Innovators shine at 2023 South Coast Tech Awards
An impressively strong line-up of businesses across 13 categories was honoured at this year’s South Coast Tech Awards.
The ceremony returned to the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl, where 250 guests celebrated the cream of the region’s technology talent.
Richard Thompson, Managing Director at The Business Magazine, said: “A few years ago, tech was never a sector that you could say was synonymous with Southampton and the South Coast. But that has changed.”
He pointed out that Southampton has established itself as a growing UK tech hub. In a recent national survey, Southampton came 5th in a list of 23 technology hotspots in the country, ahead even of Cambridge.
Thompson continued: “The city and surrounding area have seen the emergence of home-grown digital companies – and down the coast in Bournemouth the number of tech start-ups in the past few years has also put Dorset firmly on the hotspot map.”
This year’s event was supported by headline sponsor Spectrum IT Recruitment (South) as well as category sponsors James Cowper Kreston, Gresham House Ventures, BGF, Blake Morgan LLP, BDB Pitmans, BDO LLP, AllPoints Fibre, Evelyn Partners, Infinigate Cloud, BizNews and the University of Southampton Science Park.
Back by popular demand to host the ceremonywith only a touch of seriousness was Lucy Porter, the comedian, podcaster, playwright and BBC Radio 4 regular.
This year, the awards supported Wessex Cancer Support, which supports local people affected by cancer. On the night, generous guests donated £3,000 to the charity.
And the winners are…
Cyber Security Company of the Year
Highly Commended: CloudTech24
Winner: Vizst Technology
“About two years ago we merged three companies and have spent the last 18 months re-positioning the business with a focus on cyber security. We have made a lot of internal changes to allow that to happen and have been honing our offering around cyber security. We have a strong leadership team with CEO Richard Betts plus a flat management structure, so everyone has the autonomy to make changes in their areas quickly when they need to.” Gemma Roalf, Head of Marketing, Vizst Technology
Sponsored by Infinigate Cloud
Finalists
Beyond Encryption
CloudTech24
HB Tech
Tailor Made Technologies
Vizst Technology
Emerging Tech Company of the Year
Winner: Filament AI
“Having a large customer base with recurring revenues has been really important for us. Our existing customer base has helped us to form and shape our product, which has given us a head start in the way we can build our product out. Also, we know it serves customers’ needs. We took our first round of investment funding in April 2023, which was really exciting as it unlocks new opportunities and enables us to make new hires.” Dr James Ravenscroft, Chief Technology Officer, and Alex Horsfield, Head of Data Engineering, Filament AI
Sponsored by BGF
Finalists
CanSense Group Ltd
Filament AI
KOIOS Master Data Limited
Lifestyle Clarity
Optima Electric Yachts
Innovative Tech Company of the Year
Winner: TouchNetix
“We have spent five years developing our own silicon for touch technology, which is a relatively short time in this business. Our customer base is automotive, medical and industry. Once they see what you can do things ramp up pretty quickly, so we are massively optimistic. It has been tough finding really good talent to come and join a semi start-up business but we are getting more recruits coming along and choosing to invest in a career with us.” George East, Managing Director, TouchNetix
Sponsored by James Cowper Kreston
Finalists
CanSense Group Ltd
Lifelight
Loop Technology
Paqua
Renovos Biologics Limited
TouchNetix
Universal Collaboration Research Ltd
Health Tech Company of the Year
Winner: Lifelight
“I think it was the scale of our ambitions that helped us win this award. Our technology is designed to turn any smartphone into a blood pressure monitor that can detect hypertension. Around 1.3 billion people in the world have hypertension but only half know they have the condition. Our mission is to allow the other half to discover they have it and seek treatment. In the last 12 months, we have achieved the accuracy we need to get regulatory approvals, initially in the UK and Europe and next year we will extend this to the US and then the Far East and Middle East. It is already live in the UK with the NHS.” Laurence Pearce, CEO, and Gina Pelletier, Business Support, Lifelight
Sponsored by BDB Pitmans
Finalists
CanSense Group Ltd
DocHQ Ltd
Glyconics
Lifelight
Medilogic UK Ltd
High Growth Tech Company of the Year
Winner: TEKEVER
“Our technology has been improving over the last 18 months or so and a lot of regulatory issues have been sorted out. We are now able to fly our unmanned systems in places we hadn’t been able to before. One of the highlights for us in the last year has been working with scientists to enable them to monitor whales, dolphins and other sea mammals. They have made discoveries about behaviours that are totally novel as they can now locate and monitor them over extended periods using our unmanned planes.” Paul Webb, Managing Director, Tekever
Sponsored by University of Southampton Science Park
Finalists
3R
Infinigate Cloud
TEKEVER Ltd
Vizst Technology
Marine / Port Technology Company of the Year
Winner: Optima Electric Yachts
