The Judging Process
The judging process is in four stages: initial assessment, release of the shortlist, release of the finalists, and the release of the final winners. See the “about” page for a list of FAQs on the Cloud Awards program. You may also see a complete breakdown of rules and costs here.
Judging is primarily based on the quality of the awards application, and no other materials need be supplied. Entrants are encouraged to write to the word count given for each question, to ensure sufficient evidence is given.
- Your awards application is the most important metric in our assessment of your submission to the SaaS Awards, Cloud Awards or Cloud Security Awards programs.
- Supplementary materials such as presentations and extra data are also permissible, and you may share these at the point at which you upload your submissions form. If you exercise restraint in the volume of additional materials supplied, they will be more likely to be scrutinized.
- Testimonials and case studies, whether illustrated on the submissions form or provided separately, can often be the deciding factor in a category — beyond your own assurances of excellence and innovation, having confirmation from your customers can be very persuasive.
- Third-party or supplementary metrics such as net promoter scores and online reviews may also be used in some category assessments at the judges’ discretion.
- Links to videos of your solution in action may also be used by the judges to help them make an informed decision, particularly in UX/UI categories.
All awards submissions are treated in the strictest commercial confidence by the judging team.
The Judging Panel
The Cloud Computing Awards program, the Software-as-a-Service Awards program and the Cloud Security Awards program aim to take a holistic approach in awards assessment, both geographically and in the measurement of success. The judges below head up an ever-growing global team who assist in the judging process, and represent a mix of technical, business, academic and marketing expertise.
Richard is an R&D engineer who has worked in the cloud computing and big data sectors since 2007. He has pioneered the use of distributed Machine Learning algorithms for sports predictions and has led development on a range of online tools, including data cleansing, route planning for mileage expense claim validation, and web-based vehicle scheduling solutions. He holds a first-class honors degree in Computer Science, which he was awarded before going on to study for a PhD in Algorithms and Data Structures.
Annabelle Whittall is an experienced Systems Engineer who has worked for over a decade in research and development alongside companies such as Rolls Royce, Boeing, QinetiQ, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin. Career highlights include developing a state-of-the-art satellite navigation capability program, and most recently, working on a cloud-based solution in single end-to-end geospatial capability and AI. Annabelle is an active STEM ambassador, a member of the Women’s Engineering Society and holds a degree in Mathematics and Statistical Science from the University College London. She is passionate about what the cloud can do for environmental sustainability.
Graham has specialized in User Experience Design since before the turn of the millennium, at organizations including BBC, Yahoo!, Symantec, Daily Telegraph, Vodafone and Yell. He’s provided consultancy to start-ups and also built and led teams in enterprise organizations. Graham specializes in outcome-driven methodologies such as Lean UX. He currently teaches UX/UI Design to international students at Flatiron School.
A specialist in the retail and eCommerce sector, Matthew has worked in the SaaS industry for over a decade. He has experience working in the UK and USA supporting SMEs and large multi-national Enterprises improve their data quality and user experience processes across both their online/app, and internal CRM/Point of Sale channels.
David is a software developer. He has worked on customer management systems and machine translation for an international translation and interpreting company and currently works on the national COVID-19 and flu vaccine booking systems used by the NHS, the UK health service. David graduated from The University of Leeds with a degree in computer science.
Christopher Southall is a Computer Science & Business Management graduate with 15 years’ experience across both business and government sectors. His current role is Global Business Intelligence and Analytics Lead for SNC Lavalin Group Inc, where he manages a global team designing and delivering cloud-based business intelligence and analytics solutions across Finance, HR, Reward, Talent, L&D, ERP and other corporate functions.
Jason is a former web designer, systems administrator and technical consultant. Now a technical trainer, he specializes in areas including CompTIA course track and Microsoft systems and applications.
Robert Bassett is a consultant who has worked on IT in government and education. He divides his time between London and California, providing organizational support with internet-based solutions. He specializes in issues surrounding public/private clouds, systems integration and cloud automation solutions. Robert graduated from Oxford university with a degree in PPE.
James L Williams is an ex-journalist and marketing/communications professional. James has helped to establish and grow several internet start-ups over the last two decades across a diverse array of industries, including technology dotcoms, the charity sector, and e-commerce. James specializes in the marketing of cloud solutions, forming and managing customer relationships, and inbound marketing.
Andreea Andrei is a content marketer with experience in several sectors, including IT, education and e-learning, providing managerial support. Andreea speaks five languages and splits her time between mainland Europe and the UK. Andreea graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a first-class degree in Business and Management.
Past Judges
The Cloud Awards, The SaaS Awards and The Cloud Security Awards have seen some notable contributors on the judging panel. The awards team would like to thank this selection of past judges, all notable alumni of our various awards programs.
Trevor is the co-founder of Porter, a platform as a service that automates DevOps in the user’s own cloud. He specializes in Kubernetes and improving developer experience around DevOps processes. Trevor graduated from Yale University with a degree in Intensive Physics and Computer Science.
As a Senior Staff Software Engineer at Google, Neha leads a team of 40+ engineers to design and develop new and innovative ways to use cloud technology to solve real-world problems. As a long-time technical leader at Google, from designing and building cloud software for enterprises to figuring out how to build great cloud-based products and services for consumers, Neha has been fortunate enough to experience and lead the way for both enterprise and consumer-based needs. Neha has a master’s degree in software engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.