Entering its fourth year, the race is now on for Sift Media's prestigious Software Satisfaction Awards 2009.
Based on the UK's biggest single market research survey, the Software Satisfaction Awards are based on ratings from business software users of the products they use in the following areas: ease of use; functionality; reliability; and value for money.
In 2008, 5,967 respondents took part in the survey. Sift Media expects a higher number to participate this year from the 250,000 members of its professional online communities Finance Week, AccountingWEB.co.uk, BusinessZone.co.uk, UK Business Forums, MyCustomer.com, TrainingZone, HR Zone and KnowledgeBoard.com.
Winners will be revealed at the Software Satisfaction Awards 2009 dinner on Thursday 8 October 2009 at The Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Award categories
The main awards are based on primary research among users and buyers of business software in the following categories
* Accounting & Finance
* HR & Training
* CRM & Customer Management
In addition for 2009, there will be BASDA-sponsored prizes for green software innovations and co-operation within the industry, plus two new awards judged by a panel of industry figures for Newcomer of the Year and Software Vendor of the Year for the most customer-focused developer across all the functional categories.
The full category list for training and HR is as follows:
* SME HR Software
* Enterprise HR Software
* Talent Management Software
* Learning Software
Web-Hosted HR Software
Other categories include:
BASDA awards
* The Green Software Provider Award
* The Theo Van Dort award
Special awards
* BI/CPM Vendor of the Year
* Reseller of the Year
* Newcomer of the Year (judged)
Software Vendor of the Year (judged)
Accounting & Finance
* Small Business Accounting Software
* Mid-Range Accounting Software
* Enterprise Accounting Software
* Web-Hosted Accounting Software
* Practice Management Software
* Tax Software
* Payroll Software
* Paperless Office Software
The Software Satisfaction Awards give software houses the opportunity to let their customers provide positive feedback on how their business applications perform.
The awards scheme is now open for entries here.
The deadline for entries is Tuesday 31 March 2009. Entry costs £75 for the first software product and £50 for each subsequent product or additional category.
Marketing
The Software Satisfaction user survey starts on Friday 1 May 2009 and will remain open until the end of June. Contenders are encouraged to tell their users about the survey to improve their chances and to promote the awards scheme.
Participating in the Software Satisfaction Awards gives exposure to developers through the survey and in coverage throughout the polling, shortlisting and prize-giving process. Those companies taking part will be invited to a Software Satisfaction Awards 2009 briefing with BASDA's marketing special interest group in April to discuss current market trends and customer issues with Sift Media editors and leading analysts.
What to do next?
For full details of last year's winners click here.
Details of the awards ceremony and how to book tables are here.
For sponsorship opportunities, go to the sponsor's page or contact sponsorship manager Nicky Whitaker on 07977 008 925 or via email nicky.whitaker@siftmedia.co.uk.
