Stevie-winner ThreatModeler™ is a collaborative platform where security experts or non-security professionals alike can visualize design flaws within a few hours or minutes instead of weeks. ThreatModeler software was created to address the shortcomings of data flow diagrams, bring threat modeling capabilities in-house, and make it scalable. The vision for ThreatModeler software is to be able to model ALL the threats, automatically, with no security expertise required.

ThreatModeler provides 100+ Fortune 1000 companies to secure highly sensitive, regulated, complex, specialized, and global environments with a holistic view of the entire attack surface to minimize overall risk.

Traditionally, threat modeling was a resource and time heavy process – manual and non-collaborative. ThreatModeler is a collaborative platform where security experts or non-security professionals alike can visualize design flaws within a few hours or minutes instead of weeks.

For example, imagine a threat model that is more representative of today’s complex architectures. One that depicts how a hacker moves through a system, identifying where they’ll attack, and more importantly, what controls are required to mitigate it. Now imagine if your developers could use this threat modeling tool in-house, with little to no security expertise, little to no learning curve and without the needleless expense of an outside security consultant.

How is that possible? By using the same language and diagrams to model threats that developers already use. By making threat modeling just another step in the software development lifecycle. Data flow diagrams don’t do a good job of modeling threats in modern system architectures. And hiring outside security consultants to create custom threat models doesn’t scale. That's where ThreatModeler software comes in. Their unique methodology automatically and seamlessly integrates security within existing agile and DevOps workflows.

ThreatModeler is also innovating in threat modeling for cloud, with automation capabilities delivering instant, threat model-building functionality to save organizations vast amounts of time and enable collaboration—people can work on DevOps with security built in.

In line with these security principles, ThreatModeler released the CloudModeler in 2022, its flagship product in securing cloud infrastructure from design to deployment. Their CloudModeler software earned a Silver Stevie Award for New Product & Service - Cloud Platform in The 2022 American Business Awards.

CloudModeler Release
Optimizing ThreatModeler’s automated capabilities, CloudModeler enables organizations to implement true DevSecOps, providing actionable insights through continuous monitoring, empowering teams to discover unknown flaws in real-time. Designed with cloud migration in mind, CloudModeler enables DevOps teams to now detect security flaws before they become code vulnerabilities, enabling instant remediation, mitigating risk, and ensuring compliance post-deployment.

Through its integration with CI/CD and ALM toolchain, ThreatModeler empowers security architects, developers, and operations to keep track of mitigation progress until the architecture threat modeled is production ready. ThreatModeler also enables DevOps to scale with its patented Threat Model Chaining feature—entire or part of threat models can be nested as their own components into other threat models. Any changes to the threat model are reflected in the models in which they are nested.

ThreatModeler empowers enterprise IT organizations to map their unique secure requirements and policies directly into their enterprise cyber ecosystem – providing real-time situational awareness about their current threat portfolio and risk conditions.

Since winning their Silver Stevie Award, ThreatModeler has been working hard to bring a new version of the product to market. They have also invested heavily in their people and are making great strides in educating and working with customers.

ThreatModeler Software Inc. won a Silver Stevie Award for New Product & Service - Cloud Platform in The 2022 American Business Awards.

Interested in entering The 2023 American Business Awards?

Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications (RH Strategic) is a leading public relations (PR) agency working to introduce the world to the next generation of innovators in technology, cybersecurity, government, and healthcare.

Based in Washington, DC, and Seattle, Washington, USA, the firm combines deep market expertise with creative storytelling and communications strategy to deliver meaningful, measurable PR results for clients.

John Raffetto and David Herman founded RH Strategic in 2008 with the belief that tying great work to business objectives drives results and transforms companies into industry leaders. Their team has extensive, professional backgrounds in technology, government, and healthcare. Over time, RH Strategic has grown into a national firm of over 40 dedicated PR professionals with east and west coast offices.

RH Strategic won two Gold Stevie Awards in The American Business Awards® 2022 competition for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in both the Healthcare and Public Affairs categories. Both Gold-winning campaigns were developed on behalf of two companies who are disrupting industries within their services: PlushCare and CYBER.ORG.

PlushCare
San Francisco-based company PlushCare is a virtual primary and mental healthcare company that grew exponentially during the COVID pandemic. Rather than focusing on technology, PlushCare takes a people-first approach. The company only hires physicians from the top 50 medical institutions in the country and empowers patients to choose their own PlushCare doctor, who then becomes their “go-to” doctor for ongoing care. This allows for more trusted, personalized patient and provider relationships, leading to better care.

