The entrants in this year's individualBCS
IT Industry Awardshave been outstanding,"
says David Clarke, chief executive of the BCS and chair of the
individual judging section. "We were looking for individuals who
could demonstrate best practice and professionalism in their
specialist areas, and we were not disappointed."
Each of the eight awards is open to IT professionals based in or
operating primarily from companies located in UK or Europe.
"This is not a section for the shy, each finalist was
interviewed to tell us why they should be selected as winner. They
had to demonstrate not only their professionalism but also provide
evidence of the contribution and impact they have made within their
organisation," says Clarke.
IT Leader of the Year
The Intel IT Leader of the Year award was presented to Richard
Earland, CIO for policing and director of ICTS at the National
Police Improvement Agency.
Earland, who has extensive experience of delivering major IT
programmes in the Metropolitan and Kent Police, is the first
national CIO for policing and a leader delivering operational
transformation.
His work involves aligning IT systems and business processes
across the complex police service environment, with the ultimate
goal of helping to push down crime and improve public safety.
Clarke says, "As the first CIO of British policing, Richard is
leading the national agenda. He has already delivered substantial
improvements to the 'bobby on the beat' and his green paper
promises more."
Runner-up medallists in the Intel IT Leader of the Year category
were Richard Muirhead, CEO at Tideway Systems, and Patrick
O'Connell, president of delivery and service and managing director
of BT Health at BT Global Services.
Young IT Professional Award
The winner of this year's Young IT Professional Award, sponsored
by Ericsson, is Sarah Christie, a systems manager in the Financial
Solutions Initiative Management Team at Procter & Gamble.
Christie has delivered impressive results in the first two and a
half years of her career, including $6.5m annual savings for the
organisation's Eastern European business. She achieved this by
implementing an in-store marketing materials system and applying
rigorous project management principles and techniques alongside
robust business transformation and analysis.
Clarke says, "Sarah has proved herself to be a true hybrid,
understanding the business opportunities of IT as well as the
technical side. She is outstanding in the breadth of knowledge,
communication skills and clarity she shows in her role."
Christie will now move to a new challenge as one of Procter
& Gamble's youngest ever implementation managers, leading the
remaining integration of Gillette Manufacturing Plants.
Medallists in this category were Luke Robison, foundation IT
consultant at IBM UK, and Victoria O'Reilly, system analyst at
Allianz Insurance.
Business Analyst of the Year
Leigh Taylor, principal business analyst at Skandia, was named
Business Analyst of the Year in recognition of her leadership of a
large international e-commerce project for Skandia.
Taylor impressed the judges with her skills overseeing a team of
eight business analysts across a series of six projects addressing
all areas of the business, ensuring robust administration processes
and systems. She generated the business case for the project and
managed the analysis project plan, the recruitment, resourcing and
budgeting of business analysts and architects, work allocation,
prioritisation and quality assurance of all deliverables for the
project, as well as stakeholder relations.
Debbie Paul, managing director at award sponsor AssistKD, says,
'This year's winner exemplified the qualities required of a
professional business analyst and demonstrated a clear
understanding of the techniques that enable business analysts to
bring value to their organisations."
Medallists in this category were David Wood, business projects
manager at Berwin Leighton Paisner, and Vanessa Thompson, business
analyst at Lloyds TSB.
Consultant of the Year
The Consultant of the Year award was won by Nandakumar
Balasubramaniyan, principal consultant at Portal Technology
Systems.
Balasubramaniyan is a senior technical architect and principal
consultant who has delivered web-based enterprise application,
e-commerce strategies, support services and SOA systems for more
than 12 years. He is an expert in technologies including ATG, BEA
Weblogic, J2EE, .net and Oracle, developing systems for
high-profile organisations including Royal Mail, Johnson &
Johnson, Staples, Prudential and MDC Systems.
In giving the award to Balasubramaniyan, the judges applauded
his exceptional planning, organisation and leadership skills. He
demonstrated a good understanding of his clients' businesses and
their customers' expectations, enabling him to deliver projects
successfully.
Clarke says, "Nandakumar impressed us tremendously. He is an
outstanding IT professional who should be comfortable and capable
in almost any situation."
Medallists in this category were William MacLeod, technical
consultant at Seric Systems, and Robina Chatham.
