Hot off the press – I was honoured to pick up the award for “Innovation in the Micro-Data Centre” last night at the Lancaster Hotel in London. We entered this category last year, and although reaching the finals, our project wasn’t complete and therefore could not present a strong enough case – now it can…and has!
Recognition is a curious thing – I’ve spent a large part of this year going to conferences and speaking on this project, but while it is easy to dismiss awards as an industry giving itself a pat on the back, but there are two reasons why I think they matter:
1. The more awareness that an award generates, the more likely other organisations will realise just what is being achieved out in the industry and seek to emulate it. A lot of great work is being done but it rarely breaks cover until publicised. Green IT is strangely prevalent only in pockets of organisations and may even come about by accident (under the guise of “cost-savings”) rather than by design
2. Awards like this are not just handed out like tea and biscuits at a village fete; having a prestigious panel of industry experts review and assess your project means that what you can give back to the industry in terms of advice and help is given a stamp of approval. As a university, we believe it is vitally important to impart and disseminate knowledge and learning to where it’s needed most. This award at least shows we know what we’re talking about and can also turn knowledge into practical results.
Overall a great year for us, and while I plan for two power outages over the next three weeks, I would like to wish all readers of this blog a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year or seasonal good cheer -wherever you happen to be!