NZ firms honoured in Computerworld US awards

Two New Zealand IT firms, Paymark and Vivid Solutions, are included in this year’s Computerworld US Honours Programme.

The programme, which has been running for 20 years, celebrates the contributions individuals and companies “have made to the betterment of society through exceptional use of information technology”.

Organisations and individuals are admitted to the programme after approaches from the programme chairman’s committee. They are invited to submit a case study on their work, which is reviewed and if it passes muster, is accorded laureate status and recognised at the Honours Programme ceremony in Washington DC.

From the laureates, 50 finalists are selected, and from the finalists, 10 are chosen to become 21^st century Achievement Award recipients.

Paymark is New Zealand’s biggest electronic payments provider, and is owned by the four largest banks.

Vivid Solutions is the former NZ TelePaediatric Service and provides a secure network for the healthcare sector that allows videoconferencing and other services.