Computools, Mission and Vandis captured SearchITChannel's 2021 Top Projects Awards, which recognize innovation and business benefits in partner-customer engagements.
A machine learning approach that launched a new line of business, an SD-WAN implementation that improved a healthcare provider's security and an online platform for English-language learners took top honors in SearchITChannel's 2021 Top Projects Awards.
The awards recognize IT services partners and their customers for IT initiatives undertaken last year. SearchITChannel issued a worldwide call for nominations in September 2021. A panel of judges assessed the nominations, grouped by partner company size, based on technical innovation, challenges overcome, creative partnering and business benefits.
This year's winners are based in Los Angeles, Albertson, N.Y., and Kyiv, Ukraine.
Medium-business winners
Two projects in the medium-sized business category tied for the top spot: a machine learning (ML) project that Mission Cloud Services pursued with JibJab, a company that creates personalized digital content, e-cards and video; and a network security and user productivity effort that Vandis delivered for PM Pediatrics, an urgent care provider.
For the JibJab project, Mission, a managed cloud services provider based in Los Angeles, trained an ML algorithm to quickly and automatically crop a person's face and hair from a photo and produce a print-quality image for a new line of personalized books. The judges cited the Mission-JibJab project for the technical challenges of deploying AI, steady improvements in the ML algorithm's accuracy and an easier customer experience.
The awards recognize IT services partners and their customers for IT initiatives undertaken last year.
Vandis, an IT services and consulting firm headquartered in Albertson, N.Y., focused on improving the security foundation for PM Pediatrics' network. Vandis set up unified security policies, enabling centralized management and rapid deployment, using Fortinet's Secure SD-WAN offering and FortiManager. Microsoft Azure Virtual WAN played a role in reducing latency. Judges pointed to the project for its combination of technologies and mission-critical nature.
Small-business winner
Computools' engagement with the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), an organization that tests English proficiency, emerged as the top project in the small-business category. Computools, with significant operations in Ukraine, designed, developed and hosted a platform for students preparing for an IELTS exam. The project's quantifiable benefits -- including a 56% increase in users -- impressed the judges.
More to come
SearchITChannel will post case studies on the three winning projects in the coming weeks.
