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PIPELINE RESOURCES

2013 COMET Awards

By: Jesse Cryderman, Scott St. John - Pipeline

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
—
Alan Kay, the computer scientist whose innovations inspired the design of Apple’s Lisa and Macintosh computers, among others

In the rapidly evolving digital universe, innovation is everything. Service and solution providers that peer beyond the horizon will end up sketching the shape of tomorrow, leaving behind the companies that are happy to pursue old roads in search of new destinations. Pipeline created the Innovation Awards, also known as its COMET awards program, to bring recognition to these inventors of our future.

Staying true to the theme of innovation, the awards program is unique in the communications and entertainment technology (COMET) industry, and this year it’s bigger and better than ever: participation is up 30 percent from 2012; there are more categories and more chances to win; and, after engaging in enthusiastic dialogue at trade shows around the globe, Pipeline has opened up all 14 categories to communications service providers (CSPs), who will compete alongside the world’s most renowned tech companies, newest market entrants and every configuration in between.


The Innovation Awards, whose winners are determined through the processes of nomination, submission and adjudication, are the most comprehensive evaluation of innovation in the COMET space, and the value of Pipeline’s awards program has been echoed by past judges, contestants and winners.

“The world of communications and entertainment services is constantly evolving, and the COMET awards provide key recognition of important milestones,” says Jason Cook, chief architect and CTO for the BT Americas division of BT Global Services. “The competition and quality of the 2012 submissions was very high, and I look forward with anticipation to the 2013 awards to see the progress the industry made over the last year.”

The 2013 submission process began with extensive 12-page questionnaires that required anywhere from 50 to 500 words per answer. Then solution diagrams and ecosystem road maps were requested, sources were contacted, white papers and case studies were reviewed, interviews were conducted, and, in some cases, on-site demonstrations took place. The score of each completed submission packet was then objectively and systematically calculated by the awards program’s category chairs, who double as members of Pipeline’s editorial team.

This year they evaluated more than 130 submissions representing 70 companies. After thorough vetting and analysis the playing field was reduced to 47 semifinalists, then further reduced to two finalists per category, at which point the Innovation Awards judging panel took over.

The panel was comprised of executives from some of the leading CSPs in the world as well as renowned industry analysts, whose identities will be held in confidence until the awards ceremony on May 13 in Nice, France. Last year’s panel included senior members of AT&T, BT, Cox Communications, Intelsat, TELUS, Turkcell, and Yota. The industry attention that comes from receiving a COMET trophy is significant.



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