Celebrating Local Companies on the Global Stage

Vancouver, BC, June 4, 2015 – The BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA) today announced the Winners of the 2015 Technology Impact Awards (TIAs), marking its 22nd year recognizing excellence in the BC technology industry. Taking top honours were intelligent wireless solutions leader Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW), who received Company of the Year distinction, and local entrepreneur and mentor Jeff Booth, President and CEO of BuildDirect, who was named the 2015 Person of the Year.

“The number of home grown success stories coming out of the BC tech industry is truly remarkable,” said BCTIA President and CEO, Bill Tam. “Companies like Sierra Wireless and BuildDirect exemplify the growing success of companies that are anchored in BC and dominate their market spaces globally,” Tam added. “Along with their fellow TIA Winners, they are paving the way for a growing number of anchor companies in BC in the years ahead.”

The 2015 Technology Impact Award Winners are:

Company of the Year – Sierra Wireless
Global Leader Building the Internet of Things
Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW) is building the Internet of Things with intelligent wireless solutions that empower organizations to innovate in the connected world. They offer the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of 2G, 3G and 4G embedded modules and gateways, seamlessly integrated with their secure cloud and connectivity services. Sierra Wireless has more than 950 employees globally and operates R&D centers in North America, Europe and Asia. www.sierrawireless.com @SierraWireless

Person of the Year – Jeff Booth, President & CEO, BuildDirect
Stay in the Game: Building a Billion Dollar Company in BC
Having co-founded BuildDirect in 1999, Jeff Booth has seen more than his fair share of ups and downs in the industry, and through it all, his advice to entrepreneurs has been the same – stay in the game and keep iterating until you figure it out. Despite the demands on his time, Jeff has continued to be an advocate for the BC tech community, often speaking to the importance of ‘paying it forward,’ and urging others to do the same. Jeff is a passionate, selfless, and inspiring leader, and his mentorship and guidance will help to propel future generations of tech entrepreneurs as they build billion dollar companies of their own in British Columbia. www.builddirect.com @builddirect @jeffbooth

Emerging Company of the Year – Cooledge Lighting Inc.
Reimagining Light – Cooledge Lighting is a pioneer in scalable lighting products that can be easily incorporated into a building by architects and lighting designers, and simply installed by builders and contractors without specialized knowledge or training. The privately held company is based in Vancouver, Canada with offices and operations in the United States and Germany. www.cooledgelighting.com @CooledgeLtg

Most Promising Startup – Optigo Networks
Making Smart Buildings Smarter – Optigo Networks makes secure networking solutions for smart buildings. As a leader in connectivity for the commercial building Internet of Things, Optigo Networks provides a complete solution to protect, connect and manage today’s most advanced buildings. Layered on top of a robust networking platform, the integrated analytics and security engine ensures the building systems are protected and operate trouble-free. www.optigo.net @optigonetworks

Adoption of Technology – Traction on Demand and Canlan Ice Sports
A Player’s Bench Like No Other – Canlan Ice Sports operates the largest adult recreational hockey league in the world, the Adult Safe Hockey League (ASHL), with 65,000 members across Canada and the United States. Working directly with Traction on Demand, Canlan was able to realize their goal of building Player’s Bench, a user-friendly tool to enhance team management capabilities and allow users to reduce administrative efforts and focus on enjoying playing recreational hockey. Most importantly, the Player’s Bench contributes to an amazing league experience, providing members across North America with a recreational hockey league experience like none other on the market. www.tractionondemand.com @tractionsm www.icesports.com @CanlanIceSports

Excellence in Product Innovation – iQmetrix
Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Virtual Retail Channels – iQmetrix is passionate about retail. Their purpose is to create great experiences for retailers, their employees and the end consumer. With products that bridge the gap between physical and virtual retail channels, iQmetrix offers the latest in retail management and customer experience technology. XQ Interactive Retail brings elements of online and mobile shopping experiences into the physical store to engage and educate shoppers during the purchase process. RQ Retail Management is a modular system for managing all aspects of a store chain operation, including POS, ERP, inventory and HR. Founded in 1999, iQmetrix is a privately-held software as a service (SaaS) company with offices in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. www.iqmetrix.com @iQmetrix
 
Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology – Axine Water Technologies
A Radical Breakthrough in Treating Industrial Wastewater – Axine has developed a breakthrough, low-cost, chemical-free solution for treating high concentrations of complex, toxic organics and ammonia in industrial wastewater solving a multi-billion dollar problem for large companies in a wide range of industries. Its energy-efficient, scalable system treats recalcitrant and non-biodegradable organics and some inorganics (up to 10,000 mg/L COD) at lower cost than conventional solutions while producing no waste. And due to its simple, modular design, it seamlessly ‘plugs into’ existing treatment plants, targeting specific pain points without disruption to current processes. www.axinewater.com @axinewater

Team of the Year – ACL
Transforming Audit and Risk – ACL is a Vancouver-headquartered software company focused on the global anti-bribery and corruption, fraud detection and regulatory compliance markets. Named as one of Canada’s Top SME Employers and a BC Top Employer, ACL helps the world’s largest public and private companies stamp out fraud, operational waste and unethical business. With more than 14,000 customers globally, including 89% of the Fortune 500, ACL is disrupting the entire industry by leading audit, risk and compliance professionals into the cloud and mobile. www.acl.com @ACLServices

Community Engagement – Left of the Dot Media
A Community, not a Company – Established in 2010 and located in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Left of the Dot is the parent company of many leading Internet businesses and mobile applications. Included within the company’s portfolio of brands are Christmas.com, YO.com, CruiseShips.com, RentByOwner.com, RentalHomes.com, and countless others. The company’s strength is in unlocking the intrinsic value of million-dollar domain names and turning these brand assets into multi-million dollar businesses. Their current flagship brand is the YO! mobile app. YO! empowers users – particularly those in emerging markets – to share and connect without the Internet. www.leftofthedot.com @leftofthedot

The Technology Impact Awards were once again the largest celebration of tech in BC, hosting 1,000 people from the technology and business community at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Founded in 1994 by the BCTIA, the TIAs are the largest and longest running technology awards program in the province, celebrating the successes of British Columbia’s top companies, people and innovation.

“Tonight’s winners and finalists highlight the diversity of BC’s tech sector – a powerhouse industry that continues to mature and expand into new markets around the globe,” said Tam. “We are proud to recognize the award winners, and we congratulate all finalists on their successes, and thank them for their contributions and support in helping to strengthen the tech industry in BC.”

For more information on the awards, finalists and winners, please visit: www.thetias.com.
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