Project Manager of the Year
Successful project management involves putting IT at the heart
of the business, requiring IT professionals to have an in-depth
understanding of that business. This is an attribute that Tina
Sands, programme manager at National Grid demonstrated to win the
Project Manager of the Year award.
Sands has been responsible for the delivery of large-scale
complex IT programmes at the heart of significant business change
programmes. The judges were particularly impressed by her ability
to manage a three-year programme delivering and implementing a
re-engineered set of business processes and a major ERP system to
create a shared services function for National Grid UK.
Clarke says, "Tina demonstrated her ability by driving a
flagship programme to standardise processes which involved working
with a wide range of stakeholders."
After the success of the programme, which included significant
business efficiency savings, the organisation implemented a
programme to standardise processes, across the enterprise
globally.
Medallists in this category were Keith Bentham, senior project
manager at System C Healthcare, and David Burnet, project manager
at Network Rail.
Systems Developer of the Year
Spearheading the development that has turned SatManage into an
industry-leading product has earned Simon Adams, software
development manager at Parallel, the Systems Developer of the Year
award.
SatManage helps companies manage their hybrid satellite
networks. The success of Adams' early work for Parallel triggered a
major business change, shifting its focus from consultancy to
software sales.
Clarke says, "Simon was highly articulate and demonstrated the
polished application of software engineering in a challenging
business environment, which transformed his company's product."
Adams has established a respected development team, led the way
in producing a series of best practice guides for Parallel
developers, and designed and implemented a rigorous development
process. He also acts as development mentor for internal
developers, customers and university placement students.
Medallists in this category were Rob Parsons, certified
technical applications developer at Allianz Insurance, and Nigel
Byrnes, platform architect at RBS.
Service Manager of the Year
As the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) moves forward,
ensuring that clinical staff are IT-literate and able to use new
systems is a major element in the success of the project. The
winner of the Service Manager of the Year award, Claire Adams, has
the role of ensuring that IT training is in place for all NHS
staff.
Adams, essential and specialist IT skills programme manager at
NHS Connecting for Health, which runs the NPfIT, has been
accountable for successful high-profile business and time-critical
projects within the NPfIT, including the Essential IT Skills (EITS)
programme.
The EITS programme aims to ensure that all NHS staff and
associated professionals have the IT skills and knowledge to enable
them to use clinical systems safely. The programme is a national
initiative with the potential to affect 1.3 million staff.
Keith Aldis, chief executive at the IT Service Management Forum,
says, "Claire impressed us with her professionalism. She really
cares about end-to-end service and has personally driven change
which is already making a very real difference."
Medallists in this category were Judith Rowe, IT training
manager at AXA UK, and Margaret Corrigan, service delivery
transformation manager at Service Birmingham.
IT Trainer of the Year
The APM Group IT Trainer of the Year award was presented to
David Brown in recognition of his drive to deliver IT training to
people with disabilities.
Brown is an independent IT trainer for the charity UCanDoIT,
which gives disabled people the opportunity to learn how to use a
computer, e-mail and the internet and prepare for more advanced
qualifications.
He impressed the judges with his determination to establish
UCanDoIT training in the North West. Brown persuaded the charity to
allow him to introduce training in his local area, sourcing funding
and marketing the service. Prior to this, the training was only
available within the M25 area.
Rod Baker from APM Group says, "David is a clear winner he is an
inspirational, committed, self-starter who has made a major impact
on the lives of socially impaired people in the North West while
enhancing IT access software."
The scheme has proved so successful that Brown is recruiting a
second trainer, and UCanDoIT has extended its service to other
areas in the UK.
Brown, who lost his sight and right hand in December 2000,
assesses each client's needs individually and tailors the training
to support their requirements. He builds on his own experience and
is determined to pass on his knowledge to help other people with
disabilities.
Medallists in this category were John McGhee, independent
trainer at Gem Upgrades, and Judith Rowe, IT training manager at
AXA UK.
Photos from the awards ceremony
Photos of the
BCS IT Awards 2008 winners (part 1) >>
Photos of the
BCS IT Awards 2008 winners (part 2) >>
Photos of IT folk enjoying themselves at the BCS awards dinner
>>
Profiles of award winners
BT Flagship
Award for Innovation winner >>
Organisational Excellence
Award winners >>
Project Excellence
Award winners >>
Green Award
winners >>
More information about the BCS IT Industry Awards can be found
on the
BCS awards
website.