Sponsored by BizNews Hampshire
Finalists
Actisense
Optima Electric Yachts
RAD Propulsion
Science and Technology Company of the Year
Winner: Appello
“There’s a huge change going on in the telecare industry. We are focusing on digital technologies to keep vulnerable people in communities safe, especially the elderly, and also improve their wellbeing. We have a market lead in our industry with 50,000 digital connections.” Carl Atkey, CTO, Appello
Sponsored by Evelyn Partners
Finalists
AccelerComm Ltd
Appello
CanSense Group Ltd
Glyconics
Lifelight
Sustainable Tech Company of the Year
Highly Commended: Paqua
Winner: Kelda Showers
“We are on a mission to deliver the best sustainable showers that use the least amount of water. They help to reduce hot water use and reduce carbon emissions. We are at the point now of taking this into the house-building sector. It's a global opportunity for us to make a real difference. We are working with UK national house builders to help them meet their targets on carbon emissions and reducing water usage. This is just the start for us. Our air-powered technology is very scalable so there are many more opportunities ahead.” Paul Ravnbo-West, Marketing Director, Kelda Showers
Sponsored by BDO
Finalists
Kelda Showers
Optima Electric Yachts
Paqua
RAD Propulsion
South Coast Tech Company of the Year
Highly Commended: Utilita Energy
Winner: CV-Library
“Winning this award was an unexpected surprise. The company has invested a lot in the last year in our people. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we recognised that we got some things wrong. Since then, we have really turned it around by putting people front and first in everything we do. We have also invested heavily in technology, especially AI and machine learning. We are in the middle of a programme to completely rewrite our whole platform. Our founder, Lee Biggins, maintains the energy and drive to move the business forward and that includes new opportunities outside the UK.” Derren Stroud, CFO, and Barney Ritchley, CTO, CV-Library
Sponsored by Blake Morgan
Finalists
Absolar Solutions
AllPoints Fibre
Appello
CV Library
Trusted Technology Partnership
Utilita Energy Limited
Tech Employer of the Year
Winner: Sumillion
“We are a vegan organisation that promotes the environmental as well as the health benefits. As we have grown we have attracted more people who are open-minded to this kind of change. We don't force it on people, so long as they respect the fact that we are a vegan company. It leads to a healthier way of life. We have a dedicated wellbeing manager, which is quite unusual for a smaller organisation. She is also a yoga teacher and gives staff free lessons. Our approach to wellbeing is engrained in everything we do.” Kelly Abrahams, Team Leader of Major Accounts, Sumillion
Sponsored by Spectrum IT Recruitment
Finalists
Airsys Communications Technology Ltd
AllPoints Fibre
Beyond Encryption
Blue Frontier
I.T. Dev Limited
Sumillion Limited
Tech Leadership Team of the Year
Special Recognition: Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth
Winner: Trusted Technology Partnership
“When the company recently became an Employee Ownership Trust our leadership team used this as a catalyst to improve the working environment for all of our 100 staff. A shareholding gives employees a feeling of ownership. Since the change in business model, our productivity has gone up and our customer satisfaction surveys have improved. As well as our management structure we have also put in place a colleague council with elected members, so employees have their own voice.” Pauline Gray, Managing Director, Trusted Technology Partnership
Sponsored by Gresham House Ventures
Finalists
AccelerComm Ltd
Paqua
Trusted Technology Partnership
Tech SME of the Year
Winner: Fresh Relevance
“It has been an important year for us, particularly our collaboration with the University of Portsmouth where we have undertaken a major AI project with them. This has been instrumental in creating some of the AI technology we use in our products that help our clients make more money from their websites. The company has grown to around 70 staff and about 350 clients. We have just been acquired by a publicly listed UK company that is the perfect partner who will provide a home in which we can take our product to the rest of the world.” Mike Austin, CEO and Co-founder, Fresh Relevance
Sponsored by AllPointsFibre
Finalists
Blue Frontier
First Option Software
Fresh Relevance
Optima Electric Yachts
Tech StartUp of the Year
Winner: Renovos Biologics
“I joined the company as I was impressed with the tenacity of CEO Agnieszka Janeczek. Fundraising in the UK is not easy and a lesser person would have quit, but she didn't. She left academia and took the technology she had developed into clinical use. In the last year, we have made huge progress technically, secured serious new IP and achieved encouraging trial results. We have developed a relationship with a trade investor that helped secure Innovate UK funding. We are now moving from start-up mode to proper company mode. We are making the business an investible proposition.” James Otter, Chair, Renovos Biologics
Sponsored by University of Southampton Science Park
Finalists
AddTime Ltd
CanSense Group Ltd
FaultFixers
Renovos Biologics Limited
A massive congratulations to all the winners!