Award Categories & Application Criteria

Applications for IAA finalist submissions have closed. Below is a list of the application critera.

PLEASE NOTE:

• The Industry Achievement Awards are open to companies who are headquartered in Washington state only.
  
• There is a $90 member and $180 non-member fee to apply per each Industry Achievement Awards application; this fee must be paid at time of submission in order for your application to be complete. Only Washington Technology Industry Association members (Washington Technology Industry Association Industry and Associate) are eligible for the member application fee.
  
• Only information submitted via the online application form will be considered in the review process, unless a Washington Technology Industry Association staff member explicitly requests additional documentation.
  
• Washington Technology Industry Association reserves the right to cancel any category, based on the number of applications received. Any applicants for categories later canceled will have the option to apply for another category or receive a full refund.
  
  2007 IAA Award Categories & Application Criteria:
  BUSINESS PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
  CONSUMER PRODUCT OR SERVICE OF THE YEAR
  SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
  BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE GOVERNMENT OR NON-PROFIT SECTOR
  TECHNOLOGY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
  BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR
  
  
  2007 IAA AWARD CATEGORIES & APPLICATION CRITERIA:
  
  BUSINESS PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
  To be awarded to the product that delivers the highest value to businesses. This product must demonstrate a high level of technical innovation and a sustained ability to survive in the marketplace. It must also demonstrate the following attributes: significant user performance improvement, ease of use, compelling ROI metrics for organizations purchasing this product, seamless integration, open interface, and/or a migration path for future enhancements. This product may include, but is not limited to: a business or vertical market application, connectivity tool, wireless application or service, specific business or education management solution, application designed for numeric or data analysis, application designed for text or graphics manipulation, or a programming language or utility tool. This product must have been released between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006. Product upgrades will be accepted, with the stipulation that they must contain significant enhancements to features and functionality. Beta versions of the product will not be accepted.
  
  Please address the following award criteria limiting your responses to 300 words per section for all but the last criteria. PLEASE NOTE: Any text over the section word limit will not be reviewed.
  
  
• Describe your company’s vision and mission.
  
• Identify the need in the marketplace that your product fills.
  
• Describe the specific uses of your product, its target customers, and how your product provides unprecedented benefit both to the customer using it, and to the person who makes the buying decisions.
  
• Describe what specific metrics of success your company uses, and how your product has performed against those metrics.
  
• Describe the effectiveness of your product as measured by performance, integration with other products and systems, open interfaces, and overall technical quality as compared to the competition.
  
• Provide a 25-word description of your product. Should your company’s product be selected as a finalist, this description will be posted on the Washington Technology Industry Association web site and may be used in additional promotional materials.
  
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  CONSUMER PRODUCT OR SERVICE OF THE YEAR
  This award category is for those companies who have a product or service in the consumer market. The winner of this category will have launched a product or service in this category between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006. The successful applicant will demonstrate technical innovation, consumer adoption, intuitiveness, value to consumers, staying power and general distinction of the applicant’s product in the consumer marketplace. An upgrade of a previously launched product or service is acceptable but it must be a significant improvement in terms of functionality, features and usability from its predecessor.
  
  Please address the following award criteria limiting your responses to 300 words per section for all but the last criteria. PLEASE NOTE: Any text over the section word limit will not be reviewed.
  
  

• Describe your company’s vision and mission.
  
• Identify the need in the marketplace that your product or service fills.
  
• Describe the specific consumer uses of your product or service, its target audience, and how your product or service provides unprecedented benefit to the customer using it.
  
• Describe what specific metrics of success your company uses, and how your product or service has performed against those metrics.
  
• Describe the effectiveness of your product or service as measured by performance, integration with other products and systems, open interfaces, and overall technical quality as compared to the competition.
  
• Provide a 25-word description of your product or service. Should your company’s product or service be selected as a finalist, this description will be posted on the Washington Technology Industry Association web site and may be used in additional promotional materials.
  
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  SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
  To be awarded to the company that supplies the most exemplary technology service to the technology industry. This vendor company will have demonstrated effective use of technology to bring extraordinary quality, creativity and responsiveness to technology company customers, and will have regularly exceeded their customers’/clients’ expectations. The type of service will relate directly to the creation, development, support, publication or delivery of technology. Service categories may include, but are not limited to: design, marketing, integration, installation, maintenance, technical expertise and consultation; the entire range of Internet-based or wireless services such as access provision, data, managed outsourced services, content/media development, hosting, advertising, and software-as-a-service. This service must have been put into use between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006.
  
