The first ever Digital Transformation Awards, held in July, recognised the key individuals and organisations that have contributed to Ireland being ranked as the fifth-fastest digitising economy in Europe. Approximately 150 tech enthusiasts and specialists gathered at the ceremonial event held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry on the 4th of July. Broadcaster and author Colm O’Regan, who played host for the evening, presented twelve awards to various sectors of Irish business.
The new awards, created by event co-ordinator Business River, are the first to acknowledge the significant role that digitalisation plays in everyone’s daily life. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), has positioned Ireland as fifth out of the 27 EU nations. The report shows that Ireland’s average annual relative growth of its DESI score from 2017-2022 was 8.5%, ranking it among the highest in the EU.
Compared to the EU average, Ireland ranks higher with:
– Individuals having fundamental digital skills
– Individuals having digital content creation skills
– ICT experts
The great achievements of Ireland in digital transformation have been under the radar for some time. The Digital Transformation Awards have addressed this, and have rightly honoured the country’s top tech minds.
The collaborative project of Maynooth University, HSE Digital Transformation and SME Digital Health Ecosystem was announced as the top echelon project. Judges expressed their praise for the significant impact the collaboration has had on Irish Health services.
The top individual accolade – the digital transformation leader award, was given to Martin Curley, currently a Professor of innovation at Maynooth University. With an impressive career trajectory, Curley started as a systems engineer at Philips in Eindhoven, Netherlands, focusing on factory automation. From there, he progressed to General Electric, where he achieved virtual machine interoperability between factories in Columbus, Ohio and Dublin.
At the Phoenix branch of Intel, a leading silicon chipmaker, an automated solution was co-developed that is now implemented in all Intel manufacturing sites globally. Furthermore, a network of IT innovation centres was established, with a substantial R&D investment in the Leixlip headquarters situated in northeast Kildare, influencing multinational investment in Ireland. These significant achievements led to the initial Engineers Ireland Innovative Engineer of the Year award and a best paper accolade at the SIMposium conference being bestowed upon him.
Alongside the president of Maynooth University, he formed the Innovation Value Institute. The institute developed the IT Capability Maturity Framework which has been adopted by over 700 organisations worldwide.
Judges mentioned Curley’s leadership role in the European Commission’s Open Innovation and Strategy Policy Group which paved the way for the birth of Open Innovation 2.0, a significant shift in digital innovation recognised by an impactful paper in Nature. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, he piloted various innovative digital health solutions including remote monitoring and telehealth systems. His management in the Irish Digital Health Open Collaborative ecosystem resulted in remarkable improvements in both health outcomes and sustainability.
He carries on influencing the worldwide digital health transformation via his engagement with the United Nations’ General Assembly Digital Health Symposium and the Stay Left, Shift Left-10X doctrine, establishing him as a leading figure and educator in the field.
Curley also received the best digital transformation award – healthcare for the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University, making the evening incredibly successful.
Curley stated: “We are among the few nations without centralised electronic health records. The longer we procrastinate, the more lives are lost prematurely. Digital Health solutions enable us to advance to a new era of cost-effective care and delivery.”
A team of industry experts independently judged the awards. Maria Svejdar, who leads marketing, communications, and customer experience at international standards group GS1 Ireland, was the coordinator for judging in 2024.
She expressed: “The real strength of the Digital Transformation Awards is their broad appeal across different functions and sectors. Any organisation, regardless of their sector, can nominate their innovative digitalisation project for acknowledgement and recognition. Often, the most inspirational ideas are spurred by observing how others tackle challenges in different areas of business.”
Digital transformation is rapidly gaining attention on most companies and organisations’ agendas. Given the increasing costs, resource scarcity, and escalating regulatory pressures, it’s crucial for organisations to operate in a cost-effective and efficient manner to sustain. The digital transformation of any process can facilitate business growth and evolution.
Moving away from the old-fashioned business techniques involving isolated and paper-based processes is crucial for sustainability. Transitioning “from paper to glass” is necessary for satisfying the data needs of customers, consumers, and regulators efficiently, accurately, and promptly, stated Svejdar.
Many established firms and inventive start-ups are introducing brilliant new digital solutions to help businesses sustain and prosper. The Digital Transformation Awards serve as an excellent platform to highlight these accomplishments.
Svejdar also commended the awards ceremony for its in-person nature rather than being held digitally. “The awards ceremony presents a wonderful chance for networking with peers and gaining inspiration from other leaders in diverse fields. Sitting around a dinner table and understanding other judges and award entrants creates a chance for people to interact face-to-face in today’s increasingly digital world.
The year 2024 saw the introduction of the Digital Transformation Awards, and Svejdar expressed his eagerness to see this event expand in the future as a platform highlighting the unique digital expertise prevalent in Ireland today.
The award for the best digital transformation in telecoms was awarded to BT Ireland. Marcelle Cussen, BT’s senior manager of the digital transformation programme stated, “This award acknowledges superiority in digital transformation. An effective digital transformation strategy enables firms to stay competitive, control regulatory risks, provide innovative, modern technology, refine processes, and offer the best digital experience for customers and employees.”
With a successful conclusion to the first year of the awards, all efforts are focussed on making the 2025 Digital Transformation Awards even more successful. The judging panel consisted of renowned individuals from various industries, including Maria Svejdar (GS1 Ireland), Mathieu Brunier (Aleph), Cliona Mcparland (Dublin City University Business School), Maeve Dwyer (2EGC), Rachael Corcoran (EPAM Systems), and Antonio Vieira Santos (Eviden).
In positions of director of marketing for Irish Life Health and director of standards and solutions for GS1 Ireland respectively are Liz Rowen and Denis O’Brien. In the realm of digital transformations, numerous categories have recognised exceptional performance. Maynooth University, HSE Digital Transformation and SME Digital Health Ecosystem took home the accolade for Overall Best Digital Transformation and Best Digital Transformation in Healthcare. Their project was titled ’10 10X Digital Transformations of Irish Health Services’.
Danske Bank’s DBUK Intelligent Automation Team was recognised as the Transformation Team of the Year while BT Ireland gained the Best Digital Transformation award in the telecoms category for their ‘Perfectly Predictable Performance’ initiative.
Jones Engineering’s ‘Model to Manufacture’ project won in the construction category while the biopharmaceutical manufacturer, MSD Brinny, was the winner in life sciences for their drive towards Digital Transformation.
Merck’s EviView received two awards, one for Best Operational Impact and one for Best People & Culture Impact. Meanwhile, the Best Digital Transformation Implementation Collaboration award was snaffled by Whyze Health.
ESB Networks landed the Best Customer Experience Impact award for their online account scheme and ADAPT’s SignON was distinguished as the Most Innovative Transformation.
Finally, Martin Curley secured the title of Digital Transformation Leader and in education, the PAT Business School was acknowledged for their innovative transformation with EdTech.