Yesterday played host to the fifth annual UK Cloud Awards, brought to you by Cloud Pro and the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), where the creme de la creme of the industry gathered at London's County Hall to celebrate and recognise collective and individual cloud achievements.
Last night's ceremony, which was supported by headline sponsor Ingram Micro, rewarded the best cloud providers, products and projects from the past year, as decided by an expert panel of independent judges - led by chief judge Frank Bennett.
Margot James, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, was in attendance at the awards, which received hundreds of submissions, with just 18 walking home with prizes on the night.
"In 2016 the digital sectors contributed 116bn to our economy and we're very keen to continue the upward trajectory. By working closely with the private sector, we intend to increase this contribution to 200bn by 2025 - and I think that's a target that we can bust," James said.
"You, the cloud computing sector, are going from strength to strength. As companies across the country continue to adopt cloud-based services into their businesses at the rate they are doing, I see a great future for you all. Your technology allows SMEs to leverage technology and compete globally. You are providing a leapfrog technology. Your services are not only a catalyst in our country, they can be a catalyst in others, especially developing countries. So, there are great export opportunities for UK cloud service providers the world over. I wish you every success in exploiting those opportunities."
The winners of the UK Cloud Awards 2018 are as follows:
BEST IN CLASS PRODUCTS
Security Solution of the YearVerify by Aspect Software
Storage Solution of the Year Rubrik
Collaboration Solution of the Year Freshdesk
Business Continuity Solution of the Year iland Secure DRaaS by iland
Most Innovative Enterprise Product iPortalis Control Portal
Most Innovative SMB Product Advanced Voice Services by Natterbox
Unified Communications Product of the Year Advanced Voice Services by Natterbox
Fintech Solution of the Year Mambu
Cloud Platform Solution of the Year Cloud Protection Manager by N2W Software
BEST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROJECTS
Best Public Sector Project Health and Social Care digital meal planning with Kafoodle Kare
Best Private Sector Project (SMB) Stephen James Group supported by Charterhouse Voice Data
Best Private Sector Project (Enterprise)Most Innovative Emerging TechnologyProject Freq by Amido
BEST IN CLASS CLOUD PROVIDERS
Best G-Cloud Public Sector Provider UKCloud Ltd
Best Cloud Service Provider (CSP) Sesui Ltd
Best Cloud Managed Service Provider (MSP) Ensonodiv
ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Cloud Visionary of the Year Apay Obang-Oyway, Ingram Micro (awarded Honorary CIF Membership)
Cloud Entrepreneur of the Year Mitchell Feldman, RedPixie
"The UK Cloud Awards have had a fantastic year and it is clear from the quality and number of submissions we received that this is an incredibly exciting time to be in the industry," said Alex Hilton, CIF CEO.
"The standard of entries we've seen this year has been so high that making the shortlist is an achievement in itself and deserves to be recognised. However, there can of course only be one winner in each category so I'd like to offer my congratulations to everyone that took home accolades on the night."
Paul Franklin, publisher of Cloud Pro and IT Pro, added: "These awards wouldn't be possible without the support from the industry and I would like to offer a special thanks to our headline sponsor Ingram Micro, as well iland and T-Systems, for helping to make the event a success. We pride ourselves on the impartiality and thoroughness of our judging process, which we believe is one of the reasons the UK Cloud Awards have struck a chord with the industry. We fully expect to repeat the success of this year's awards next year, so watch this space!"
