Nominating Categories
Click here to nominate your company, leaders, employees, vendors, clients or educators in any of the following categories.
Corporate Categories
Rookie of the Year - This award is presented to the most promising technology company that has been operating for approximately 18 months or less. Each company applicant will be judged based on the initiative the company took in creating, promoting, or advancing the product or service offered; the technical innovation of the product or service offered; the need in the marketplace for the product or service; and the acceptance by customers of the company's product or service.
Most Innovative Technology Product - This award is presented to the company whose technology-based product consistently delivers verifiable business value. The product must demonstrate a high level of technical innovation and a sustained ability to survive in the marketplace. The winning product of the year will give its customers an exceptional return on investment, cost savings or migration path for future enhancements. The product may be software or hardware and come from any number of industries such as, but not limited to, Internet applications, telecommunications, aerospace, biotechnology, enterprise software, information technology, sports and the arts.
Distinguished Professional Services Award - This award is presented to the company or team whose professional services enable its customers to conduct their businesses more effectively and efficiently. This company has demonstrated not only innovative solutions, but also tangible benefits that customers are deriving from these services. The award winner can either be a B2B or B2C firm whose services are either technology based or focused on the technology industry
Outstanding Tech Company of the Year - This award is presented to the Colorado based company whose overall performance sets it apart as a leader in its market segment. The company will be able to show profitability from sales of its products and/or services; strong financial growth or return on investment for its investors and/or shareholders; technical innovation; and concrete examples of how it is meeting a need in the marketplace. The company presented with this award should also be a strong leader in the community and show a commitment to charitable and/or pro bono efforts.
Greenovation Award - New for APEX 2008, the Greenovation Award is designed to honor the organization that is making a concerted and measurable effort to minimize and/or eliminate negative impact on the environment through sustainable and scientifically supported means. The nominee can be a company implementing “green” practices, or an organization/industry body designing green innovations for use by others.
Customer Care Excellence Award - The company presented with this award will have demonstrated the highest levels of customer satisfaction, ethical business practices and technical innovation in the delivery of call center, technical support and/or any other type of customer care services. Nominees should be able to validate its customer care excellence by citing industry recognition, customer testimonials and tangible factors such as staff and revenue growth, average call hold time, email response times and outstanding self-serve care options being just a few examples.
Best Tech Workplace - Employee satisfaction and a thriving business environment often require more than a foosball table. In recognition of this philosophy, the Best Tech Workplace award is designed to honor the technology organization that goes beyond boom-era stereotypes to instill the type of culture that consistently attracts and retains Colorado’s top talent. Nominees should be able to clearly demonstrate how its workplace culture inspires employees, rewards them and contributes to the overall growth and success of the company. Particular consideration will be given to nominees employing truly unique and innovative methods to achieving these goals.
Colorado’s Top Tech Education Initiative Award - This award will be presented to the nominee (within education or otherwise) who has put forth an Initiative in Education, for the sake of Education, that is having a tangible impact on primary and/or secondary students, teachers, professors, educational institutions and/or the community at large. The nominee’s Initiative should be focused in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills and be achieving measurable results. As with the Top Tech Education Innovator Award, nominees for this category should be able to demonstrate how they go above and beyond to nurture, develop and promote Colorado’s next, bright technology minds. Likewise, the award is intended to recognize the important role education plays in ensuring the United States continues to lead future innovation worldwide.
Individual Categories
Colorado’s Top Tech Education Innovator - This award is presented to the individual educator whose efforts are making a real and measurable impact on primary and/or secondary students and their understanding, passion for and use of technology. This person should be employed as an instructor or professor, and either currently teaching a technology-based curriculum to Colorado students or leveraging technology to teach students in new and innovative ways.
Chief Tech Exec of the Year - In honor of the most accomplished tech executive working for a technology or non-technology company, this award is presented to the individual most responsible for leading an organization’s technology development and initiatives. Whether a CTO, CIO, VP of IT or other comparable title, this individual is the most senior executive in charge of technology. Each executive nominee must be based in Colorado and will be judged on additional critieria which can be found on the nomination website.
Colorado’s Tech Champion Award - The Tech Champion award is in recognition of Bob Newman, one of the founders of CSIA and the first recipient of the “Outstanding Contribution to the Community” award. This award is presented to an individual who has been a strong champion for the development, research or application of technology in Colorado. This person has been an ally in supporting the mission of CSIA. Overall, this individual has made outstanding achievements and commitments to furthering innovative technology in our community and the state.
Get IT Done Award - When you just need to “git ‘er done,” who are you going to turn to? The Get IT Done award is designed to recognize the “bionic” individual working within the technology industry (directly or indirectly) who consistently goes above and beyond to get the job done and get it done correctly. This individual routinely makes sacrifices in the name of his or her employer, colleagues, customers and partners, and is generally regarded by these groups as a model corporate citizen. The nominee’s reputation should be characterized by strong ethics, a can-do attitude and an unwavering commitment to success. This person should be seen as a catalyst and a strong performer in crunch time, often juggling multiple tasks and projects, all receiving the unyielding attention and dedication for which the nominee is known.