The best in the IT business start the countdown to the BCS awards

The winners of the BCS IT Professional Awards will finally be announced and the 19 awards presented on Wednesday 24 September at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London.

THe ceremony, which will take place before an audience of more than 700 IT professionals, will be hosted by leading technology broadcaster Angela Lamont, and  VIP guests will include Stephen Timms MP, minister of state for e-commerce and competitiveness.

The BCS has been recognising outstanding achievement in IT for more than 30 years, but this year, for the first time, it has combined its two existing award programmes into the IT Professional Awards.

The thinking behind the move is to raise the profile of the awards themselves and to attract more attention to the UK IT industry and the role the BCS plays as its leading professional body.

BCS chief executive David Clarke said, "Recognition is critical to the credibility and maturity of any profession. There is an awful lot of cynicism about the IT sector right now and we feel strongly that these awards offer UK IT professionals a platform to publicise their successes and earn the acknowledgment of their peers."

The message is clear: despite hard times in the IT sector, there is still an impressive body of good work, both at individual and enterprise level.

If the UK is to sustain its global reputation for innovation and ingenuity at the level it has always enjoyed, there is a need to inspire and recruit the best talent. And that means celebrating IT successes, both by individuals and teams, whether in the public or private sector.

The finalists come from all over the UK and represent major corporations such as Bacs, BT, Royal Bank of Scotland and Virgin, as well as public sector bodies such as Sunderland and Hampshire councils.

But it is not just the bigger names that dominate, with smaller business and organisations well-represented in the Individual Excellence categories.

All the finalists have undergone a rigorous selection process, including panel interviews and site visits. But there is one category where there is no indication who might win: the Lifetime Achievement Award, where the winner will be chosen by the BCS.

For more information about the awards, contact Nisha Mukhey

nisha.mukhey@quest-media.com

www.bcs.org/awards/professional

Finalists in the BCS IT Professional Awards   

Business Achievement Awards, sponsored by Network Associates 

Financial and Related Services, sponsored by Computacenter 

Royal Bank of Scotland 

Bradford and Bingley  

Public Sector and Not for Profit Awards, sponsored by Canon 

DTI  

Virgin Trains 

Commercial and Industrial Awards, sponsored by Microsoft 

Marks & Spencer 

O2 

Eclipse Internet 

Technology Awards, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Applications, sponsored by BT Exact 

Prophet, by Speed-Trap 

Chemical COSHH Management System, by Sypol 

IBM Websphere UDDI Registry Development, by IBM UK Laboratories 

Isys Software for the Outdoors, by Isys Computers 

Systems Awards, sponsored by IBM 

Flyphones, by BT Exact 

Erica, by BT Exact 

Pixology Iriss, by Pixology 

Social Contribution 

River pollution diagnostic system, by Staffordshire University 

Trinity and Mobile Location Gateway, by BT 

Congestion charging scheme, by Capita Group 

Social inclusion through ICT, by the City of Sunderland Council 

Services, sponsored by Siemens Communications 

Hampshire public services network, by Hampshire County Council 

Integration testing programme, by Royal Bank of Scotland 

Bacstel-IP, by Bacs 

Individual Excellence Awards 

Young IT Practitioner of the Year Award, sponsored by Brodeur Worldwide 

James Bailey, Eclipse Internet 

Richard Clayton, B Mason & Sons 

Steven Henderson, Royal Bank of Scotland Group 

David Hewitt, James Hamilton Group 

IT Trainer of the Year Award 

Alastair Hill, SIA 

David Wheeler, QA 

Jit Parmar, Informatics Group UK 

Dominic Betts, Parity Training 

IT Consultant of the Year Award 

Colin Butcher, XDelta 

Graham Oakes, Sapient 

Gill Hunt, Hunt Lancaster 

Rob Willetts, Retail Assist 

IT Director of the Year Award, in association with the Institute of Directors and sponsored by Robert Walters 

David Ebbitt, PremierLine Direct 

Keith Nicholson, MacRoberts Solicitors 

Karl North, Hilton UK and Ireland 

John White, Royal Bank of Scotland  

Quality Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Mercury Interactive 

Nick Mundy, Zurich Financial Services 

Kevin Martin, IX Europe 

Business Analyst of the Year Award 

Mark Jessop, McDonalds Restaurants 

Ian Milburn, Royal Bank of Scotland 

Alex Black, Royal Bank of Scotland  

IT Developer of the Year Award - Applications, sponsored by the DTI 

Paul Shepherd, Buro Happold 

Trevor Ward, DLogical 

Juan Herrero, Arup 

James Heydon, Zurich Financial Services 

IT Developer of the Year Award - Infrastructure, sponsored by InterSystems 

Ken Boyd, Royal Bank of Scotland Group 

Paul McBrierty, Royal Bank of Scotland Group 

Mark Orford, Liverpool Direct 

Nigel Reed, IBM UK 

Marval IT Service Manager of the Year Award 

Ann Davies, Zurich Financial Services 

Brendan McDermott, Liverpool Direct 

Graham Downes, Royal Bank of Scotland Group 

Roger Bannister, Retail Assist 

Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Syntegra 

The winner will be announced on the night of the awards