This highly-respected awards programme celebrates the best in Technology and Innovation, recognising the people behind the businesses in the South Coast.
For more information, contact the events team.
It was while working for Comedy Central that Cally was nudged into the sphere of performance and as a 45-year old single parent, Cally first took to the stage. She quickly cemented her position as one of the most exciting and distinctive new stand-ups in the country, with her unflinching, acerbic and intelligent brand of comedy. Her television appearances include being a regular panellist on BBC2’s QI and The Apprentice: You're Fired, as well as Pointless Celebrities, Richard Osman’s House of Games, The Blame Game and Live at the Apollo.
Wetwheels provides unique opportunities for disabled people of all ages to enjoy the thrill and freedom of being on the sea.
We have a fleet of purpose-built, fully accessible powerboats, including our two local operators in Southampton and Portsmouth, who collectively provide more than 2,000 experiences for disabled people, their friends and families to get afloat each year.
Wetwheels is unique, we specialise in working with young people with profound and complex, often life-limiting disabilities. Everyone gets the opportunity to “drive” the boat and, for a moment in time, forget about their disabilities and become Master and Commander of a powerboat.
We rely entirely on support from members of the public and local businesses to continue our work. In return we offer a unique opportunity to participate and volunteer with one of the most innovative, fun and exciting not-for-profits on the South Coast
Qualifying Period: 1st January 2023 - 31 December 2023
Got a Question?15% off Hilton at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton using this link. Offer ends on the 5th September 2024
On-site free parking
Free Wifi
Booking a table of 10 includes a 10% discount which is reflected in the price.
Ticket includes networking drinks reception upon arrival,
three-course gala dinner,
half bottle of wine per person,
teas and coffees.
Price excludes VAT
£1,650.00
Ticket includes networking drinks reception upon arrival,
three-course gala dinner,
half bottle of wine per person,
teas and coffees.
Price excludes VAT
£900.00
Ticket includes networking drinks reception upon arrival,
three-course gala dinner,
half bottle of wine,
teas and coffees.
Price excludes VAT
£180.00
SPONSORSHIP OF OUR AWARDS OFFERS MORE THAN JUST BRANDING
Positioning your brand as a key supporter of the region and more...
Partnership with an award delivers more than simply brand presence.
Sponsorship benefits include:
- Brand building and brand positioning
- Corporate Hospitality
- Business networking
- Business development
Register your interest in next year's event
RegisterWinners from a record number of technology company entries were honoured at this year’s South Coast Tech & Innovation Awards. The judges said they were impressed with the quality of the finalists, who ranged from start-ups to industry veterans.
Richard Thompson, Chief Executive at event organiser The Business Magazine, commented: “This year, we received more nominations from more companies than ever before. You are shining examples of the diversity of tech talent in the region.”
The Awards were held at the Hilton Southampton – Utilita Bowl, home of Hampshire County Cricket Club. The headline sponsor for the event was Spectrum IT Recruitment.
The category sponsors were BDO UK, James Cowper Kreston, Blake Morgan, Evelyn Partners, Hampshire Biz News, University of Southampton Science Park and YFM Equity Partners.
The all-important independent judges who scrutinised the selection of finalists were Matt Johnson from the South Coast Institute of Technology and Steve Northam from Northamtec Investments & Holdings.
The Awards were also a fundraising opportunity to support local charity, the Wetwheels Foundation. The Portsmouth-based charity was set up in 2011 by disabled yachtsman Geoff Holt MBE to provide opportunities for disabled people of all ages to enjoy the freedom of being on the sea. It takes about 3,000 disabled people on the water every year and now has eight boats around the country.
Media entrepreneur, podcaster writer and performer Cally Beaton hosted the gala evening.
