Finalists in this year'sBCS
IT Industry Awardshave shown the highest-ever
level of integration between IT and business, says the British
Computer Society (BCS).
The annual Awards, supported by the National Computing Centre
and Intellect, recognise the contribution made by the IT profession
to economic prosperity, business efficiency and the public
services.
David Clarke, BCS chief executive, said that the
more than 200
finalists announced today reflected the fact that technology
was at the heart of every business.
"In the current economic situation it is rewarding to see that
IT is continuing to lead through innovation and deliver real
business benefits," he said.
Awards moderator
David Tidey said this year's entries were the most
business-focused ever, generating hard figures that showed how
projects had benefited the business.
Tidey, assistant chief executive for business change for
Kensington and Chelsea Council, said this showed that the concept
of IT supporting business was becoming more common.
"Organisations are using IT to generate savings and are looking
at business measures to see how their IT is performing, rather than
just uptime and other IT-type measures," he said.
This year's finalists range from large national IT systems to
projects for small and medium businesses and organisations like
schools.
Projects include systems to provide patient information to
ambulance crews, track hospital equipment using RFID, and enable
satellite navigation using mobile phones.
The finalists in the
two green IT categories include several projects to reduce
power consumption in datacentres.
Tidey said the huge contrast between projects would make judging
a little more difficult, but face-to-face interviews with finalists
for the first time this year would help the judges meet this
challenge.
The winners of the 24 categories for individual, organisational
and project excellence will be announced at the Awards ceremony on
4 December in London at the Grosvenor House Hotel.
Winners of the 2007 BCS Awards >>