Your CIO100 2024 FAQs Answered

The CIO100 Awards are not just the highlight of every year for the past 15 years. They are also an opportunity for technology leaders to be celebrated by their peers for their innovative and extraordinary achievements. If you have been curious about whether or not to participate, here are some FAQs that we believe will change your mind. Let’s begin.

What Do The CIO100 Awards Recognise?

The annual CIO100 Awards programme celebrates 100 organisations (and the people within them) that are using technology in innovative ways to deliver business value. They do this by creating a competitive advantage, optimising business processes, and enabling growth to improve relationships with customers or by digitally transforming the business.

Why Nominate?
Craving industry recognition and a strategic edge for your organisation? A CIO100 Award is your golden ticket. Not only does it elevate your company’s reputation as a tech innovator, generating positive press and team pride, but it unlocks a treasure chest of benefits. Become a market leader, attract top talent with your commitment to cutting-edge technology, and amplify your brand awareness through a surge of positive PR. A CIO100 Award isn’t just recognition, it’s a catalyst for propelling your organization to the forefront of the ever-evolving tech landscape. Here’s why:

• Recognition and prestige: The CIO100 Awards are highly prestigious within the technology and business communities. Winning or even being nominated enhances a company’s reputation as an industry leader and innovator.
• Benchmarking against peers: Participating in the awards allows companies to benchmark their technology and business initiatives against those of their peers. Being shortlisted differentiates the company from competitors by highlighting its innovative approaches and successful implementations. This can positively impact market positioning and competitive advantage.
• Enhanced customer confidence: Awards can increase customer confidence in the company’s ability to deliver reliable, cutting-edge solutions and services. It reassures clients that they are partnering with a reputable and innovative organisation.
• Validation: Your company and your team deserve to be recognised to boost morale within the company. The CIO100 Awards validates your team’s efforts and encourages a culture of innovation and excellence. It can also motivate team members to continue pushing boundaries and striving for excellence in their work. It boosts morale and can attract and retain top talent.
• Career advancement: For business executives, winning awards enhances their personal and professional reputations. It demonstrates your leadership capabilities and your ability to drive impactful technological initiatives.
• Brand exposure: Winning or being a finalist can generate significant media attention and industry buzz. This publicity can attract new customers, partners, and investors who see the company as a forward-thinking and reliable organisation.
• Networking opportunities: The awards ceremony and related events provide valuable networking opportunities with other business and technology leaders, potential partners, and influencers in the industry.
• Improvement insights: The nomination process itself often requires a deep dive into the company’s IT strategies, challenges, and successes. This introspection can provide valuable insights for further improvement.

  

What Makes A Winning Nomination?

Winning a CIO100 Award isn’t about flashy tech specs – it’s about showcasing how technology transformed your business. Focus on tangible business value, not just features. Did you boost efficiency? Increase revenue? Quantify your results! Innovation is great, but what truly shines is demonstrating impact. How did your project change how employees work, customers interact, or your market position? Tell a compelling story with data to back it up.

For the most impactful applications, think beyond the IT department. CIOs or business-savvy IT leaders, working with stakeholders, are best positioned to craft a winning narrative. Don’t just list features; showcase the transformation journey. How did technology change your processes, employees, and customer interactions? Highlight the challenges overcome and the positive impact achieved. Throughout your application, answer the crucial question: “What was the impact?”. By demonstrating measurable business value, you’ll convince the judges of your project’s significance. Craft a story of business transformation, not just technology, and unlock your path to a CIO100 Award.

Who Can Nominate?

Anyone can nominate a company transforming their business with technology! The CIO100 Awards celebrate these innovators. Even technology vendors and PR representatives can get involved by submitting nominations on their clients’ behalf. What makes a winning nomination? Focus on how the organisation uses technology to achieve real business results, like increased efficiency or revenue. Remember, the story should be from the customer’s perspective. Nominating a vendor’s client? Collaborate with the client’s CIO and get their consent before submitting the nomination. You could also help recognise tech-driven success by nominating a company for the CIO100 Awards today.

Is There A Nomination Fee? 

No. There is absolutely no fee to nominate yourself, your organisation or your partner.

I Am A Technology Vendor. Can I Apply for This Award?
The CIO100 Awards celebrate innovative IT projects that deliver internal business benefits, not products sold to external customers. While IT vendors can’t win for their own products, they can champion their clients’ success! If your project delivers internal value, like increased efficiency or improved customer service, submit your application directly. For vendor-client projects, encourage the client’s IT leader to apply, highlighting the benefits they’ve achieved. This ensures the story is told from the user’s perspective, automatically nominating you for the technology provider award when your client wins!

How Are The CIO 100 Awards Judged?
After an initial review by the CIO100 Team, the applications are evaluated and scored by four regional external judges chosen from our pool of over 20 judges who include industry experts, academics, business executives and former CIOs. The judging is based solely on the information submitted in this online application.

