ScotlandIS’ 14th annual Digital Tech Awards celebrated the year’s best and brightest in the Scottish tech scene.

The Radisson Blu in Glasgow was abuzz with some of Scotland’s most prestigious awards for technology pioneers, unsung heroes, innovations, and business acumen.

The awards honoured individuals and companies for their Olympic efforts over the past year, as well as highlighting some of the major themes arising in the tech sector.

“It’s always inspiring to see the work being done by those determined to push our industry forward,” ScotlandIS CEO, Karen Meechan, said.

“This year’s entries have been some of the strongest we’ve seen, with each of the nominees impressing the judges in their own way. It’s my hope that some of the success stories from this year’s ceremony will inspire others to achieve similarly impressive feats in the coming 12 months.

“The Scottish tech sector is an industry we should all be extremely proud of. Over time we have cultivated an ecosystem that has promoted and supported the growth of Scottish technology businesses, despite an economic environment that has, at times, been fairly hostile.

“Technology can be a shining light for the Scottish economy, a prime example of what innovation, ingenuity and determination can all come together to deliver. The Digital Tech Awards are a reminder of what can be achieved when the conditions are right.”

Tech for Good Winner: Neonhive Limited

In the Tech For Good category, Neonhive Limited took home the prize. The Glasgow-based video games PR company helped raise over £66,000 for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital charity by working with Games for Weens, developing an entirely new pathway for fundraising among the tech and gaming community.

“It’s a delight to have won,” Rachel Macpherson, head of PR at the company, who accepted the award on the night, said, “To have worked with such a brilliant charity, Glasgow Children’s Hospital, and to have done some good last year is just such a reward. We worked really hard on the campaign so it’s so nice to be recognised.”

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• Karen Meechan on the Skills Gap, Gov Support and Digital Tech Awards 2024
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• 2022’s Scottish Digital Tech Award Winners | One Year On

Product Innovation Winner: Hyble

Hyble, based in Edinburgh, won the Product Innovation prize for their on-demand design and print solution, utilising smart design to quickly create branding materials for companies.

“Mon the Hyble!” Andrew Smith, engineer for Hyble said, later giving full credit to lead product designer Charlotte Hancocks.

Service Innovation Winner: IOMA Renewable Energy

IOMA Renewable Intelligence, previously known as Turner Iceni, won for service innovation. Their customisable asset management tools for renewable energy bagged them the top prize.

Data Trailblazer Winner: Bellrock Technology

For their cloud software Lumen, Bellrock Technology won Data Trailblazer, providing speedy data-driven solutions for businesses.

Best Wellbeing at Work Winnner: FreeAgent

Reflecting the need for better working conditions and to fight the scourge of burnout, the awards honoured a company championing wellbeing. FreeAgent, the Edinburgh-based enterprise accounting software firm, won for championing worker progress and happiness in the workplace.

Georgina Allan, senior people manager at FreeAgent said: “It’s so good to work for a company that doesn’t just talk the talk, but walks the walk.”

Public Sector Innovation Winner: Pogo Digital Healthcare

For its work in healthcare, Pogo Digital Healthcare won for Public Sector Innovation for its web platform Tailored Talks which enables patients and clinicians to share and access personalised health information.

Cyber Trailblazer Winner: Lupovis Lts

For its innovative approach to cybersecurity defence, Lupovis Ltd won Cyber Trailblazer for its hunt-the-hunter style cyber posture. It also featured in DIGIT’s most interesting Glasgow Startups roundup.

“Its quite nice to be recognised as a leader, as a Scottish company, being able to be recognised in the field of cyber across the UK, across Europe, it’s competitive, so it’s an honour,” Xavier Bellekens, CEO of Lupovis said.

Digital Tech Rising Star Winner: Ewan Robertson, Morgan Stanley

Highlighting an individual, the Digital Tech Rising Star award went to Morgan Stanley’s Ewan Robertson, a software engineer who started as a school leaver who has built both his career and gained a high quality degree at the same time. His work on the new API Gateway project at Morgan Stanley shows not only his futuristic vision, but the trust he’s earned from his company.

“The award is a testament to the work that Morgan Stanley does to promote young talent through apprenticeships just like me,” he said.

The biggest awards of the night honoured the year’s best startup, best scale up, and best enterprise of the year.

Startup Business of the Year Winner: Loveelectric

Loveelectric won the Startup Business of the Year award. The Edinburgh-based firm aims to make electric cars cheaper and more accessible for everyone in a scheme similar to a bike to work scheme.

Scale Up Business of the Year Winner: Utopi

For Scale Up Business of the Year, Utopi took home the prize for their ESG technology geared towards the multi-tenant real estate sector, bridging the gap between property tech and climate tech to make properties more green.

Enterprise Business of the Year Winner: Dayshape

Dayshape won Enterprise Business of the Year – their AI-powered scheduling and planning platform was built from scratch to optimise workforce strategies.