Xansa founder honoured with BCS award

The British Computer Society (BCS) IT Professional Awards ceremony took place on Tuesday night in London. The awards, held annually by the professional body for the IT industry, recognise excellence and innovation among IT professionals in the UK across the four categories of Business Achievement, Technology, Individual Excellence and Women in IT.

The BCS Lifetime Achievement Award 2004 went to Dame Stephanie Shirley, the founder of IT services group Xansa. Shirley founded the company in 1962 and in her 25 years as its chief executive she turned it into a leading business technology group. Since retiring in 1993 she has been focusing on charitable work, including making better use of IT in the voluntary sector.

Other winners included Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd, winners of two BCS technology awards for its eponymous technology. Hawk-Eye tracks balls during cricket and tennis matches, and has been used to provide coverage of numerous high-profile sport events including Wimbledon. The information is then used in virtual reality replays and provides statistical information for commentators.

One Hawk-Eye executive who went up to collect the award from Phillippa Forrester, the presenter of television program Robot Wars, later told ZDNet UK what he thought about winning the award.

"The awards are nice, but getting three kisses off Philippa Forrester is the real prize," he said.

The full list of winners is as follows:

The BCS Lifetime Achievement Award 2004

Winner: Dame Stephanie Shirley OBE

The BCS Women in IT Award 2004

Winners: IBM UK Ltd and Pfizer Ltd

THE BCS BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2004:

Flagship Award for the BCS Business Achievement Award 2004

Winner: Britannia Building Society ("Really Big Programme")

Public Sector & Not for Profit Organisations

Winner: Newcastle City Council ("Customer Relationship Management")

Financial & Related Services

Winner: Britannia Building Society ("Really Big Programme")

Commercial & Industrial

Winner: Automobile Association ("Mobile Technology Infrastructure")

Small Business

Winner: Response Maintenance & Building Services Ltd ("Impact: Response")

THE BCS TECHNOLOGY AWARDS 2004:

The Flagship Award for the BCS Technology Award 2004

Winner: Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd ("Hawk-Eye Television Production Enhancement")

Applications Category

Winner: Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd ("Hawk-Eye Television Production Enhancement")

Services Category

Winner: The Dorchester ("In Room Technology/E-Butler")

Systems Category

Winner: Plasmon ("UDO - Ultra Density Optical")

Social Contribution Category

Winner: Lincolnshire County Council & Ramesys ("NETLinc")

THE BCS INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2004:

IT Director of the Year Award - 249 or fewer employees (in association with The Institute of Directors)

Winner: Michael Mainelli, Z/Yen Ltd

IT Director of the Year Award - More than 250 employees (in association with The Institute of Directors)

Winner: Janet Day, Berwin Leighton Paisners

Young IT Practitioner of the Year Award

Winner: Karen Elizabeth Petrie, University of Huddersfield

IT Trainer of the Year Award

Winner: Olga Londer, QA

IT Consultant of the Year Award

Winner: Keith Isted, Xantus Consulting

Highly Commended

Winner: Christina Busmalis, IBM Business Consulting Services

Marval IT Service Manager of the Year Award

Winner: Mark Jacot, Britannia Building Society

Quality Manager of the Year Award

Winner: Sarah Popple, Hotcourses Ltd

Business Analyst Award

Winner: Dianne Martini, Travelex

IT Developer of the Year Award - Applications

Winner: Marcus Cripps, Egg plc

IT Developer of the Year Award - Infrastructure

Winner: Raphael Dorne, BT plc