TEES TECH AWARDS 2024
DIGITAL INNOVATION AWARD
SPONSORED BY DURHAM UNIVERSITY BUSINESS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Innovators – Omar Al-Janabi , head of business , impact and partnerships Durham University , presents the Digital Innovation award to Better directors , Mark Easby ( right ) and Adam Gatenby .
WINNER
BETTER
Taking steps to prevent people falling has secured a Tees Tech Award for a Middlesbrough-based strategic brand agency . Better has developed a suite of online tools for Steady On Your Feet – a pioneering PAAS ( platform-as-a-service ) product that gives clear and simple advice on fall prevention and promotes healthy ageing .
Delivered in partnership with NHS trusts , local authorities and voluntary agencies , Steady On Your Feet is an integrated strategy that , through advice and resources , reduces risks and ensures that falling is not an inevitable part of ageing .
Through its intuitive web platform , it provides personalised and easy-tonavigate risk assessments , self-assessment tools and access to preventative care and resources .
And in a very strong Digital Innovation category , Better ’ s campaign was ultimately judged better than the other three worthy finalists – Trade Interchange , Fitfactory Technology and Tricore Technical Services .
Better MD Mark Easby admitted he was “ buzzing ” to win the award , especially in the face of such strong competition and for a product that is “ well outside of our core business .”
He said : “ To get recognition for a product we ’ ve built while we ’ ve been growing the core business , a product that ’ s going to make a massive difference to the NHS and people ’ s lives , is just incredible .
“ A big shout out to our brilliant team , led by our digital director Adam Gatenby .
“ It was such a strong category , so just to be shortlisted was incredible , but to come away winning is phenomenal .
“ But it ’ s something we ’ ve invested heavily in and which is going to make a massive difference to people ’ s lives .”
Mark said Adam and the team were “ the guys behind the idea , and behind the development and the productising of the solution ”.
He added : “ We originally worked with South Tees Hospitals Trust to create the idea and build the first platform . Then , as soon as that went live , we had people asking us to do exactly the same thing for them .
“ We recognised the opportunity , we productised the platform and then it ’ s been a journey rolling it out since .
“ We ’ ve got a load of enquiries from across the country , as well as Gibraltar and Ireland , so hopefully we can scale up and get this product into NHS trusts .”
SPONSOR ’ S REFLECTIONS :
Omar-Al-Janabi , head of business , impact and partnerships , Durham University Business and Partnerships “ I spent a long part of my life working in the Tees Valley and I ’ m really passionate about reaching out from Durham into this region . It ’ s not a secret that Durham University has historically worked beyond its boundaries , so now we ’ re trying to extend our reach and work further afield . And what better place to do it than this ? It ’ s a fantastic event – I was at Teesside University for nine years so I love these awards – and Better are worthy winners .”
FINALIST
FITFACTORY TECHNOLOGY
Fitfactory provides award-winning software for SMEs in the engineering and manufacturing industries .
Specialising in MRP , ERP and MES solutions , the Stockton-based firm is helping more than 400 manufacturers work smarter to get lean , agile and more productive with modular scalable ERP systems .
FINALIST
TRADE INTERCHANGE
With numerous blue-chip clients on a global basis , Trade Interchange , based on Thornaby ’ s Teesside Industrial Estate , helps organisations reduce the costs , risks and complexities associated with managing a large supply base .
ARCUS , its cloud-based software platform , offers end-to-end support for a range of supplier management activities , from sourcing through to supplier onboarding , to product information management and more .
FINALIST
TRICORE TECHNICAL SERVICES
Stockton-based TTS stands at the forefront of the offshore and transport sectors through the strategic amalgamation of Core and Trident – a merger that has produced a powerhouse in digital solutions and specialist offshore installations .
Renowned for merging advanced digital technologies such as digital twins , LiDAR , drone inspections , AI and VR with top-tier professional services , TTS delivers prestigious projects for notable clients such as Orsted , Correll and LNER .
WINNERS ’ ROLL CALL : 2020 : Salesfire 2021 : Everflow Tech 2022 : Rockliffe Construction Services ( NE ) 2023 : V-LAB
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