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i-FM e-business Award 2007 Winners & Finalists

Entries for the 2007 Award again provided strong evidence of continued rapid development in technology use in FM.

Three companies were shortlisted this year: GSH for its Smartbox environmental benchmarking application, FM24 for development of its fmHorizon helpdesk solution and G2 Business Services for its Metrix service management application.

In each case, it was clear that real benefits - both tangible and intangible – had been brought to the companies developing the systems, as well as to their clients.

The judges noted in their report how encouraging and impressive it was to see three relatively mature approaches to meeting facilities management challenges in three different areas. Each demonstrated success in application, as well as the potential for further beneficial development. And, importantly, each company demonstrated a commitment to pursuing that development.

The practical application of technologies like these will have a growing influence on the value delivered by FM in the future – and one great strength of the Partnership Awards is to highlight the contribution that these pioneers are making to the industry.

Winner - GSH for Smartbox

After careful deliberation, GSH was selected as the winner of the 2007 e-business Award.

The judges were particularly impressed that the company had identified an opening in the market for a service provider to take action – at its own risk – to make buildings more intelligent, thereby virtually guaranteeing that operation and management become more efficient.

GSH showed a real sense of ownership of its solution and a genuine commitment to making it work for clients.

For more information about GSH, click here

Finalist - FM24 for fmHorizon

Macro subsidiary FM24 provides 24x7x365 helpdesk services to a wide range of clients. The firm partnered with a specialist application developer several years ago to produce bespoke software that would address specific needs. Remarkably, in this service area, it delivered almost instantaneous payback.

Despite its initial success, fmHorizon has seen more or less continuous development as provider and clients have identified opportunities for further benefits and added value.

The judges took particular note of Macro's ongoing support and obvious commitment to product enhancement.

For more information about FM24, click here

Finalist - G2 Business Services for Metrix

G2 specialises in service performance and business process management, especially in enhancing these through clearly defined and effectively implemented monitoring and reporting systems.

Metrix is a well-defined approach to tracking performance via service levels and key performance indicators, as well as additional relevant management information, in order to understand and control actions and costs in a complex environment. G2 offered a case study of success at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

In their report, the judges singled out G2's dedication to helping clients collate, manage and interpret service data, helping in turn to improve service value.