Hear from some of or winners from our past Cloud Excellence Awards winners, who spoke to us about how it felt to win an award with Computing, and also provided advice on entering a winning entry!

Manchester Metropolitan University - 2025 Winner of the Best Cloud Project Award for their Research Cloud Platform

Testimonial from: Rob Collins, Head of IT Infrastructure Services, Manchester Metropolitan University

How has winning impacted your career/organisation?

Winning helped validate the direction we were taking and gave both internal teams and senior stakeholders confidence that our Research cloud IT strategy was delivering real value for research and positive outcomes.  It also raised the profile of the team’s work and supported further investment and ambition in our cloud journey.

What is one piece of advice you’d send to future 2026 entrants?

Focus on outcomes, not just technology. Be clear about the problem you were solving, the impact it had on users or the organisation, and what you learned along the way.

Version 1 - 2025 Winner of the Best Cloud Automation/AI Solution Award with their Fraud Detection Project

Testimonial from: Sat Gainda, Data & Cloud Head of Engineering (AWS), Version 1

How has winning impacted your career/organisation?

The recognition gave real momentum to our AI and cloud capabilities. It opened doors with clients who were exploring similar challenges and validated the approach we'd taken. It was proof that innovation combined with practical delivery gets noticed when you're trying to attract top talent and win complex projects.

What is one piece of advice you'd send to future 2026 entrants?

Focus on genuine business impact, not just technical cleverness. The judges want to see how your work solved real problems and delivered measurable results. Tell the story honestly; what worked, what you learned, and why it mattered to the organisation. Good work speaks for itself.