Member Article

Stuart Varrall of Fluid Pixel Wins National DediPower Digital Awards

Reading, UK – 1 March 2010: Stuart Varrall of Fluid Pixel has won the coveted DediPower Digital Award 2010. The trophy was presented by Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP, Minister for Digital Britain, at a special ceremony in London, today.

Fluid Pixel, a business offering innovative applications, games and interfaces for mobile phones, the web and desktops won the first prize worth over £50,000, after entries from across the UK flooded in.

The Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP, Minister for Digital Britain, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), handed over the DediPower Digital Award trophy at the European e-Skills Week opening UK conference on Monday 1st March.

He said: “It is always a pleasure to recognise and see business ideas rewarded, and e-skills week is the perfect background to learn about new and innovative ideas.

“I understand the competition for this award was exceptionally tough, and I congratulate Stuart on his winning entry, which stood out for its great potential both commercially and socially.”

A special “Judges’ Special Award” was won by Claire Watt-Smith of BoBelle for an excellent entry, displaying a multichannel strategy to-go-to market and creativity.

A further “Honourable Mention” award was claimed by Sarah Chester of Chester Charms.

Stuart Varrall commented: “It feels great to have been recognised for the work we’ve done at Fluid Pixel. It was a privilege to have been shortlisted along with the other excellent companies and to have won the award is a real honour. We’re really excited about the whole prize package and especially looking forward to getting involved in the mentoring process. Fluid Pixel is currently expanding so this award comes at a perfect time for us to continue to develop the company.”

The DediPower Digital Award first prize is up to £25,000 cash investment, plus £2,000 in development funds and a further £25,000 worth of business mentoring & free Internet hosting.

Craig Martin, CEO, DediPower Managed Hosting and Chairman of the judging panel said: “The first year of the awards has been a huge success. One of the aims was to highlight the excellent young talent in Britain and to aid young people aged 17 to 30 years with getting a good idea off the ground. It is often hard to know where to turn if you have entrepreneurial spirit and a commercial idea. Now, I am looking forward to playing a personal role in making Fluid Pixel business a great success in the future.”

The four finalists were:

• Claire Watt-Smith, Aged 26, for BoBelle
• Anita Moss and Paul Norman, both aged 28, for First Tutors
• Stuart Varrall, Aged 27, for Fluid Pixel
• Andrew Fidler and Gordon Bennell, both aged 28, for Student Aid

The final judging had been at the Telegraph Media Group headquarters, in London, on Wednesday, 24th February, when finalists presented their idea and business plan to a panel of judges which included:

• Kamal Ahmed, Business Editor, The Sunday Telegraph
• Catherine Doran, Director of Corporate Development, Network Rail
• Karen Price, CEO, e-skills UK
• Craig Martin, CEO, DediPower Managed Hosting

Karen Price, Chief Executive of e-skills UK, said: “e-skills UK is keen to recognise the talent and entrepreneurial spirit in young people within the IT sector. We are pleased to have been involved in this awards process with DediPower and I was delighted to be on the judging panel. DediPower is one of the many companies supporting e-skills UK’s work in the area of Higher Education and we are grateful for the role this competition has played in inspiring more young people to consider careers in IT.”

BoBelle Ltd, entered by Claire Watt-Smith (age 26), is a retailer and wholesaler of ethically handmade Eel skin leather fashion accessories. It incorporates style, fashion and luxury with ethics and affordability.

First Tutors, entered by Anita Moss (28) and Paul Norman (28), helps families and adult learners to find private tutors. The web site uniquely features previous client feedback on the 10,000 tutors listed from across the UK.

Fluid Pixel Ltd, entered by Stuart Varrall (27), is a media development studio specialising in mobile devices, dedicated to Flash Lite and iphone platforms. It offers innovative applications, games and interfaces for mobile phones, the web and desktop computers on a customised basis.

Student Aid, entered by Andrew Fidler (28) and Gordon Bennell (28), is an engaging media information service for university students, parents and staff and aims to be the “voice of the student market”. Student-aid.co.uk provides a localised portal for student life and provides digital and offline media channels to universities for interaction with students and staff.

Further details about the DediPower Digital Awards 2010 can be found at: www.DediPowerDigitalAwards.com.

-ends-

About e-skills UKe-skills UK is the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology, rated ‘outstanding’ in the relicensing of Sector Skills Councils in 2009. We work on behalf of employers to ensure the UK has the technology skills it needs to succeed in a global digital economy. Our work covers software, internet & web, IT services, telecommunications and business change. Visit www.eskills.com.

**About DediPower Managed Hosting:**DediPower is a leading UK provider of managed hosting and data centre solutions, making the internet and eBusiness innovation a reality for businesses of all sizes. Focused on delivering service excellence through our Support with Passion® philosophy, DediPower’s enterprise class data centres support business critical applications. Providing innovative solutions and expertise in dedicated managed hosting, virtualisation, multi-server clusters, security, business continuity and co-location services. DediPower is a winner of numerous hosting awards and is a Microsoft Gold certified partner and RedHat Ready hosting partner. DediPower’s headquarters is located in Reading Berkshire, UK. For additional information, call 0870 252-3600 or visit www.dedipower.com and keep up to date with DediPower via Twitter, twitter.com/dedipower.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Stuart Varrall .