Winner: Beyond Encryption
“Fraudsters are spending more money on technology than the technology companies, so it is a constant battle to keep up. We carry out a lot of research to stay ahead of changes in technology and in fraudulent practices. Our daily research into threats makes sure our services are kept up to date with all the latest protection methods.” Mike Wakefield, Chief Technology Officer, Beyond Encryption
Winner: Sumillion
“Our founder set up the business to be ethical and sustainable, proving you don’t have to sacrifice growth for sustainability. We are also a gender-neutral company. The type of people we attract look for this approach to diversity. We all want the same thing, which is good for our people and the planet. We are also a very young company – our average age is about 25 years.” John Rose, Business Development Manager, Sumillion
Winners: Codestone Group
“We place a lot of emphasis on customer value. Our offering focuses on ensuring customers can onboard the solutions we build for them. This has been a fantastic year for Codestone and has included the acquisition of Cloud Business, which almost doubled the size of the organisation and has made us a more balanced business in terms of professional and managed services.” Mark Ames, Chief Operating Officer, Codestone Group
Winner: AugmentAero
“The idea for our augmented reality and AI platform had been incubating for a long time, so the missing pieces were having a university come on board and winning a £1.2 million grant. The business snowballed from there. The key to success is end-user engagement. Engineers don’t necessarily like being told what they already know, so we have to focus on the end-user experience and make sure the usability of our product is spot on. We are growing with some really interesting people joining the business.” Elaine Harding, Founder, AugmentAero
Winner: Actisense
“Actisense was started with the vision of removing barriers and making journeys safer through better data. By helping convert, digitise and share onboard device data, we support boaters and technical installers by giving them greater control over the data on their vessel’s network. It’s also about saving time and money, by allowing users to retain legacy equipment but still benefit from the latest technology available on modern onboard networks. Many of our solutions have been first to market, solving key headaches for technical installers around the world. We’re incredibly proud of this award – a testament to the hard work from our whole team.” Phil Whitehurst, CEO, Actisense
Winner: Ellie Merrick – Vizst Technology
“I was a personal trainer when a gym member approached me and said I was wasted there and should come and work for their IT company. Everyone I work with at Vizst is so helpful – when I came here I was a complete novice. I’ve gone through a lot of learning to overcome the challenge and I’m the kind of person who loves to do a good job and be the best at what I do.” Ellie Merrick, Provisions Coordinator, Vizst Technology
Winners: Lifelight
“This is a pivotal time for us as we transition from running studies and getting validation for our technology that measures blood pressure pulse and breathing rate. We are closing a significant funding round and turning the corner from development into growth. We have some really exciting commercial partnerships that we’ll be announcing in the next year, enabling us to really scale up our technology internationally.” Laurence Pearce, Founder and CEO, Lifelight
Winner: Total Security
“We have a culture based around mutual respect where people want to stay. It’s also an environment where it’s fun to be here. We have an employee benefits package that motivates people in a number of ways. This includes a wellbeing package and also a fun package, which is an allowance for staff to use at different local restaurants. We also offer training and business coaching for staff where the emphasis is on being flexible to meet their needs.” Liz Wilson, Group HR Manager, Total Security
Winner: Mike Paye – Netwrix
“We have an incredibly diverse team after acquiring 10 or 11 companies over the last five years. We have gone from having two to 19 teams. That diversity brings a lot of challenges as well as opportunities for collaboration. For me, a leadership role is about encouraging the right kind of collaboration through seamless communication. I focus on the impact people can bring into the organisation.” Mike Paye, Vice President of Research and Development, Netwrix
Highly Commended: Sarah Neenan – IBM CIC
“My leadership role involves a lot of work helping people with their career framework and training pathways. I help them to work out where they want to go and support them on that path by finding the right training and skills they need. I’m also pleased about our achievements with women in technology. I go into schools, colleges and universities to inspire the next generation to look at careers in technology.” Sarah Neenan, CIC UK Application Engineering Services Technical Leader.
Winner: Savvy Navvy
“We’re thrilled to be acknowledged for our technology and innovation – the exact reason we set out over seven years ago to digitalise navigation and bring the marine industry into the 21st century. For us, it has always been about making boating safer and more accessible, creating the best features to simplify anyone navigating the global waters. The award comes at a great time, with Savvy Navvy continuing to scale up dramatically. We are actively shaping the marine industry for the better, and working alongside the team we are challenging the bigger navigation solutions in the global market.” Jelte Liebrand, Founder and CEO of Savvy Navvy
Winner: Labl.it
“My brother, Rhys, and I had a restaurant for about five years that we’ve recently sold. We knew that the hospitality sector in general is quite far behind in terms of technology. The key to our food labelling technology is simplicity – it has to be faster than handwriting labels. Many companies tend to overcomplicate things from a technology perspective. We’ve been on a hiring drive this year from the two of us to a team of eight. We are busy adapting our systems to make sure we can scale up as we grow.” Kyle Wilks, CEO and Co-founder, Labl.it
It’s very much up to you, but typically the main entry is 300-500 words.
Most nominations are completed quickly in less than 30 minutes.
From supporting documents that bring your entry to life, through to testimonials that demonstrate the support from your clients and customers (dated testimonials are better as we then know that they are current).
Executive Summaries at the start of your nomination that clearly lay out who you are, your achievements and why you think you should win are also great ways to stand out.
All of our awards have both category judges and independent judges.
After the nomination period has ended, judges are invited to a judging day where finalists and winners are decided.
All judges have a say in the winner for each award.
We will contact all finalists after the judging day and the list of finalists will be published in an article on https://thebusinessmagazine.co.uk
Not really, it’s set at 1000 words for the main category, but most nominations are 300-500 words.
Yes, it’s totally free to enter a nomination.
Absolutely
Yes, but please confirm that they are aware that you are making the nomination.
Contact us at [email protected] we’ll be glad to help
If you've saved a nomination and are having trouble recovering it, please get in touch. We can help retrieve your entry for you. Our team is always here to assist with any technical difficulties or issues that may arise during the nomination process. [email protected]
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