The winners of the iTECH Gulf 2014 Awards have been announced in advance of the presentation ceremony at the inaugural ICT and IT show, which opens tomorrow (April 9) in Bahrain.

The iTECH 2014 Awards look to celebrate regional and international ICT sector achievements, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

This year, the categories are "I-ntrepreneur of the Year", "App Innovator", "IT Educator", "Software Solutions Implementer" and "ICT Achievers".

"The 2014 winners of the iTECH Awards are all seasoned IT and ITC companies," iTECH 2014 organisers Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions managing director Jubran Abdulrahman said.

"Efforts need to be recognised and appreciated to bring out the best of innovation, performance, achievement and excellence.

"We feel the iTECH Awards add a new and dynamic recognition of these qualities."

The awards will be presented by Minister of State for Telecommunications Affairs Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa at the opening of iTECH 2014 at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre.
 
The i-Ntrepreneur of the Year award has been won by Mohammed Al Fardan, in recognition of his IT entrepreneurial zeal for the last two decades.

The award recognises entrepreneurs who have excelled in the IT and ICT sector.

The best App Innovator techie award has been won by Affno for its outstanding development of Bahrain's e-government mobile app services.

With Bahrain's PC penetration rate of less than 20 per cent and a mobile penetration rate of 133pc, Affno helped the government build the e-gov app, thus providing 1.2 million people with access to mobile government.

Education is the key to the generational evolution of IT, and the iTECH Awards congratulates innovations in education and training for the IT and ICT sectors like University of Bolton.

It demonstrates a practical, rather than academic approach, with its teaching deeply rooted in industry and the private sector.

The "Software Solution Implementer Award" is conferred on companies delivering software solutions which address key business challenges.

Aurionpro is recognised for its array of self-developed software solutions such as the Aurionpro Sena, Aurionpro's SCMProFit, Enline and SeeinfoBiz, which have been able to satisfy the needs of companies such as BAE Systems Martime, BDP International, Clasquin, foxnews.com and some of the leading banks in India.

The "ICT Achievers Award" recognises Gulf Air's high level of IT services that have helped achieve customer satisfaction and deliver service excellence.

Gulf Air is one of few regional airlines to hold the prestigious, global ISO certification for its information security management system.

Bahrain's national airline prescribes a risk-based approach to identify, manage, and reduce the range of threats to which information is regularly subjected. The use of the latest and best technology by the by Gulf Air IT team proves the carrier's pioneering and innovative tradition, and it is thus deserving of this award.-TradeArabia News Service