Three Athlone businesses have been announced as finalists in the PTSB National Digital Awards 2023.
TUS Athlone Campus, and Topline Heavins & Euronics were among the finalist businesses, while TAPiTAG is among the five finalists in the Innovation category 'Digital Impact of the Year'.
Impressively, two Westmeath locals made final list of the Next-Generation Award (Under-30 ): Topline Heavins’ Benjamin Hade and ICON Management’s Lauren Whelan.
This is the fourth iteration of the awards, and the most subscribed to yet with more than 550 businesses, people and organisations from across Ireland, making a submission. The winners and runners-up are set to be revealed at an awards luncheon on February 23 2024.
Westmeath businesses features prominently across the 22 categories celebrating websites, people and innovation. The PTSB ‘National Website of the Year’ remains the coveted prize – with previous winners including An Post, EZ Living Furniture and Spotlight Oral Care.
A new category has been added this year to reflect the growth in a burgeoning sector – Best New Artificial Intelligence (AI ) & Machine Learning (ML ) Project – which commends the most innovative and promising AI or ML project launched this year.
Given the volume of entries, an independent judging panel consisting of representatives from leading Irish and global companies such as DHL, Magico, Trinity Business School, Planet and Byrne Wallace, was assigned the task of selecting five finalists across the various categories.
Following the conclusion of this initial process, the shortlisted finalists will now make a further submission to the expert panel, such submissions ultimately determining who takes home the winner and runner-up prize in each category.
“This year, we received more than 550 entries to the National Digital Awards – topping last year’s entries. In just four short years, the National Digital Awards have seen tremendous growth in the number and calibre of entries, and showcasing the talent and innovation of businesses across the country. Our expert panel of judges had a tough time picking these finalists, and I’m sure their task will not get any easier in choosing the winners.”
“I want to pay tribute to our terrific network of partners, who play such an important role in the work of Digital Business Ireland – from our title sponsor of the National Digital Awards, ptsb, to all of the cutting-edge digital enterprises whose support has been testament to their commitment to the digital sector from the very outset," Secretary General of Digital Business Ireland, Lorraine Higgins, said.
“We want to offer our sincere congratulations to all those businesses who have been shortlisted today, as well as the more than 550 businesses who took the time to enter the Awards this year. At PTSB, we see firsthand on a daily basis the level of innovation and determination that is present in businesses across the country. We are very proud to recognise these businesses through supporting the PTSB National Digital Awards again this year," Head of Business Development at ptsb, Catherine Doyle, added.