Date

October 16, 2016

Judges

4 Industry experts

Location

Conrad Hotel, Dubai, UAE

Nomination Process

CNME’s ICT Achievement Awards 2016 welcomes nominations from individuals and companies in the Middle East. Nominations will need to reach CNME Editorial team (cnme@cpimediagroup.com) by end of day of the 21st of September 2016.
Please follow the below guidelines when sending in your nominations:

  • All nominations must be in English
  • Nomination forms should be completed in its entirety. This includes contact information for the nominee as well as the individual/company that is nominating. Incomplete forms might be disqualified
  • A company can send in as many nominations as they wish across the different categories
  • All nominations will have to be made in Microsoft Word formats (.doc or .docx). No other formats will be accepted
  • Supporting documents for the main nomination document can be provided only in Adobe Reader formats (.pdf)
  • All nominations should give precedence to fact-based information and should not hold marketing messages or branding information
  • Projects detailed in nominations should not be older than 18 months. Projects older than that might not be considered
  • Projects, individuals and organisations from across the Middle East can be nominated for the Awards. For the purposes of this Awards the countries included are UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine and Pakistan
  • All nominations will be sent to the judging panel. It might also be used in CNME or its sister magazines as part of a feature, an article by itself or as part of the Awards feature, following the Awards ceremony itself
  • CNME and/or the judges might verify the information provided in the nomination form by calling the nominee or the individual/company that has nominated
  • In case of any disputes, the decision taken by CPI Technology's Senior Editor will be considered final

Category guidelines

Deployment Awards

1. Government deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:
  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the government body
  • Improvement of service delivery to external or internal customers, and internal processes
  • Methods of vendor and project selection, deployment, training, maintenance and monitoring
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • Internal use of best practices and innovation

2. Hospitality and tourism deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:
  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the hospitality and tourism industries (including hotels, restaurants, golf clubs, clubs, leisure and entertainment, travel agencies, airlines, cruise ships, tour companies etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including constantly changing clientele, varying locations, regular promotional activities, high staff numbers and turnover etc.,
  • Samples of innovation and customisation keeping in mind the peculiar requirements of the specific organisation in the sector
  • Project deployment and details with specific regard to regional realities (including rules related to alcohol, multiple languages, cultures etc.,)

3. Energy sector deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:
  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the Energy sector (including oil and gas corporations, petrol pumps and retail outfits, pipeline providers, drilling units, production plants etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including exploration across different landscapes, safety features in drilling and production, delivery challenges across large tracts of land, need for extensive data collection, data mining and analysis, all the while assuring data integrity etc.,
  • Requirements for security and achieving the same during the deployments
  • Process of vendor/solution selection, specific challenges faced during deployment and ways they were overcome
  • Use of best practices and innovation

4. Construction and real estate deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:
  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the construction or real-estate organisation
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including a remote working force, lack of bandwidth at several locations and other constraints.
  • How the use of technology has improved service delivery to external or internal customers, and internal processes
  • Methods of vendor and project selection, deployment, training, maintenance and monitoring
  • Internal use of best practices and innovation

5. Education deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:
  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the education sector (including schools, universities, colleges, institutes, vocational training sites etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including changing student base on a regular base, need to provide changing content on an online platform including courses and tests, improving connectivity, research activities etc.,
  • Samples of innovation and customisation keeping in mind the peculiar requirements of the specific educational institution
  • Project deployment and details with specific regard to regional realities (including multiple languages, cultures etc.,)

6. BFSI deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the BFSI sector (including banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, trading firms, financial analysis organisations, currency traders, stock broking firms, venture capitalists etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including the need to service both an internal and external customer base, regulatory requirements (international and regional) and the need for high-efficiency in data integrity
  • Requirements for security and achieving the same during the deployments
  • Process of vendor/solution selection, specific challenges faced during deployment and ways they were overcome
  • Use of best practices and innovation, especially when addressing the external customer base

7. Healthcare deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the healthcare sector (including hospitals, nursing homes, polyclinics, clinics, veterinary care places, dental clinics and dentists, pharmacies, special needs facilities, heath-related NGOs, emergency services etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including changing patient base, constant updation of medical records, maintaining data integrity, ensuring data security, etc.,
  • Samples of innovation and customisation keeping in mind the peculiar requirements of the specific healthcare institution
  • Project deployment and details with specific regard to regional realities (including multiple medical practices, medicines etc.,)

8. Telecommunications deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the telecommunications sector (including telecom operators, ISPs, satellite service providers, carrier's carriers etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including provision of services across varying landscapes with varying levels of infrastructure and skills availability, constant need to increase ARPU, interactive elements with content providers and content delivery partners etc.,
  • Samples of innovation and customisation keeping in mind the peculiar requirements of the specific organisation in the sector
  • Project deployment and details with specific regard to regional realities (including multiple languages, need for consumer-specific content etc.,)
  • Use of best practices and enforcing regulation (regional or global)

