As we are fast approaching the end of the nominations period for this year’s Tech4Good Awards, it’s time to start introducing our amazing panel of judges. Remember the panel will be looking closely at every nomination, so if you want any of the judges to know about you or your organisation, make sure you nominate yourself!

 

Richard Ferriman is the CEO and founder of CloudSymphony, a registered Salesforce.com and Salesforce Foundation partner.

 

 

Hi Richard. How do you think your position at CloudSymphony will help you to judge each of the Awards this year?

With 22 years’ IT experience and over five in the charity sector, the marriage between IT and charity has never been stronger or more necessary than it is today. The ability for the smallest charity to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Cancer Research, RNIB, Shelter’s’ of this world offer them a unique chance to gain support and underpin their missions.

 

Through my experience of delivering enterprise level solutions to this sector, I feel I have a solid perspective on what can be achieved, but I also look forward to judging innovation at its very best and being surprised by what the nominees can come up with.

 

I am also constantly making decisions about the performance of my organisation, how this can be improved and how we can innovate using technology to increase our team’s productivity and service delivery to our customers. This analytical process can also be applied to judging the Award categories and will be a good way to measure the potential winners’ impact and value driven by technology.

 

What are you most looking forward to about judging this year’s Tech4Good Awards

Since the Awards’ conception by Nigel Lewis and AbilityNet, I have been privileged to be involved in the Tech4Good Awards in some way.

 

Every year, the Awards and nominees continue to push the envelope and create some truly amazing solutions that have helped many organisations to help less fortunate people. This year I am looking forward to being surprised by the level of creative solutions that will be put forward for judging.

 

Is there a specific Award that you’re most looking forward to judging? 

 

All the Award categories are absolutely compelling and have all captured my interest. However, as a category sponsor for the IT Volunteer of the Year, I am especially keen on reading through the nominations and judging the responses for this specific award, which I am sure will be a very difficult task.

 

CloudSymphony have sponsored this category because we are passionate, both in our own business and supporting charities to better manage their volunteers through Salesforce.com.

 

Being involved in the Awards has also been a great chance for me to meet with other business and IT leaders to understand how different solutions are contributing to the cloud IT revolution!

 

What’s the most exciting development in technology that you’ve seen in the past year, that you think will really make a difference in people’s lives?

The further availability of cloud-based technology that enhances the way small and large charities can access information at anytime, anywhere and in a fast and proactive manner.

 

Cloud Technologies are also enabling charities to open the doors to a much wider audience of people through dynamic website integration, secure rich portals and communities.  The social web is also powering new micro campaigns such as the ‘No Makeup Selfies’ that reached millions of people globally and raise over £10million – this power is only just starting to be realised.

 

What aspect of Tech4Good really interests you?

The fact that these Awards recognise the good that technology is doing in many organisations is inspiring. That’s what drives me to be a part of this Awards ceremony each year.

 

Technology can be a force for social change. It can open out new audiences, it can motivate a crowd to do good, it can enhance a mission, it can offer a clear voice to the masses, it can connect people and campaigns, it can drive awareness in a way that we had never seen before.

 

These Awards prove technology is not just Facebook or Twitter, technology is powering the innovation of people with a sense of purpose and an inclination for moral good. Technology is, quite simply, changing the world and that should be of interest to everyone.

 

You can find Richard on LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardferriman