THE winners of The Herald’s latest annual Scottish Digital Business Awards were unveiled last night, showcasing the depth of talent, innovation and expertise in Scotland’s fast-growing digital and tech economy.
Held in association with DigitalBoost, and supported by Business Gateway and SQA, the awards took place at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow, where the winners of 12 contested categories were revealed. The event concluded with a further award, for Outstanding Contribution to the Digital Community, which was this year presented to Brian Corcoran, founder of the Turing Fest tech conference.
Now in their eleventh year, the awards set out to recognise the success of Scottish businesses, large and small, in harnessing the opportunities offered by digital technology. Categories covered areas such as e-commerce, charity and social enterprise, consumer engagement, education, social media and artificial intelligence (AI).
Hugh Lightbody, chief officer of Business Gateway National Unit, said: “The awards were a celebration of the passion, commitment and creativity of Scotland’s business owners, and I’m sure all in attendance felt inspired by our finalists’ innovative and effective use of digital technology.
“All those nominated were a testament to the hard work it takes to successfully move forward with digital business tools and the winners fully deserve our congratulations, particularly given the high standard of the competition.”
The Business Award, sponsored by Business Gateway, went to PODFather, which is designed for businesses with delivery drivers.
Blue2 Digital was awarded the E-Commerce Awarded, supported by DigitalBoost, for its work with Simon Howie, while Know You More received the Charity & Social Enterprise award. Neu – Quenchable won the Education & Training Award, supported by SQA.
Graeme Clark at SQA said: “These awards are a great way to recognise the important role that Scottish businesses are playing in driving technological innovation for the benefit of Scotland and its citizens.
“We are proud to support these awards and the achievements of our Education & Training finalists reflect the incredible potential of digital technology in creating new learning opportunities and supporting economic growth.”
The Digital Professional of the Year was given to Barry Fearn from The Lane Agency. And Edinburgh-based Intelligent Mobile was named the 2019 Digital Agency of the Year.
For more details, visit https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/digibiz/
The winners:
Business Award – sponsored by DigitalBoost
Brand Calibre
PODFather – WINNER
Wheatley Group
E-Commerce Award – sponsored by Business Gateway
ARRAN – Sense of Scotland
Blue2 Digital – Simon Howie, The Scottish Butcher – WINNER
Drinkly
Storm ID – The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Wholesale Domestic
Charity and Social Enterprise Award
Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland – Discover Digital
Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland – Humans of Scotland
Know You More – WINNER
Storm ID – Scottish Wildlife Trust
Public Sector Award
eCom Scotland – Children’s Hearings Scotland and West Lothian College – COMMENDATION
Horisk Leslie Development – OSCR
Storm ID – NHS Scotland – WINNER
App of the Year
Blue2 Digital – Oor Wullie Big Bucket Trail
Intelligent Mobile – Longleat App – WINNER
Neu – ExitBrexit
Screenmedia – Northumbrian Water Group
Consumer Engagement Award
After Digital – Chase Distillery – WINNER
Blue2 Digital – Simon Howie, The Scottish Butcher
Enterprise Screen – The Power of Attorney camp – WINNER
Equator – Dalata
Education & Training Award
Daydream Believers – COMMENDATION
Neu – Quenchable – WINNER
University of Aberdeen – Toolkit
Wheatley Group – MyHousing
Emerging Talent Award
Adrian Cybulski – COMMENDATION
Jenn Hood – WINNER
Lauren Pluss – COMMENDATION
Natalie Woods – COMMENDATION
Best Use of Social Media Award
DYW Glasgow – WINNER
Hydrogen – Highland Park
Hydrogen – SSE
McQueens Dairies
Scoffable
Innovative Use of AI Award
Airts
Storm ID – NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – WINNER
Digital Professional of the Year
Barry Fearn, The Lane Agency – WINNER
James Duff – Wheatley Group
Wendy Edie – eCom Scotland – COMMENDATION
Digital Agency of the Year
After Digital
Intelligent Mobile – WINNER
Screenmedia
Storm ID