Yodel awarded IT Team of the Year at this year’s UK IT Industry Awards 2016
Independent parcel carrier Yodel has been awarded ‘IT Team of the Year’ and highly commended for the ‘Innovation of the Year’ category at the UK IT Industry Awards 2016, aimed at those who have excelled in IT innovation.
Both accolades demonstrate Yodel’s commitment to the development and implementation of its IT strategy which has helped meet business objectives and improved agility over the past 12 months.
Yodel was also shortlisted for ‘Big Data/Analytics Project of the Year’ for its new MI (management information) programme which has encouraged the organisation as a whole to become more data-driven.
The 200-strong IT department, who report into Yodel CIO Adam Gerrard, saw off competition from other major blue chip companies, including Barclays, Lloyds, SpecSavers and a number of public sector organisations to scoop the ‘IT Team of the Year’ award. The department was acclaimed for its commitment to uniting Yodel, essentially bridging the gap between each department within the organisation by ensuring everyone was in constant communication to allow the smooth transition of data. The judges recognised the team’s varied skillset which has allowed the delivery of long term IT strategy while maintaining the working order of the more traditional systems and technologies already running Yodel’s operation.
Throughout the 12-month period reviewed in the entry, the team has developed close relationships with suppliers and delivered improvements which have led to a successful strategic transformation.
Yodel was also highly commended in the ‘Infrastructure Innovation of the Year’ category for its newly implemented Strategic Cloud Platform, which has provided the business with an improved digital infrastructure. As a result the organisation has seen a reduction in operating costs, increased business agility and accelerated application delivery.
Dick Stead, executive chairman at Yodel, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the success of our IT team and their specialised skillsets. As a unit, they have worked tirelessly to ensure Yodel’s technology is working as it should be, while shaping the new IT strategy of the business. We are also proud to be commended for the Infrastructure Innovation of the Year award and it’s thoroughly deserved by all those involved as we continue to innovate and develop our digital infrastructure. This is a long term programme and we look forward to celebrating further achievements in the future.”
Paul Fletcher, Group Chief Executive Officer of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: “Congratulations to all the winners and those who were highly commended in the UK IT Industry 2016 Awards. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT is here to make IT good for society and the Awards are a major part of this. They recognise the highest levels of professionalism and innovation in the IT sector. The standard of applications we received this year was very high, but the winners stood out as exceptional and inspiring, and should be very proud of their success.”
Stuart Sumner, editor of Computing, added: “Very well done to the winners and those who were highly commended on their achievements. The UK IT Industry Awards are rigorously judged and truly celebrate excellence and innovation in IT today. To win a category at the industry’s most competitive and popular awards is a real accomplishment, and everyone involved should feel extremely proud.”
The award ceremony, which was hosted by comedian Josh Widdicombe, was organised by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and Computing magazine, and took place on Wednesday (16 November) at the Battersea Park Events Arena. It was attended by over 1,300 people.
