CATEGORIES & CRITERIA
Important information:
>> Entries close Friday December 8, 5pm GMT
>> All categories are free to enter
>> You can enter as many categories as you like
>> Please do not use marketing copy; your entry will not be considered
>> Products and companies entering the awards must have a UK presence.
>> Individuals can be based internationally but their work should have a UK focus or be in collaboration with a UK-based team.
Product Awards
Best AIOps/MLOps Tool
The work expected of IT operations teams has grown beyond the human scale in recent years. Using AI (AIOps) and machine learning (MLOps) is increasingly necessary to collate, analyse and leverage the massive amount of ops data modern firms generate. This means moving away from siloed IT and implementing dedicated tools that can derive insights and improvements from the aggregated data. Judges will pay attention to how the tool works, the problem is it designed to solve and how successful it is at doing so. You must include a UK-based customer case study to enter this category.
Best Continuous Delivery Product
Continuous delivery is an absolute requirement of DevOps practices, and continuous deployment is its natural evolution. Our judges are looking for the tool that best meets the needs of companies seeking to automate their delivery workflows.
Best DevOps Security Tool
The need for security is a never ending cycle, and that fits DevOps like a glove. As a relatively new area of the security industry, we want to seek out the best DevOps security tool, and award those leading the pack. This is another award where customer stories are an important addition to winning over the judges.
Best Open Source DevOps Tool
The free flowing nature of open source is an excellent companion to DevOps, and there are some very special tools appearing in the space. We'd like to find out why you consider yours to be pulling ahead. Please include customer case studies to help tell the story.
DevOps Tool / Product of the Year
While DevOps started as more a philosophy than a toolset, tools and solutions to speed DevOps results are now key to the game, and we're looking for the best in class. Why is yours leading the pack, and how can you prove it? Again, customer case study examples would stand you in good stead with the judges.
Project Awards
Best AI/Automation Project
This award will go to the automation project which demonstrates the best overall impact on the business. Evidence of innovation, financial impact on the business, and performance against initial expectations will be required.
Best DevOps Transformation
DevOps is celebrated for its ability to transform business or project processes, and we want to find the perfect example of the difference made by following DevOps culture and practice. This, of course, will require proof, and a convincing before-and-after story.
Best Implementation of DevSecOps
The growing shift-left mindset in DevOps means that the emphasis is now on writing code securely the first time round, instead of treating security as an afterthought at the end of the delivery process. How has security been embedded into the DevOps process, and what has been the effect on business workflows? Judges will expect to see a case study, not a simple marketing description of a DevSecOps tool.
**NEW** Best Implementation of DevOps-as-a-Service
DevOps has traditionally been managed in-house, but companies are increasingly outsourcing management to reduce the operational burden on internal teams. Like other as-a-service options, DaaS can be a great help to firms that lack specific competencies, helping raise efficiency and save costs. We are seeking a description of a brilliant service, with a UK-based case study to support.
Best Use of Cloud-Native Technologies
Cloud-native technologies have changed the game in how IT teams develop, deploy and scale applications. Whether it’s containers, microservices, serverless computing, low- or no-code, or something else, these approaches are at the heart of IT modernisation.
We are looking for the best examples of cloud-native technology use, solving a defined problem in business. A UK-based case study setting out a clear start and end point, with measurable success metrics, is essential.
DevOps Project of the Year
Thousands of companies are now ‘doing DevOps', but some implementations are more successful than others. What prompted the adoption of DevOps methodologies, and what effect has it had on the business?
Most Successful Cultural Transformation
Moving from a legacy waterfall-based way of working to agile methodologies takes a significant readjustment for employees at every business level. We are looking for cases where the company has seamlessly and successfully transitioned to DevOps workflows, with examples of employee attitudes.
Individual/Company Awards
DevOps Vendor of the Year
DevOps is an established approach today, but the sheer number of companies working in the space makes it hard to stand out. This award will go to the vendor displaying an industry-leading approach to working with DevOps, who is really making its customers’ lives easier. Customer case studies are strongly encouraged.
Best DevOps Consulting Firm
While a firm may have got to grips with DevOps, it's always a good idea to get an extra pair of eyes on a philosophy or a particular project, and that's where consulting comes in. Who are you working with, what are you doing for them, and what drives your perfect blend of incisive advice and guidance?
Best DevOps Services Company
We're looking for the best overall DevOps services operation. From strategy to planning, maintenance to implementation, you'll do some or all of these to a high degree, and be able to prove it with good customer stories.
DevOps Leader of the Year
This is an award for the individual who is leading Dev Ops by example. It may be departmental management, project leadership, or a personal innovation which has grown and developed the space.
DevOps Rising Star of the Year
The Rising Star will be a new entrant to DevOps, with less than 10 years in the sector. They will work in a DevOps environment (or a workplace which is in the process of implementing a DevOps culture), and show evidence of excellence and of going above and beyond normal expectations. They can occupy any DevOps role – what is important is their work ethic and (provable) results.
DevOps Professional of the Year
Our DevOps Professional of the year is a DevOps practitioner who has gone the extra mile to show the rest of the industry how it works in action. They're not necessarily a leader in the traditional sense, but simply an individual who has taken DevOps to their core, and produced results not possible without seamless blending of development and operations.
Best DevOps Team
DevOps is fundamentally about team work, and we want to find the best example of such a unit working like clockwork. Developers, operations and other key stakeholders working in harmony is the name of the game. Obviously, we also want to see a discussion of the results generated by such a great group.