Standard Life proved that established companies can outshine its peers in technology management, winning the Most Effective IT Project 2006
Standard Life has made IT central to its business, by embedding IT staff in the company’s group pensions business, bringing employee satisfaction and process efficiency.
“We area absolutely delighted to gain recognition for the development process in IT,” says Manila McLean, head of customer service for ecommerce at Standard Life. “So many awards are about the product but ours is about the process of getting to that. The IT and business have been working as one. Our award is about the innovative style in which we work together.”
East London startup eCourier won three awards including Most Innovative Use of IT, in recognition of its use of the Internet and global positioning systems technology to shake up the package delivery business.
eCourier, which promises London deliveries in an average of 22 minutes and has customers such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, is the world’s first online same-day delivery courier agency, using high-speed mapping technology and cutting-edge technology to track its parcels.
Its high-tech approach has pushed up sales by 789% and daily delivery rates have leapt from six to over 600.
“We are extremely honoured and humbled to be amongst the calibre of companies at the Effective IT awards: some of the largest and most prestigious IT organisations in the UK,” says Jay Bregman, co-founder and CTO, of Ecourier.
“It will energise our team who worked hard to earn this recognition.”
Topping off the evening’s gala ball and awards, Information Age publisher and MD Tim Langford handed over a cheque for £25,000 to children’s charity Wooden Spoon. In three years, the Information Age Effective IT Awards have raised £100,000 for Wooden Spoon.
The winners of the Effective IT 2006 Awards, sponsored by Borland, Oki, Savvis and Vodafone, in full:
Most Effective Use of Software
Hibernian
Most Effective Use of Communications Technologies
eCourier
Most Effective Enterprise-Wide IT Infrastructure
Betfair
Most Effective Use of IT to Manage IT
Barclays Bank
Most Effective Use of Information
Barclays Bank PLC
Most Effective IT Services Partnership
Marks and Spencer Money
Most Effective Use of IT in Utilities, Energy and Telecoms
Sutton & East Surrey Water plc
Most Effective Use of IT in Financial Services
Standard Life
Most Effective Use of IT in Retail
The Midcounties Co-operative
Most Effective Use of IT in Construction
Skanska UK Plc
Most Effective Use of IT in Business & Professional Services
LogicaCMG
Most Effective Use of IT in Manufacturing & Logistics
eCourier
Most Effective Use of IT in Public Service
Hampshire County Council
Most Innovative Use of IT 2006
eCourier
Most Effective IT Project 2006
Standard Life
