The winners of the IBTM World 2018 Tech Watch Awards were announced at the IBTM World event in Barcelona this week. Zenus and Fielddrive were the joint recipients of the Tech Watch Award, while Kubify took home the inaugural “People’s Choice” award for its Learning Toolbox.

A panel of well-known industry experts selected Zenus and Fielddrive for their pioneering and impactful work in bringing facial recognition software to the events industry.

“Zenus is the creator of the software, and Fielddrive has been a significant implementor of the product by exploring and measuring the onsite best cases for use,” said Corbin Ball, chair of the IBTM World Tech Watch Award.

He continued, “Together, they make a strong team, developing facial recognition for the events industry. They exemplify the goal of the IBTM World Tech Watch Award – to showcase important innovation to advance this industry.”

Zenus offers high-end security facial recognition for event registrations, enabling a fast and easy check-in, while Fielddrive provides on-site technology services for conferences, tradeshows and events. Due to the interlinked nature of the two companies and their solutions, Zenus and Fielddrive were judged as a single entry.

“Our efforts with Zenus on full integration of facial recognition technology, together with Fielddrive’s kiosks, full colour badge-printing and global deployment, has set a new standard in the meetings industry,” said Danny Stevens, founder and CEO of Fielddrive.

He added, “Fielddrive has gone to great lengths to innovate onsite attendee management, and this latest international accolade is a great reward to our team and our clients. At Fielddrive we’re convinced that the latest great experience is the next expectation. We’re proud to be leading the way.”

The Tech Watch People’s Choice Award, won this year by Netherlands-based e-poster company Kubify, was introduced to recognize the finalist that received the highest number of online votes from members of the MICE industry. Voters could select from any of the nine companies shortlisted for the Tech Watch Award.

Kubify offers Learning Toolbox, an interactive e-poster system for scientific meetings. Attendees use an app to search posters by subject/keyword, interact with the poster, post comments, ask questions and rate/cast a vote for the best poster.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have won the Tech Watch People’s Choice award,” said Tamsin Treasure-Jones, co-founder of Kubify.

She continued, “We’d like to thank the users of our platform and IBTM attendees for voting for us, and IBTM for giving us the opportunity to exhibit. It’s been an incredible experience, we’ve made lots of fantastic contacts and had some valuable discussions. We are looking forward to coming back next year.”  

The panel of judges was formed of high-profile professionals from the events and technology industries including Michelle Bruno, president of Bruno Group Signature Events; Dahlia El Gazzar, founder of DAHLIA+ Inc; Ruud Janssen, founder of TNOC.org and co-founder EMG; Pádraic Gilligan, managing partner at SoolNua; Paul Hussey, director of The Conference Doctor and Julius Solaris, founder and editor of Event MB.

“The IBTM World Tech Watch Award is an essential accolade in our dedication to showcasing the latest technology and innovations,” said Shane Hannam, IBTM World portfolio director.

“It’s what our customers want to see and is a core reason they attend IBTM World. Congratulations to our fantastic winners, Zenus, Fielddrive, and Kubify,” he added.

For more information on the IBTM Tech Watch Awards and recipients, go here.