NOMINATION FAQs

Question: Who is eligible to participate in the global excellence awards program?
Answer: Vendors, PR agencies, end-users, venture capitalists, and investors from all over the world can file their nominations online. Go to the nominate page now and submit entries.

Question: Can technology companies and their PR agencies that are not based in U.S.A. or are from outside U.S.A. apply for these awards?
Answer: Yes. Go to the nominate page now and submit entries.

Question: What if a technology/security company does not sell it's products in U.S.A., can such a company still nominate it's products and services for these awards?
Answer: Yes. Go to the nominate page now and submit entries.

Question: Do we have to already be the best-of-the-best and the largest vendor in the world to win? What if we are just a start-up seeking our first recognition or a small/medium vendor expanding our reach and markets?
Answer: These are industry and perr awards. Even though companies of every size participate every year, we are not looking for out-of-this-world achievements. In fact start-ups and large established companies have an equal chance of getting the judges attention if your story is well written, brief and highlights main achievements clearly. So prepare draft copies of your content before submission, review and then submit. Do not simply cut-and-paste content from brochures or collateral and submit, that does not make a submission very interesting. Take some time to write positive things. And sometimes a product or service may be suitable for being nominated in more than one category, in which case it is better to nominate in all the other suitable categories too.

Question: How can start-ups and small to medium companies compete with larger vendors and increase their chances of becoming finalists and winners of these excellence awards?
Answer: Even though large well established and companies of every size participate in these industry awards, more than 70% of the winners are small, medium and start-ups. So the most important advice is to file nominations because you will never win if you don't file nominations. Go to the nominate page now and submit entries. Sometimes a product or service may be suitable for being nominated in more than one category in which case it is better to nominate in all the other suitable categories too. A well written response will get the judges attention. Volunteer to become a preliminary judge. Executives from your company and the industry as a whole are eligible to apply to become preliminary judges. If you qualify, you'll be assigned categories based on your experience and industry. Most of the reviews and ratings are done through online collaboration. As a preliminary judge you will get exposure to other companies and individuals and what makes them successful. Apply now to be a preliminary judge.

Question: What if we want to nominate a brand-new product or a product that we will be launching soon? Or a product that has very few users and/or is still in the beta testing?
Answer: You can use the global excellence awards program to launch new products. You can even nominate products or services that are brand-new i.e. may not have any users yet, or very few users or is still in beta testing. However the product must be ready and publically available before the winners are announced. A well written response will get the judges attention. So prepare draft copies of your content before submission, review and then submit. Begin your nominate process now.

Question: Can we nominate a product or service that was already a winner or finalist of these excellence awards in any of the previous years? In other words, can a product win again even if it won in any previous years?
Answer: Yes, a product or service can be nominated again this year even if it won or was a finalist in any previous years. However this year the competition may be different so finalists and winners will be judged based on what is best today. Sometimes the same product can continue to win the same award every year.

Question: We won a product award in previous year(s) and would be nominating again this year. However we do not see the category in which we won previously. My product does not fit in any current category but we still want to nominate.
Answer: The categories listed are based on the feedback our editors receive throughout the year from industry experts, vendors, end-users, CISOs, venture capitalists and many more. It is not possible for us to cover more than the existing number of categories in this program. We would advise that you try and select from the listed categories only. If you are 100% sure that there is no suitable category this time, then you may select "General" category. Read more about the various categories.

Question: When do the nominations close? And what if we want to nominate after the deadline?
Answer: There are early-bird deadlines as desribed here. You may still file your nominations after each deadline but there would be late fees automatically added. Learn more about the late fees applicable after each deadline.

Question: When and where will the winners be announced? And who can attend?
Answer: Winners will be announced during the Awards Dinner and Presentation in San Francisco. Tickets for the awards dinner will be available for purchase usually about 2 months before the actual date. Vendors and PR agencies can attend and also bring their most important clients. Please note that a dinner ticket needs to be purchased for each attendee. All sponsorships include a table of 10 dinners seats. Additional seats can be purchased. Become a sponsor now. 

Question: How will the nominations be judged?
Answer: Finalists will be judged by a group of preliminary judges. Executives from your company and the industry as a whole are eligible to apply to become preliminary judges. If you qualify, you'll be assigned categories based on your experience and industry. Most of the reviews and ratings are done through online collaboration. As a preliminary judge you will get exposure to other companies and individuals and what makes them successful. Apply now to be a preliminary judge.

Question: What other award programs are available?
Answer: We have 3 main award programs - Info Security's Global Excellence Program (awards dinner is held in San Francisco), Information Technology industry's Hot Companies and Best Products Awards (awards dinner is held in Las Vegas), and The Golden Bridge Business Awards (awards dinner is held in New York). For all the 3 award programs, organizations from all over the world are eligible to submit nominations including public and private, for-profit and non-profit, largest to smallest including new start-ups.