2005 eCommerce Awards
And the Winner is...
Champagne corks were popping last night as the winners of the 2005 East Midlands eCommerce Awards were announced at an event held at Colwick Hall in Nottingham.
Included in winning line up was last year’s National Award winner, Nottingham-based Trade Appliances, who along with the other five category winners walked away with £2,000 prize money and will now go on to compete for £50,000 prize money in the National Awards final in London next month.
Nearly 90 entries were received from businesses based in the East Midlands, demonstrating how popular the Awards have become over the past seven years. Of these, 21 reached the final shortlist across six different categories.
The regional winners were:
Best Customer Care Online
Winner: Quick Formations (Northamptonshire)
Highly Commended: Trade Appliances (Nottinghamshire)
Best Use of Teleworking
Winner: Bellwether Enterprises (Northamptonshire)
Highly Commended: FourThinking Consultancy (Leicestershire)
Best Sales and Marketing Online
Winner: Trade Appliances (Nottinghamshire)
Highly Commended: Quick Formations (Northamptonshire)
Best Use of Mobile and Wireless Technologies
Winner: NutraTech Ltd (Nottinghamshire)
Highly Commended: Bellwether Enterprises (Northamptonshire)
Best Integrated Business
Winner: Jabberwocky Restaurants (Northamptonshire)
Highly Commended: Trade Appliances (Nottinghamshire)
Best Use of Broadband
Winner: Silly Jokes (Northamptonshire)
Highly Commended: Quick Formations (Northamptonshire)
Commenting on the awards night, Bryan Carr, East Midlands Development Agency (emda) board member and awards judge, said: “This has been a great celebration of the growing adoption of information and communication technologies amongst businesses in the East Midlands. Encouraging businesses to improve the way they work and increase their competitiveness is crucial for the economic growth of the region and it’s vital that we reward those who are making a difference.
“This year’s winners have worked hard for their awards and in each case have demonstrated how they have embraced ICT and made it work for their individual businesses. I wish them every success at the National Awards next month and hope to have the pleasure of seeing their entries again next year.”
Mick McLoughlin, BT regional director, East Midlands, said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to all the winners announced today. BT, like emda and the DTI, recognises the importance of IT and communications technologies to the UK’s SME sector and it’s important that every opportunity is taken to highlight examples of best practice and encourage other organisations to follow suit.
“The future prosperity of the East Midlands depends on the dynamism of its business sector and so it has been extremely rewarding to witness some truly innovative examples of businesses utilising broadband to achieve their full potential. Good luck to all the winners from this region in the National Final on 6 October.”
Run by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Interforum, and sponsored by BT and emda, the Awards were open to any UK business employing up to 250 employees who have used Internet and Information Communications Technology (ICT) to improve their business. They are funded by emda under its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Innovative Actions Programme which aims to create an e-aware and e-literate East Midlands, in line with the region’s commitment to become a top 20 region in Europe.
22nd September 20005