IT Awards - SME News

Meet our amazing team

The Nomination Team can assist with answering any queries that you have regarding a nomination, or the process involved in taking part in one of our award programmes.

Please get in touch with us via email or over the phone if you have any questions - we are happy to help!

Meet The Team

Key Dates

Entries Open:Monday 6th February 2023

Entries Close:Thursday 4th May 2023

Winners Announced:July 2023

About the SME IT Awards

The UK IT sector has been booming since 2022 witnessed the UK tech field become the European leader in market value. Now ranked third in the world, the IT market is a tremendously valued industry, with the business landscape forecasted even further success. In a world where electronics have become vital for everyday life, the IT industry has continued to adapt and transform to bring us the new generation of technology in the increasingly digital society.

After a successful first year, SME News is proud to announce the IT Awards are returning for 2023! With only the most-deserving being invited to participate, our programme aims to shine a light on the contributions and achievements that have been displayed in the IT sector.

Leading the way for the IT industry, the UK has been recognised as a key player within the technology market, and with the increase of tech unicorns emerging over the past few years, the UK IT trade is only continuing to flourish.

The dependence on internet-connected devices has now become ingrained in our society, with over 94% of the UK adult population accessing the internet daily, contributing to the prosperity of the UK IT market. This is making the industry highly lucrative and continuing to show room for technological expansion for the foreseeable future.

The companies working within this industry are widely innovative and in high demand, with the number of start-ups launched in 2020 alone testifying to this fact. In an industry where trends and developments influence the market, being innovative holds the key to success. Therefore, the 2023 IT Awards aim to showcase the deserving companies and individuals and reward them for their outstanding efforts. Standing out amongst the competition is imperative for this industry, and establishing yourself as an award-winning company can be a big step in the right direction to achieving this, allowing you to proudly display yourself to the world stage.

SME News recognises the importance of rewarding the firms who stand out in the industry, with hard work, advancing the industry and shaping the future all being important endeavours for UK IT companies. We understand how innovation and success are closely associated and how sometimes it can be overlooked by consumers, for this reason, SME News is proud to host the IT Awards and congratulate the firms who deserve to be recognised for their contributions.

SME News utilises our expert in-house research team to analyse and assess the best companies in the UK IT sector. From London to Inverness, the IT Awards accepts nominations and submissions of any size business, from all corners of the country, and with our innovative judging methodology, we ensure that we reward only the most deserving companies within the IT industry.

So, if you, an organisation, or a professional you may know of is exhibiting excellence in their work, please do not hesitate to engage with our Awards Team or use the provided voting form. Our unbiased in-house Research and Judging Team thoroughly consider and evaluate each candidate to determine those who have truly shown themselves to be leaders in their field!

We wish all the nominees the best of luck!

FAQ's

How long has SME News been in circulation for?

SME News was first launched in 2017 making it one of AI Global Media’s newer publications. SME News is a quarterly magazine circulated to just over 78,000 recipients. The publication seeks to inform, entertain, influence and endorse the start-up and SME business culture in the UK. We aim to achieve this by providing quality editorial and rigorous research utilising a multimedia platform capable of targeting key stakeholders of dedicated advisers, experts and contributors.

SME News is owned by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.

Where did the nomination come from?

In the interest of nurturing an environment proven to produce a high response rate, we don’t ask nominees to reveal any personal identity. With regards to methodology, we often nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to voting, if you didn’t cast a vote through a self-submission, it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations.

One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received, meaning your award is presented purely on merit. In the interest of security and fairness, we track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.

What happens if I agree to be shortlisted?

In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant and eager candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist giving people complete control in the decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept are subject to our scrutiny during the internal vetting procedure and are given the opportunity to present their own data to be considered alongside information collated by our research team. This can take up to 8 weeks for final assessments to be rendered.

Who makes the final decision?

We employ an entirely impartial panel of 5 individuals to conduct all research. At the helm of the panel, is a veteran academic leader with international academic and training experience and is well versed in research, fact-checking and mediation. SME News’ research is overseen by Martyn Walters, who holds a master’s in history and experience in coaching, sales and hospitality.

This two-tiered system allows for a neutral mediator which we feel allows a more efficient method when determining individuals and companies most deserving of winning an award and has brought us much success and commendation throughout its use.

Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?

The short answer is, no.

We decided to not focus our efforts on a celebratory event. Despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. We follow the belief that optional costs associated with an award are better placed in a year’s worth of online marketing for the winner rather than spending large sums on a ceremonial evening.

Our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to provide you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.

What happens if I am deemed successful?

After you have been notified we enforce a short press embargo while the programme manager will liaise with you to establish your preferred method of coverage. Generally, our coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted certificates and plaques and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and press releases which can be custom designed for you or your company.

Are there any costs involved?

As mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an award with SME News. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners, as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.

Why does your email domain differ from your website domain?

Because we send a large volume of emails, we separate our campaign email sends from our transactional ones. This structure helps to ensure a prompt and thorough response from one of our diligent team members. The sending email address will always be recognisable but please contact us via the address on this page if you have any concerns.

Methodology

Researching nominees

The SME News team work ardently to identify market leaders, innovators and enterprising start-ups, driving many of the nominations themselves.

We also encourage external nominations via the SME News subscribers, online visitors, social media followers, clients and wider circulation.

Nominating parties are invited to put forward either third-party businesses whom they hold in high regard, or their own organisation.

Shortlisting nominees

All nominees are formally requested to accept their nomination. Should any firm or individual rather decline at this point, they are simply taken out of the running.

Those formally accepting are given the opportunity to submit additional materials in support of their nomination. Although there is no obligation to complete and supply material, we have found that many nominees value this stage, in the process, as much as our research team do.

Evaluating and judging

Our dedicated research team will assess all information presented to them.

The team gather information independently from a variety of publicly accessible sources, which are assessed alongside any material supplied by a nominating party or the nominee themselves.

The research team casts their final judgment, based on various criteria including: client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, customer feedback and business performance.

The lucky winners

Once winners are determined, they are personally notified before any public announcement is made, allowing time for any communications throughout the wider business and the coordination of marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner; however, all who take part are encouraged to come back next year.

Once the press embargo is lifted, details of our SME award winners will be made public via the website, award winners’ magazine and subscriber newsletter.

Making the most

We are prepared to offer a range of promotional packages and items to SME award winners, which vary from inclusion in the free-of-charge winners’ directory, to trophies, content in our magazine and on our website.

We encourage all winners to publicly announce their win independently. Announcements via company websites, social media, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are all great ways of maximising the exposure which can be gained from such an amazing achievement. If you have need of further advice, on how to gain maximum exposure from your win, please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to assist our clients with their needs.

IT Awards (2023)