2012 Categories

The winner of this category will be recognised as the overall best-performing, established, hi-tech company in New Zealand for 2012. Judged over a wide range of criteria, it needs to demonstrate vision, leadership, innovation and success. This is the highest honour bestowed to a company by the hi-tech industry and both identifies and celebrates the achievements of its leaders. Previous winners are encouraged to re-enter so that we continue to raise the bar as the industry evolves and matures.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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The winner of this category will be recognised as an emerging business that has successfully made the transition from a start-up with a good idea to one that has a sound financial position and strong growth prospects. You will have a clearly articulated business strategy and clearly defined place in the market(s) you are pursuing. You will be able to demonstrate significant growth in revenue with winners in this category typically exceeding NZD1 million in sales. In winning this category you clearly will be a company to be watched.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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This category celebrates the achievements of a hi-tech company that is just getting started. It recognises a new venture that has clearly identified its competitive advantage, assembled a team of staff and/or advisors to enable it to achieve its goals and is ideally positioned for growth. It may not have sold a product yet, but will have a prototype or beta version developed to the point sales could be made in the near future.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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This award celebrates the contribution by a company that is not headquartered in New Zealand. Offshore based hi-tech companies make a considerable contribution to the New Zealand landscape in terms of their investment in the industry's continued growth and success. It is open to a company of any size; the only requirement is that its registered headquarters is not in New Zealand.

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A company that has commercialised an exciting software product - this may be a totally unique product or one that is built on an existing application or technology framework. The technology must offer a clear value proposition to the customer and be shown to be unique or able to be clearly differentiated from the competition. Entrants are expected to demonstrate how this product or software as a service positions the company for sustainable future growth and business success.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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The winner of this category will be recognised as a company that has successfully introduced an exciting new hardware product to the market. The technology used by the product must be shown to be unique and/or able to be clearly differentiated from the competition. Hardware products include (but are not restricted to) electronic goods, man-made materials, products powered by wind, people or fuels etc. Products must be manufactured to appropriate international standards. Entrants are expected to demonstrate how this product positions the company for sustainable future growth and business success.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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A company that has successfully introduced an exciting new hi-tech service to the market. The service must be based on provision of software services and/or hardware services, or both and offer a clear value proposition to the end user that is able to be clearly differentiated from the competition. Entrants are expected to demonstrate how this service positions the company for sustainable future growth and business success. It is anticipated that IT service providers, telecommunications companies, payments, financial processing, data hosting and related companies would be eligible.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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Hi-tech is a vibrant, constantly changing industry. To recognise this, the HSBC Emerging Market category will acknowledge a different vertical each year and identify companies that are developing new and exciting products within it. For 2012, the focus is on innovative agritech products, applications and services and the Kiwi companies that are excelling in this space. The category is not restricted to farm-based technologies but can include any technology developed for the wider agriculture space, including viticulture This does not have to be their core business but they do have to have made at least one genuine sale of the product, app or service they are putting forward.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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This category focuses on innovative mobile technology products, applications and services and the Kiwi companies that are excelling in this space. The category is not restricted to phone-based technologies but can include any mobile device or application for it. This does not have to be their core business but they do have to have made at least one genuine sale of the product, app or service they are putting forward.

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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This award celebrates companies that best demonstrate achievement in global sales with technology products or services that have been developed in New Zealand. It recognises hi-tech companies that have a history of selling internationally for at least three years. There are two sub-categories based upon:

• Offshore revenues (i.e. excluding New Zealand sales) between $500,000 and $5 million in your last financial year, OR
• Offshore revenues (i.e. excluding New Zealand sales) in excess of $5 million in your last financial year.

The winners will not be selected purely on the value and volume of offshore revenues but a range of factors including year-on-year growth, diversification of customer base, robustness of the sales and marketing strategy and ability to demonstrate how they have created a sustainable global business based on the technology they have developed. 

Your company must be headquartered in New Zealand.

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The winner of this category will be an individual (aged 30 or less on 1st May 2012) who has made an outstanding contribution to the success of a New Zealand hi-tech company. You could be an employee or a young, entrepreneurial business owner -no matter what you do in your day-to-day business you will be able to demonstrate qualities that single you out as a leader and achiever today and someone to watch for in the future.

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Every year the NZ Hi-Tech Trust celebrates hi-tech companies that have had their success acknowledged by other awards programmes. If you have won (placed first, second or third) an award, locally or internationally, over the last year (1st January - 31st December 2011), please let us know about it. Everyone that meets the entry criteria below will be acknowledged on the night and receive a Certificate of Acknowledgement from the NZ Hi-Tech Trust.

Please send us confirmation of any awards you have received and a link to provide evidence.