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THE TECHIES WINNERS 2020
... and now for the WINNERS!
Social Impact Award supported by Business West’ s Innovate 2 Succeed programme Green Machine Computers
Since 2011, the team at Green Machine Computers have been collecting as much unwanted IT equipment as possible from businesses and organisations across the UK and refurbishing it for reuse. They focus on repairing laptops, desktop computers and servers, training people to fix this equipment and enabling them to get qualifications by doing so.
Green Machine Computers redistributes much of the IT equipment by either donating it to charities or local organisations, or by selling it on at preferential rates and using the proceeds to fund in-house apprenticeships, training and education.
Simon Crisp, Managing Director, said,“ What we do is try to help people by taking old technology from other companies and put it to good use. Their technical junk is turned into technical jobs.
“ We honestly didn’ t think we would win. We have had such a hard year. We were broken into twice within two weeks during the first lockdown; the first time the burglars cut through the roof, and the second time they broke down the fire exit and ransacked the place taking everything. Because of lockdown, it took two months to get the repairs done and we had water streaming through the roof!
“ Entering the awards was a big team building exercise for us. The team is so proud and I am so proud of them. I must mention a couple of people: Ramnath Gurung, a Nepalese Ghurka who had served in the military in Bosnia and Iraq for 21 years but had been unemployed for five years when he came to work for us; and Josh Martin( 25) who started with us five years ago. He couldn’ t find employment but is now fully trained and a brilliant expert.
“ Last but not least, my wife, Marie. She rarely gets a mention in these news stories. She is our office Support Manager and has been working alongside me from day one.”
The other finalists in this category were: Priority IT and Naturally Social.
DRIVEN BY DATA sponsored by Purple Lime Mango Solutions
Chippenham-based Mango Solutions was founded in 2002. With initial specialisms in life sciences, the R language and using advanced analytics to empower end users, Mango Solutions quickly evolved to support data-driven transformation in multiple industries. Today, it is the largest data science consultancy of its kind in the UK, recognised around the world for its proven track record and wealth of experience in data science and data engineering.
Founder and CEO, Matthew Aldridge, said,“ We are delighted to be recognised as a major force within the tech industry and to have our abilities, empowering organisations to make informed decisions using data science and advanced analytics, both celebrated and rewarded.”
The other finalists in this category were: Infinity Nation and Cervus Defence.
TECH TEAM OF THE YEAR sponsored by Thrings Excalibur
Excalibur Communications of Swindon started in 1992 as the Mobile Phone Centre. It has since expanded and evolved into an award-winning provider of IT, connectivity, mobile and fixed line services to businesses in the UK.
The company believes that by understanding your business it is better positioned to offer you the right solution, helping you to achieve significant cost savings and increased productivity whilst improving customer experience.
Kate Westbrook, Head of Commercial at category sponsor Thrings Solicitors, said,“ On behalf of Thrings, I would like to congratulate the three finalists, all of whom presented compelling stories and provided numerous examples of how their expertise, quality, innovation and passion are driving Swindon and Wiltshire’ s technology sector forward.
“ The team spirit is incredibly strong in Excalibur and this had a huge part to play in their success. Excalibur’ s tech team not only showed that they deliver exceptional service to their customers and consistently go the extra mile, but also how hard they work for each other.”
CEO of Excalibur Solutions, Peter Boucher, added,“ Thank you to Thrings Solicitors for sponsoring and presenting the award to Excalibur and congratulations to The Business Exchange for organising such a great awards night. We are really thrilled to win an award and I am particularly pleased for the team, who deserve all the credit after this very hard year. They have worked day in and day out, and to get this recognition of their achievement makes it all worthwhile.”
The other finalists in this category were: digital wonderlab and Mintivo.
theTechies 2020
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