Pipeline's 2012 Innovation Awards
CSG International and Orga Systems duked it out for first place in the Best Deployment category. CSG International’s Singleview has been deployed by many global operators, and the underlying innovation that drove successful transformations within these deployments was clearly noted. However, Orga Systems dramatic results achieved in a successful deployment with Ukranian operator Life:) (Astelit) pushed Orga into the winners circle making Orga the only contestant to take home the trophy in multiple categories.
The unique category of Best Ecosystem was established to recognize a company whose partner ecosystem creates, fosters, and promotes true innovation. After parsing through many competitive entries, the contest came down to two industry heavyweights: Microsoft and Cisco. For the judging panel, this was no easy task. Cisco is a pioneer in the development of ecosystems, while Microsoft is the new partnership ecosystem champion in the communications industry. Cisco's long-standing commitment to ecosystem cultivation is well documented, and consequently their partner network has grown over the years, to more than 4,000 partners. Microsoft is rapidly growing their ecosystem, innovating with a pre-configured set of systems that enables a “mashable ecosystem.” In Dublin, it was Microsoft who got the final nod, perhaps in part because they boast 640,000 partners today.
The competition for Most Innovative Company was perhaps the most intense, again resulting in a narrow race decided by a single vote. This award was established to recognize a company whose DNA was rooted in innovation, and whose organizational culture clearly reflected their commitment to embracing innovation. Finalists Tekelec and SAPO (Portugal Telecom) were both quite capable of receiving the crown. Portugal Telecom has become a leader in mobile content delivery, and their “OPEN” program industrializes the innovation process to great success. However, Tekelec's extensive patent portfolio and pioneering innovation in Diameter Signaling, Policy, and M2M converged to win the award by one vote.
Judge Craig M. Clausen, Executive Vice President & Principal Analyst, New Paradigm Resources Group, Inc., commented on the awards process, and the innovation displayed by all of the finalists. "These awards play an important role in the industry because they give us the opportunity to formally evaluate the impressive forward movement the industry has made--movement driven by the innovative companies being recognized now by Pipeline," said Clausen. "The importance of these companies, who are all at the cutting edge of communications technology, can't be overstated."
Finally, the Editor's Choice award was created to allow Pipeline's seasoned editorial staff to recognize one company that stood out from the rest for its innovation. This selection process was also very close, boiling down to a heated debate between several contenders, including Tail-f, Subex, and Tribold. In the end, Tribold nudged out the other contenders based on the strength of their product catalog functionality and how their collaborative product modeling capabilities is both a critical component to innovation and how it has spurred additional innovations.