9. Retail deployment of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Project or projects involving deployment across software and hardware over the last 18 months that have improved productivity and efficiency of operations in the Retail sector (including retailers, shopping malls, e-commerce, logistics, point-of-sales, shops, distribution, warehousing, duty free etc.,)
  • RoI achieved from project or projects deployed across last 18 months (either in numbers or demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • The former should be recorded keeping in mind the peculiarities of the sector, including the amount of data that needs to be stored, accessed and maintained regularly, the dynamic nature of the information, cross-referencing of data, intense supply-chain management etc.,
  • Requirements for security and achieving the same
  • Use of best practices and innovation

End-user Awards

1. CIO of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Projects/ achievements in the last 18 months (spanning the current organisation and/or others as applicable)
  • Examples of integration with the business
  • Examples of IT projects that were completed on time, which were intimately related to the business and helped improve productivity
  • Examples of leadership and guiding the IT team to new levels of service level achievement within the organisation
  • Establishing and maintaining IT as a strategic driver of the organisation
  • Examples of smart use of recession budgets and achieving more with less
  • Examples of thought-leadership among industry peers

2. IT team of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Projects/ achievements in the last 18 months (spanning the current organisation and/or others as applicable)
  • Examples of integration with the business
  • Examples of IT projects that were completed on time, which were intimately related to the business and helped improve productivity
  • Examples of integrated team work within the group to achieve goals
  • Importance paid to training and constant skills refreshment within the team
  • Examples of challenges faced with projects and maintenance in the last 18 months and how the team overcame them
  • Unique aspects that set the team apart from its peers and therefore, become reasons for it to win

3. Future CIO of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Current qualifications and any work towards achieving higher qualification
  • Projects/ achievements in the last 18 months (spanning the current organisation and/or others as applicable)
  • Examples of management skills and ability to complete tasks under pressure
  • Examples of IT projects that were completed on time, which were intimately related to the business and helped improve productivity
  • Examples of leadership within team work and working within parameters to achieve project goals
  • Initiative to learn more and understand the underlying structure of information technology in large regional organisations

4. Editor's choice of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Either vendor or end-user can nominate for this award
  • Strong examples of thought-leadership in the region over the last 18 months
  • Extraordinary examples of work done in the region which set the vendor or end-user as a true trend-setter for the next wave of technology adoption in the region
  • Propogation or adoption of and usage of disruptive technologies and practices

Vendor Awards

1. Vendor of the year - hardware

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Solutions/products/services launched during the last 18 months
  • Number of clients added during the last 18 months
  • Examples of customisation and provision of solutions tailored for specific enterprise requirements
  • Examples of solutions implemented in challenging environments and vendor's role in ensuring success
  • Examples of ROI and benefits achieved (either in numbers or in demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • Client testimonials (the more they are, the stronger the nomination)
  • Service delivery/improvements to after-sales service

2. Vendor of the year - software

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Solutions/products/services launched during the last 18 months
  • Number of clients added during the last 18 months
  • Examples of customisation and provision of solutions tailored for specific enterprise requirements
  • Examples of solutions implemented in challenging environments and vendor's role in ensuring success
  • Examples of consultation and solution design (vendor's role in the same)
  • Examples of ROI and benefits achieved (either in numbers or in demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • Client testimonials (the more they are, the stronger the nomination)
  • Service delivery/improvements to after-sales service
  • Enterprise training and efforts to improve awareness of the importance of IT in the region

3. Security solutions provider of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Security solutions/product/services launched during the last 18 months
  • Number of clients taken on during the last 18 months
  • Examples of customisation and provision of solutions tailored for specific enterprise requirements
  • Examples of ROI and benefits achieved (either in numbers or in demonstrable increase in security)
  • Client testimonials (the more they are, the stronger the nomination)
  • Service delivery/improvements to after-sales service
  • Enterprise training and efforts to improve security awareness in the region

4. Managed services provider of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Managed services launched during the last 18 months
  • Number of clients added during the last 18 months
  • Improvements in infrastructure, software and/or security for better service provision
  • Challenges faced and overcome in the last 18 months
  • Examples of customisation and provision of services tailored for specific enterprise requirements
  • Examples of ROI and benefits achieved at the client's end
  • Client testimonials (the more they are, the stronger the nomination)

5. Storage solutions provider of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Storage solutions/product/services launched during the last 18 months
  • Number of clients taken on during the last 18 months
  • Examples of customisation and provision of solutions tailored for specific enterprise requirements
  • Examples of ROI and benefits achieved (either in numbers or in demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • Client testimonials (the more they are, the stronger the nomination)
  • Service delivery/improvements to after-sales service
  • Enterprise training and efforts to improve storage/information lifecycle management awareness in the region

6. Systems integrator of the year

Guidelines for nomination:

  • Number of projects implemented in the last 18 months
  • Number of clients added during the last 18 months
  • Examples of originality of solutions (customisation)
  • Examples of technical innovation in solutions keeping customer requirements in mind
  • Adherence to delivery schedules
  • Examples of post-implementation support
  • Examples of ROI and benefits achieved (either in numbers or in demonstrable increase in productivity)
  • Client testimonials (the more they are, the stronger the nomination)
  • Service delivery/improvements to after-sales service

Event Location

ICT Achievement Awards
Conrad Hotel,
Dubai, UAE

events@cpimediagroup.com