Computerworld

NZ Hi-Tech Awards… 2 weeks until entries close

Entries for the 2015 NZ Hi-Tech Awards will close in two weeks, as the country prepares to recognise the top tech achievers of the year.

Entries for the 2015 NZ Hi-Tech Awards will close in two weeks, as the country prepares to recognise the top tech achievers of the year.

Closing at 5:00 pm on Monday March 2, finalists will be revealed on Wednesday March 25 with winners being announced at the Gala Dinner on Friday May 15 in Wellington.

Recognising the achievers in the technology industry right from start-up and emerging through to the coveted company of the year which was won in 2014 by Orion Health, categories also recognise excellence in the product space covering software, services, hardware and mobile.

The four new categories for 2015 include:

• Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Product

• Best Innovation Initiative

• Best Technology Solution for the Public Sector

• Best Technology Solution for the Creative Sector

“For 2015 we have revamped the categories, so as to reflect the changing nature of the industry,” says Wayne Norrie, Trust Chair, NZ Hi-Tech.

“We’ve removed the export categories as just about every fast moving hi-tech company is or planning to export.

“We have brought in categories that recognise New Zealand rapid rise in the agritech and creative sectors as well as a category that recognise the great work taking place in the public sector.”

Norrie says the aim of the Hi-Tech Trust is to acknowledge and recognise excellence within the New Zealand Hi-Tech industry which is the third largest export earner in the country, generating over $7 billion in annual revenue - a sector that is growing at twice the rate of the economy as a whole.

The 12 categories for the 2015 NZ Hi-Tech Awards are:

• PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year

• Cisco Hi-Tech Emerging Company

• NZVIF Hi-Tech Startup Company

• Callaghan Innovation Best Technology Solution for the Creative Sector

• Duncan Cotterill Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Product

• New Zealand Trade & Enterprise Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Product

• UK Trade & Investment Most Innovative Mobile Technology product

• Grow Wellington Most Innovative Hi-Tech Service

• IBM Best Innovation Initiative

• Endace Most Innovative Hi-Tech Hardware Product

• Fronde Hi-Tech Young Achiever

• Best Technology Solution for the Public Sector

A full list of categories and entry criteria can be found at www.hitech.org.nz