Vision Award FAQs
What are the different Vision Award categories?
What do Vision Award winners receive?
What kinds of ideas are candidates for the Vision Award?
Is there a fee to apply for a TSIA Vision Award?
When will I know if I'm a finalist?
How are Vision Award winners determined?
What are the criteria for determining the winners?
What is the role of the Industry Expert Panel?
How is the Vision Award different from the STAR Award program for TSIA members?
How is the Vision Award different from the Recognized Innovator Award program for TSIA partners?
If my application is selected as a finalist, what happens next?
What are the different Vision Award categories?
There are four distinct categories in which companies can compete for the TSIA Vision Award:
Services Practitioner: Your company or organization is in the business of delivering technology services to end customers.
Start-up Companies: Your company is less than two
years old, has fewer than 25 employees, and either (a) is developing a
product or service that will enable the delivery of technology services
by other companies, or (b) is developing technology services that you
will deliver directly to end customers.
Academic: You are employed by an academic or research institution. The focus of your research/teaching is services science.
Commercial: Your company is an established provider
of capabilities—products or services—that enable the delivery of
technology services by services practitioners.
PLEASE NOTE: A $3,500 fee is required with your submission in the Commercial category.
What do Vision Award winners receive?
In addition to bragging rights, winners receive a TSIA Vision Award
trophy presented at a gala awards luncheon immediately following the
Service Revolutions event. One winner is identified for each Vision
Award category.
Additionally, marketing support is provided by TSIA in the form of a
winner logo, and TSIA will issue a press release announcing the
winners. Videos of the demonstrations will be posted on the TSIA web
site. A cash prize is awarded to the winners in the Start-up and
Academic categories to help support innovation in our industry.
Service Revolutions is a unique feature of the Technology Services
World Spring conference. It serves as the venue for the TSIA Vision
Award competition and was designed to provide an industry forum in which
to showcase the most revolutionary thinking in technology services.
The 2011 Service Revolutions event will take place on Wednesday, May
4th where up to ten finalist companies will have an opportunity to make
their pitch on the general session stage in front of a live audience
consisting of hundreds of services industry practitioners and a panel
of industry experts.
Some have described Service Revolutions as American Idol TM meets
DEMO TM. What’s certain is that it’s inspirational and a whole lot
of fun!
What kinds of ideas are candidates for the Vision Award?
Virtually every aspect of a services business is ripe for innovation
and creative new thinking. Whether you’re innovating in services
marketing, engineering, technology, operations, sales, or some other
aspect of your business, if you’re doing something truly revolutionary,
then your idea is a great Vision Award candidate and will be
considered.
Additionally, ideas can be at any stage of maturity – from the pre-concept phase, to in the lab or in full production.*
Some examples of areas where you might be doing breakthrough work include:
- Defining a new cutting-edge service business model
- Developing innovate new service technologies
- Developing innovative new service offerings
If you’re excited about your work, then chances are, we will be, too!
See examples of the 2010 Service Revolutions participants and Vision Award winners.
*Some restrictions on the phase of maturity apply to Commercial category applicants. Contact Lydia Zaffini for more details.
Is there a fee to apply for a TSIA Vision Award?
There is no fee to apply or compete for the TSIA Vision Award for the following categories:
- Services Practitioner
- Start-up
- Academic
There is a $3,500 application fee for the Commercial category.
If I apply for a Vision Award, will I automatically be given the opportunity to demonstrate my idea at Service Revolutions?
No. All Vision Award applications are reviewed by TSIA executive
staff members who select up to 3 finalists per category. Finalists are
selected based on the review committee’s assessment of how innovative
the idea is.
When will I know if I’m a finalist?
All Vision Award applicants will be notified of the status of their application no later than March 18, 2011.
How are Vision Award winners determined?
Winners are determined through live-audience voting that takes place
at the Service Revolutions event. Upon completion of your
demonstration, the audience will rate your demonstration or your idea on
the TSIA Five-Point “Cool Scale”. The company with the highest
Cool Score wins. One winner is identified per category.
What are the criteria for determining the winners?
The Vision Award is not a criteria-based recognition program.
Winners are determined solely on the basis of the live audience voting
results. It is, in essence, a peer recognition program of the truest
form. Only one vote per audience member is allowed and counted for
each demonstration.
What is the role of the Industry Expert Panel?
Each year, we hand select three experts with unique areas of
expertise to serve on the Service Revolutions panel. Following each
demonstration, the expert panel offers comments and feedback on the idea
they’ve just seen. They may also ask clarifying questions to help
draw out important details that the audience may need to consider when
voting. While panelists are at liberty to share their opinions of
each concept, they do not cast votes.
How is the Vision Award different from the STAR Award program for TSIA members?
This TSIA STAR Award program is criteria based and requires a
rigorous application process and which requires evidence of
quantifiable business impact. Additionally, each application is
reviewed and scored by a panel of judges.
In contrast, the Vision Award is non-criteria based, there is no
requirement to provide evidence of business results (in many cases, the
ideas are in an early concept phase) and judging happens through live
audience voting immediately following the live demonstration.
Additionally, the Vision Award is open to multiple categories of participants and is not restricted to TSIA members.
How is the Vision Award different from the Recognized Innovator Award program for TSIA partners?
This TSIA Recognized Innovator Awards program is criteria based and
requires a rigorous application process. Additionally, each
application is reviewed and scored by a panel of judges.
In contrast, the Vision Award is non-criteria based, and judging
happens through live audience voting immediately following the live
demonstration.
Additionally, the Vision Award program is open to multiple categories
of participants and is not restricted to TSIA partners.
Each finalist will have 6 minutes to demonstrate their big idea to
the expert panel and audience members. Depending on your subject
matter, finalists may want to present some slides, show a live product
demo, perform a skit, or some unique combination of all of these. It
is up to each finalist to put together the most compelling and succinct
presentation of their big idea – one that will wow the panelists and
audience members. We strongly encourage that finalists make their
presentations fun and entertaining.
Each finalist is responsible for bringing their own demo equipment, props and other materials required to make their pitch.
If my application is selected as a finalist, what happens next?
All applicants will be notified of the status of their application no
later than March 18, 2011. If you’re selected as a finalist, you’ll
be contacted with further instructions about your demo and other
important program deadlines.