All organisations that reach the final three in this year’s Effective IT awards will receive detailed coverage in a regular new five-page editorial section of Information Age magazine, called Effective IT in Practice, the publisher Infoconomy has announced.

The independently written case studies, divided into 10 vertical markets, will also be held for at least a year in Infoconomy’s online resource, the Effective IT case study library. In addition, Infoconomy, in association with Oki, the overall awards sponsor, is planning to invite all the award winners and award sponsors to a leadership day to be led by a major international sporting figure. “We want to reward all those supporting the Effective IT initiative with something of real value to them and their organizations,” says Tim Langford, joint managing director of Infoconomy.

Meanwhile, a prestigious judging panel has been confirmed for the Effective IT Awards 2004 programme.

The judges are:

• Paul Coby, CIO of British Airways;
• Barry Cooper, CIO of Texas Instruments;
• David Lacey, director of security and risk management, technology, services and innovation for the Royal Mail Group;
• Maggie Miller, business transformation director of Sainsbury’s;
• Stephen Pownall, group IS director for Pilkington;
• Steve Tiley, head of MIS for McDonald’s UK;
• David Weymouth, CIO of Barclays Bank;
• Richard Yeo, chief architect of the EasyGroup;
• Michael Gough, CEO of the National Computing Centre;
• Atle Skjekkeland, managing director of AIIM Europe; and
• Kenny MacIver, editor of Information Age.

“The fact that executives of this calibre are willing to get involved demonstrates the value of these awards,” says Chris Gill, managing director of Oki Systems, the overall sponsor of the Effective IT Awards 2004. “At a time when a lot of IT is undervalued, these awards are timely and important.”

The panellists will assess entries for the 12 awards for the effective use of IT in business over the next two months, leading up to the open-air Gala Charity Awards Ball on 6 July in London. The awards are divided into the major vertical industry sectors. The Effective IT strategies will be identified by Information Age and its sister magazine, M-iD.

The emphasis will be on rewarding projects that have not only saved money, but that have delivered tangible benefits to the business in terms of improved business processes or enhanced capabilities.

In keeping with the editorial stance of Information Age and M-iD, the awards are completely independent of vendor influence. All the judges are either business users of IT, or from independent bodies. All proceeds from the sale of tables at the awards ceremony will go to the Wooden Spoon, the beneficiary charity.

For more information on the event, visit the Infoconomy Effective IT Awards site at www.effectiveITawards.com.