  Please address the following award criteria limiting your responses to 300 words per section for all but the last criteria. PLEASE NOTE: Any text over the section word limit will not be reviewed.
  
  

• Describe your company’s vision and mission.
  
• Identify the need in the marketplace that prompted the creation of your service.
  
• Describe the specific uses of your service, its intended audience and how your service provides unprecedented benefit to the customers using it.
  
• Describe the specific metrics of success your company uses, and how your service has performed against those metrics.
  
• Describe the unique value you are delivering to technology company customers (include ease of communication) and how your approach differs from that of your competitors.
  
• Provide a 25-word description of the technical significance and unprecedented benefits of using your service. Should your company be selected as a finalist, this description will be posted on the Washington Technology Industry Association web site and may be used in additional promotional materials.
  
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  BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE GOVERNMENT OR NON-PROFIT SECTOR
  The Washington Technology Industry Association has long recognized innovative uses of technology by the public and non-profit sectors. We continue to encourage governmental agencies and non-profits to use technology wisely to fulfill their missions and serve constituents more effectively. Once again, we want to recognize and reward the best use of technology by a governmental entity or non-profit that furthers the mission of its agency, and allows clients/customers/taxpayers to interact with its customers with maximum effectiveness. The award will be given to the governmental entity (state, local, educational, special purpose) or non-profit (501c3) that demonstrates how a new use of technology, application or service enriches people’s lives, or enhances the non-profit or business using it. This contribution must have occurred between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006.
  
  Please address the following award criteria limiting your responses to 300 words per section for all but the last criteria. PLEASE NOTE: Any text over the section word limit will not be reviewed.
  
  

• Describe your vision and mission with regard to your organization’s new offering.
  
• Describe the specific uses of your offering and intended audience, and how your offering provides unprecedented benefit to the people or organizations using it.
  
• Describe what specific metrics of success your organization uses for services such as these, and how your new offering has performed against those metrics.
  
• Describe your offering’s effectiveness of the offering as measured by performance, improvement over previous methods of citizen interface with your organization, integration with other products and systems, and overall technical quality as compared to previous methods of providing a similar service.
  
• Indicate the investment that was required and the cost savings and/or service enhancements which were made possible through your organization’s digital innovations.
  
• Provide a 25-word description of your contribution. Should your entity be selected as a finalist, this description will be posted on the Washington Technology Industry Association web site and may be used in additional promotional materials.
  
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  TECHNOLOGY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
  To be awarded to a technology innovator that has the imagination, vision and ability to see a real need and fill it. Innovators have the courage to make change and the stamina to await the results. The Technology Innovator Award recognizes a Washington state technology leader that has created new technology products and/or services that have had a positive effect on their business, industry or community. To be eligible for the Technology Innovator Award, the innovator must have created or introduced his or her technology in Washington state and their company must be located or have offices in Washington state. The individual must have created or introduced a product and/or service between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006.
  
  Please address the following award criteria limiting your responses to 300 words per section for all but the last criteria. PLEASE NOTE: Any text over the section word limit will not be reviewed.
  
  

• Describe this person’s background and experience in the technology industry and how it has led to this particular innovation.
  
• Describe this innovation and why it is unique and important for the technology industry.
  
• List any press or media coverage that this individual and/or their company have received as a result of their innovation in the technology industry.
  
• Provide a 25-word bio of this individual. Should the person you are nominating be selected as a finalist, this bio will be posted on the Washington Technology Industry Association website and may be used in additional promotional materials.
  
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  BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR
  To be awarded to the company that has developed a truly innovative, unique and proprietary technology, one that demonstrates excellence through compelling potential for sustained viability. This technology must meet a demonstrable, sizable market need, and have a commercial application with an identified customer base. It should be a breakthrough solution with disruptive characteristics, and offer a new way to approach a product or service. This technology must be the result of work by a software, Internet or information technology company, or technology industry service provider. It must be new, and not simply a new product version, and introduced between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006.
  
  Please address the following award criteria limiting your responses to 300 words per section for all but the last criteria. PLEASE NOTE: Any text over the section word limit will not be reviewed.
  
  

• Describe this technology and the innovative aspects that make it unique.
  
• Identify the need in the marketplace that prompted the development of this technology.
  
• Describe what specific metrics of success this technology is measured against, and how this technology has performed. These metrics may be internal or external measurements.
  
• List any press that your company has received as a result of this new technology.
  
• List the individual or team responsible for the creation of the product/technology.
  
• Provide a 25-word description of this new technology. Should your company be selected as a finalist, this description will be posted on the Washington Technology Industry Association website and may be used in additional promotional materials.
  
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