GAMING TYCOON TAKES TOP DIGITAL AWARD
WALESONLINE DIGITAL AWARDS ROUND-UP IN TODAY’S 24-PAGE BUSINESS IN WALES
THE best in Wales’ thriving digital sector have been honoured at the WalesOnline Digital Awards 2018. The awards, whose overall sponsor is Innovation Point, were staged at the Marriott Hotel in Cardiff and covered 12 categories.
The winners were:
DIGITAL AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR, SPONSORED BY SA1 SOLUTIONS – DAVID BANNER
David “Dai” Banner, born in the Rhondda Valley, is a multi-award-winning games director and managing director of Wales Interactive, a video games company based in Pencoed.
He has 21 years of experience in the games industry, which has seen him develop over 35 titles encompassing a wide variety of gaming platforms including PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox, with sales in excess of 10 million copies worldwide.
As a technology entrepreneur, he been instrumental in the growth of the games industry in Wales. He is a key figure in creating new highly skilled jobs in this sector which have not previously existed, as well as helping establish Wales as a recognised digital creative UK hub.
In 2010 he was responsible for the creation of the GamesLab project, a digital development initiative for the University of South Wales which helped nurture hundreds of undergraduates and graduates and provided a global platform for Welsh companies and their creative digital products.
BEST MOBILE APP, SPONSORED BY BLUEGG – BOX UK FOR THE BMJ
Cardiff-based software development firm Box UK won for its innovative work rebuilding BMJ’s best practice app used by healthcare bodies worldwide to improve outcomes.
To ensure the needs of medical professionals and students remained at the heart of the new app, users were consulted throughout development.
The app is now the only product in its market that provides evidence-based information in an easy-to-use yet clinically accurate way, both offline and online.
BEST DIGITAL INNOVATION, SPONSORED BY INNOVATION POINT – HARDING EVANS
Newport-based law firm Harding Evans won for its bespoke conveyancing app, which has been developed by its in-house IT development team.
The app enables clients, estate agents and other referrers to have direct access to their case, with the ability to view the progress of their transaction, as well as
to print, save and download documentation.
YOUNG DIGITAL PERSON, SPONSORED BY BRIDGEND COLLEGE – DAMIAN BURGESS
Damian Burgess, based in Caerphilly, runs Red Squirrel Marketing.
Over the past six months he has worked with clients including Dominoes, GDK and Delaval, as well as Squash Wales and various charities in Wales, to assist them with social media and social media training.
He decided to set up his own business after working as a marketing manager at various businesses.
BEST DIGITAL START-UP, SPONSORED BY WEALTHIFY – SIMPLY DO IDEAS
Simply Do Ideas, based in Cardiff, won for its cloud-based B2B educational software platform. Its Simply Do Ideas
platform empowers individuals and organisations to capture, test and develop entrepreneurial ideas through a dynamic, iterative process incorporating imagery and video.
It is a pioneering digital solution to simplify traditionally complex business-planning methodologies and is leading the way in this entrepreneurial educational space.
BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY WITHIN EDUCATION, SPONSORED BY ACCA CYMRU WALES – MY DEVELOPMENT ZONE
My Development Zone, based in Blaenavon, won for its online learning solution (My Development Zone) that has revolutionised professional skills development in the general insurance market.
Following the launch of its business skills version in 2016, it is now accessible to anyone wanting to boost their personal and professional skills in both business and education.
My Development Zone’s e-learning solution uses a formative assessment model to deliver over 400 courses to learners. It has 13,000 subscribers.
BEST E-COMMERCE, SPONSORED BY OURHOMEONLINE.WALES BY NOMINET – THINKBOOKER
Cardiff-based ThinkBooker won for developing its cloud-hosted, online booking and scheduling system (ThinkBooker) that allows customers to book and pay quickly online at any time of day from any location, as well as allow-
ing companies to schedule staff and resources effectively.
Having originally been used predominantly in sport, over the past two years the system has been introduced to new sectors, developing booking systems for the likes of the Aston Martin Owners Club, Cardiff Airport and London Meeting Rooms.
BEST DIGITAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION, SPONSORED BY SUPERFAST BUSINESS WALES – PROMO-CYMRU
Social enterprise ProMo-Cymru won for its running of Welsh Government-funded project Meic – a national information, advice and advocacy helpline for children and young people.
It worked with young spoken-word artist Sarah McCreadie, who recorded a special piece called Butterflies for its campaign, exploring what it feels like to be in an unhealthy relationship. ProMo-Cymru said it wanted her to convey the sense of hurt, confusion
and uncertainty that young people can feel in this situation.
DIGITAL ENTREPRENEUR, SPONSORED BY FINDANDFUNDMYCAR.COM – DR RICHARD THEO
Dr Richard Theo is co-founder and chief executive officer of Aviva-backed online investment service Wealthify.
As a leading player in the UK’s emerging robo-investing sector, Wealthify uses smart technology and award-winning design to make investing easy, accessible and affordable for everyone.
Dr Theo is a serial entrepreneur with a passion and enthusiasm for technology that has driven him to establish a string of successful Wales-based technology companies, including Avantis, Zushi (Cardiff’s first technology-enabled sushi restaurant), SoftSwift, ActiveQuote and, most recently, Wealthify.
He was recently named the UK Government’s envoy for the fintech sector in Wales.
BEST EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, SPONSORED BY CITY EXECUTIVE SEARCH – CREDAS TECHNOLOGY
Credas Technology is pioneering innovative facial recognition technology. In what is the first of its kind in the UK, the Cardiff venture has created a mobile app that uses facial recognition technology to provide identity verification services across numerous markets and sectors.
The result is a quick and secure way to confirm if an ID document is genuine and if the person verifying is real and present.
Starting with two employees, the team now has 14 staff behind it and has over 50 customers across the estate agency, accountancy, legal, recruitment and construction sectors. It has also secured its first cryptocurrency client, heralding a move into another new sector.
BEST GLOBAL REACH, SPONSORED BY WILSONS AUCTIONS – BOX UK
Cardiff-based software development Box UK has been shortlisted for its innovative work rebuilding BMJ’s best practice app used by healthcare bodies worldwide to improve outcomes.
To ensure the needs of medical professionals and students remained at the heart of the new app, users were consulted throughout development.
Consequently, the app is now the only product in its market that provides evidence-based information in an easy-touse yet clinically-accurate way, both offline and online.
BEST WOMAN IN TECHNOLOGY, SPONSORED BY ALCUMUS – MICHELLE PEARCE
Guernsey-born Michelle Pearce, 28, is co-founder and chief investment officer of UK digital wealth management service Wealthify.
Cardiff-based Wealthify was set up with the aim of offering a completely digital discretionary wealth management service to everyone, with low minimum investments and straightforward, lowcost fees.
In October last year pensions and insurance provider Aviva took an equity stake in the business. The strategic partnership has given Wealthify access to Aviva’s 15 million UK customers.
JUDGES
The judging panel consisted of David Warrender, chief executive of Innovation Point; Sally Meechan, board member of Innovation Point; Mike Normansell, PR and content manager of Wealthify; and Sion Barry, business editor of the Western Mail.