What Is The Judging Criteria?
To be selected for a CIO100 Award, you must demonstrate excellence in:

• Technology innovation: The extent to which your organisation uses/ is using IT in a new way or enabled new ways of doing business, whether internally or externally.
• Business value delivery: The measurable impact backed up by supporting data, that your project or initiative has had on your organisation’s business results. CIO 100 judges rate each application on the criteria measuring innovation and business value. All individual scores are kept confidential and will not be released publicly, nor will they be discussed with any applicants.

• 

  What Do Judges Look for In a Winning Nomination?

Complete clearly written text about your project or use of technology, showing:

• The context of the project in the broader business or industry picture (i.e., is your company breaking new ground in your industry? Or demonstrably ahead of the pack?)
• Before and after descriptions of the project’s impact on the business or within the IT organisation
• Candour about the challenges along the way (i.e., problems solved, company cultural changes required, etc.)
• Solid metrics showing clear business value, such as ROI, increased profitability, cost savings or efficiencies, etc. (This specific information can be kept confidential and not published.)
• Personality in the writing style that engages, tells a story, and shares details in a first-person voice (versus marketing language and buzzwords).

How Will You Use My Information? 

Your CIO100 application plays a key role! CIO Africa will use the information you provide to judge the awards and may be published across our platforms, or other CIO100 publicity with your prior consent. We also use this information to create a research report, but we won’t publish any specific financial details without your permission. While contact and vendor information might be used to connect with you and add you to our database, all other application details are for editorial purposes only. If you have confidential project data you’d like considered but not published, mark it within the application. This ensures control over what information gets shared publicly.

What Are The Award Categories?

The Award Categories include Plus One, Individual, Industry, and Main Awards. The Main Awards are given to the top 100 organisations. These CIO100 TOP100 Certificates are marks of excellence with the awards given depending on the applicant’s rank. The highest ranking received is the Gold Mark of Recognition, followed by the Silver Mark, the Bronze Mark and finally, the Ivory Mark. Additional to this prestigious recognition applicants may receive the following Awards:

• The Individual Awards: These are peer awards where the industry experts nominate C-Suite executives or their equivalent; someone they think has excelled in accelerating digital transformation in an organisation. Nominations are derived from the application and put through a voting process.
• The CIO100 Infrastructure Award: The CIO100 Awards recognise remarkable IT leadership. This year, the Infrastructure Award specifically honours CIOs who’ve built impressive frameworks that drive organisational success. Winners will have implemented top-tier IT solutions that maximise the return on investment (ROI) from their infrastructure.
• The CIO100 Green Edge Award: CIO100 acknowledges the Master of Technology practices that are sound, sustainable, and eco-friendly. The Green Edge Award will recognise the topmost ecological IT initiative in the region.
• The CIO100 Industry Awards: The CIO100 Awards recognise industry leaders and application excellence.Industry Leaders: Awards are presented to the top companies within specific industries, showcasing their IT innovation and leadership.
  Application Excellence: Awards also celebrate organisations that effectively demonstrate how they meet the CIO100 criteria in their applications. This includes showcasing the clear process behind their IT initiatives and the tangible business results achieved.

This link takes you to the application form. Applicants with innovative projects may be invited to present at the CIO 100 Symposium.

Why Should You Attend? 

Attending the CIO100 Symposium & Awards offers several compelling reasons for business executives, technology leaders, and your teams. Here are a few notes on why this event is important for you:

• Learning and insights: The Symposium features keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops led by industry experts and thought leaders. These sessions provide valuable insights into emerging trends, best practices, and innovative strategies in technology and business leadership.
• Targeted networking opportunities: The event brings together top technology executives and business leaders from around the continent. It offers a prime opportunity to network, exchange ideas, and build relationships with peers, potential partners, and industry influencers.
• Benchmarking against peers: Attending allows executives and teams to benchmark their strategies, processes, and achievements against those of their industry peers who are also recognised at the event. This comparison can provide valuable insights for continuous improvement.
• Business development: The CIO100 Symposium & Awards provide a platform for business development opportunities. It allows attendees to showcase their company’s capabilities, explore potential partnerships, and attract new clients or customers who value innovation and leadership.
• Professional development: The event offers opportunities for professional growth through learning from industry leaders, participating in discussions on current challenges and trends, and gaining new perspectives that can be applied in their roles.
• Visibility and branding: Attending and being associated with the CIO100 Awards enhances the company’s visibility and branding within the technology and business communities. It reinforces the company’s reputation as a leader in technology innovation and business excellence.

Attending the CIO100 Symposium and Awards is not only a chance to celebrate achievements, but also a strategic investment in knowledge, networking, and professional growth that can benefit both individuals and their organisations long-term.