thames valley business magazine awards for a full report on the winners visit businessawards.co.uk Best Use of Technology


WINNER: SafeToNet A Reading-based company focusing on e-safety – safeguarding children from online cyber-bullying, sexting and unwelcome social media content. Its technology blocks harmful messages in real-time before they are seen and the damage is done.


What the judges said . . .


SafeToNet has developed “a true innovation that blew us away; a brilliant artificial intelligence system tackling the growing problem of child safety on the internet. It’s a leap in technology that goes so far beyond the off/on parental guidance incumbents.”


Our winner’s AI technology “dynamically protects children in a way that keeps


SME of the Year


WINNER: Diamond Logistics This Sunday Times Fast Track logistics and fulfilment company that has almost doubled turnover in 24 months. Guildford- based Diamond’s award-winning service includes same day, overnight, international and remote storage fulfillment solutions for local and national business.


What the judges said . . .


“Our winner portrays the very essence of a fantastic entrepreneurial SME business and proves you don’t have to be a start- up to be a great innovator. We were impressed by the company’s recent and potential substantial future growth, having embraced change, technology and a new business model. With an evident passion for


business, people and community, they have also enabled the growth of many other Thames Valley and UK SMEs.”


. . . and the winner


MD Richard Harris: “Investment in technology has transformed not only our business but our 18-franchise UK network. This award will motivate our people throughout the country.”


COO Daniel Allin explained: “Technology has enabled our easy connectivity into e-commerce channels allowing online businesses to concentrate on their core specialist functions of production and end- product sourcing, and then, through slick integration into our interface, outsource the rest of the operation – fulfilment and delivery – to us at Diamond Logistics.”


Workplace Mental Health Award


WINNER: Fourfront Group The UK’s leading workplace design and fit-out specialist, and move management consultancy. A key focus of the Fourfront Group Wellbeing Programme has been striving to battle the stigma associated with mental health. The company’s action plan includes training, support and wellbeing policies affecting every department.


What the judges said . . .


“Our winner demonstrated that it had generated policies regarding workplace mental health that were actively being implemented. We also liked that its ideas and effort showed innovation in its own business-world, the work being internally generated by the company as opposed


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 2017


to being led by the business already being within the health and wellbeing sector.”


. . . and the winner


Group HR director Pippa Savory said: “We all work in high-pressured environments nowadays, but one of our company values is to ‘Be the best that you can be’, and that includes in supporting our colleagues in the workplace. So, wellbeing and mental health is really important to us, and part of our culture.


“It is an honour to receive such recognition when we feel that we have so much more to achieve in this arena.”


Runner-up: Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service


Third: Seymour Taylor


Highly Commended: Optalis, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Wilsons Life


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Runner-up: CitNOW Third: iPRO Solutions


Highly Commended: Active Facilities Management, Firefly Human Capital, Hawkins Group of Companies, McFarlane Telfer


sponsored and supported by . . . and the winner


Co-founder Sharon Pursey said: “You have no idea how much an award like this means to a young company like SafeToNet; really raising our profile and helping get our product to market effectively. If you are a parent you will absolutely ‘get’ these topical issues that we are tackling. Only this week, the Duke of Cambridge announced a new initiative by The Royal Foundation’s Taskforce on Prevention of Cyber-bullying. Our vision is to become the de facto safeguarding standard within two years; we already have traction with over 20 mobile operators worldwide.”


sponsored by


parents in control, the children protected, and importantly retains the child’s privacy and independence.”


Runner-up: Europa Technologies Third: Conveyancing Data Services Highly Commended: NavTech Radar


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