scottish technology shining stars, ranging from small start up to large multi- nationals. iomart is a great example of a Scottish company that has developed an enviable reputation for product innovation and expertise and their rate of growth is exemplary. What’s apparent with all of our award winners is the bold steps they are taking to invest in new technology, to break into new markets at home and abroad and to focus on growth, and they are certainly reaping the rewards.”
The winners were grouped into seven categories:
Award for best newcomer – Sponsored by The Company Creators
Overall Winner : FreeAgentCentral
FreeAgent is an online accounting application used by thousands of freelancers and small businesses around the world. Their philosophy is creating astonishingly good software that customers love and it is certainly paying off. The judges were impressed by the company's s clearly defined niche, focused delivery and impressive turnover growth.
First runner up – Flexiant Ltd
Second runner up – Firefish Software
Award for best new product or service.
Overall Winner – Screenmedia
Screenmedia,
a digital agency, saw an opportunity to bring an innovation into the
mobile space and developed their first mobile application, ‘SprintGPS’
last year. The app uses GPS capabilities to track outdoor activities,
such as running, cycling and walking. Since its launch, it has reached
the “Top 5” apps in key territories around the world and has been
downloaded over 200,000 times. Last month, Screenmedia sold the
application to a specialist US health and fitness company.
First runner up – iomart hosting
Second runner up – Flexiant Ltd
Award for outstanding performance in business growth
Overall winner - Rocela
The judges chose Rocela,
an Oracle consultancy, to receive this award recognising the sheer ambition of the senior team and the company's exceptional record of year on year growth. After carrying out intensive market
research, they have re-developed their offering and created new products to
suit new international markets. Through their insight and determination they
will achieve their ambitions for growth this year and plan to target the
North American marketplace in the future.
First runner up – iomart Group Plc
Second runner up – PrismTech Group Ltd
Award for technology innovation within Financial Services - sponsored by Search 
Overall winner – Royal Bank of Scotland Group
RBS
has developed a range of mobile applications, the App Bank. Here the
focus is unlocking the value of their own staff and enabling any member
of staff to learn how to mock up and develop an idea. There are many
apps in the App Bank for staff and customers, including an app to allow
customers to make balance transfers from a mobile device and an app for
staff to access directions, contact numbers and GPS information on every
RBS building.
First runner up – Standard Life
Second runner up – JP Morgan
Award for international growth - sponsored by eqsn
Overall winner - Calnex Solutions Ltd
Calnex
produces test solutions for the telecommunication industry, including
Nokia, Siemens, Cisco, BT and Vodaphone. With over 90% of sales to
overseas markets, Calnex have been very successful at selling globally.
They continually evolve their product to meet the ever changing needs of
their customers and pay particular attention to each local market that
they sell to and offering fast, effective customer support. The judges were impressed by the way Calnex has taken on a significant challenge in breaking into the highly competitive global telecoms market, executing fast against an aggressive business plan, and more than doubling their sales year on year
First runner up – Lingo 24
Second runner up – IndigoVision
Award for Best IT Project
Overall winner - Standard Life
Standard
Life, the international financial services provider, rolled out a major
programme designed to find new ways of developing and running digital
content for their main business platforms. The judges commented on how this ambitious project was carefully planned, immaculately executed, and delivered on time and under budget. The project played a key
role in delivering major business proposals such as their re-launched
consumer site www.standardlife.co.uk and their adviser site
www.adviserzone.com, both of which demonstrate sophisticated use of
their new enabling technology.
Runner up - Logica
Scottish digital technology company of the year- sponsored by Bright Purple 
Overall Winner – iomart Group Plc
The
success and innovation of iomart Group’s hosting solutions during
2010/2011 resulted in a profit increase of 618% and a revenue increase
of 38%. iomart have quickly become recognised throughout the industry
as an authority on cloud hosting solutions and they are well placed for
further growth as the market evolves and people look for reliable
vendors.
Joint runners up – Rocela Ltd and Amor Group