PlushCare tasked agency partner RH Strategic to help the company raise its visibility among consumers and potential investors to continue its rapid growth trajectory. In pursuit of this, the team set the following activities into motion:

• Identified spokespeople
• Developed messaging
• Developed a robust media list, reaching key audiences
• Targeted high-profile consumer publications to educate readers
• Leveraged key spokespeople to develop thought leadership platforms
• Conducted broad research on the media landscape
• Hosted discovery calls with subject matter experts
• Conducted a competitive analysis

RH Strategic reached its objectives and secured nearly 2 billion potential monthly readers with 31 key placements in publications such as HuffPost, Shape, Livestrong, and more, with 110 syndications reaching nearly 1.4 billion additional readers. They also secured 15 articles reaching a total of 606 million potential monthly readers in top US business publications such as Forbes, Business Insider, TheWall Street Journal and others.

Through the work of this campaign, PlushCare was able to earn the attention of Accolade, which acquired PlushCare for $450 million dollars in June 2021.

CYBER.ORG
A nonprofit funded by the US Department of Homeland Security, CYBER.ORG’s mission is to provide a free cybersecurity curriculum to K-12 educators nationwide by inspiring students to pursue careers in cybersecurity.

CYBER.ORG spearheaded the development of the first ever K-12 Cybersecurity Learning Standards to introduce uniform standard cybersecurity curriculum across all 50 states and provide educators with a roadmap for teaching cybersecurity to all students.

In partnership with RH Strategic, CYBER.ORG was able to elevate its thought leadership on the national stage and create visibility for its National K-12 Cybersecurity Learning Standards over a 12-month period via the following strategies:

• Researching the industry landscape
  
• Developing press advisories, messaging, pitches, and bylines
• Highlighting support of the standards with over 70 social media posts
• Drafting testimony for Congressional hearings and promoted through blog content
• Developing a robust influencer engagement program
• Examining legislation

Through a variety of tactics, including media engagement, social media, events, and influencer engagement, RH Strategic reached its objectives and generated visibility of CYBER.ORG’s National K-12 Cybersecurity Learning Standards among policymakers, government agencies, federal and state government, and cybersecurity and education experts.

Current Focus
Since winning the Gold Stevie for “Healthcare Campaign of the Year,” RH Strategic continues to position its healthcare clients—payers, providers, pharma/biotech, and health IT companies—
as leaders pushing the healthcare industry forward. Most recently, the RH Strategic team has focused storytelling on how the pandemic has permanently changed the patient experience and where innovation is still needed to improve health outcomes and lower costs.

RH Strategic and PlushCare continue to work together to inform patients about the benefits of
virtual primary care and mental health care. Through proactive media outreach and creative content development, the team has secured opportunities for PlushCare executives, primary care doctors and therapists to be featured in The New York Times, Business Insider, STAT, NPR, U.S. News & World Report, and several community-based media outlets. 

Since winning “Public Affairs Campaign of the Year,” RH Strategic continues to position its public affairs clients—technology, cybersecurity and healthcare companies—as leaders advocating for meaningful change inside the DC Beltway and beyond.

Recently, RH Strategic has focused its public affairs efforts on helping guide policies that improve nationwide response to cybersecurity incidents and encourage policymakers to prioritize legislation that further develops the technology workforce.

The RH Strategic team and CYBER.ORG continue to work together to help improve K-12 cybersecurity literacy nationwide. Through meaningful stakeholder engagement, messaging and strategic storytelling, the team helped CYBER.ORG launch the first-ever National Cybersecurity Education Month in June 2022, which was introduced in Congress.

RH Strategic won Gold Stevie Awards for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in both Healthcare and Public Affairs categories in The 2022 American Business Awards.

Interested in entering The 2023 American Business Awards?

Stevie-winner Anuvia Plant Nutrients manufactures high-efficiency, sustainable bio-based fertilizers for the agriculture, turf, and lawncare industries. Located in Winter Garden, Florida, USA, the company developed and uses a unique technology that not only optimizes nutrient availability and efficiency for plants, but also improves soil health, preserves natural resources, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Feeding the World, Starving the Landfill
By harnessing regenerative agriculture, Anuvia Plant Nutrients has developed a high-efficiency, sustainable bio-based fertilizer that not only optimizes nutrient availability and efficiency for plants, but also improves soil health, preserves natural resources, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

The company’s proprietary technology effectively re-uses organic materials, such as food or livestock waste. Anuvia upcycles this waste into bio-based plant nutrients that work with the ecosystem, not against it, to maximize agriculture production now and for the long term. Its products improve the health of the soil and reduce the environmental impact of fertilization while empowering farmers to implement sustainable practices that benefit the environment.

To add context, up to now, commercial agriculture has relied on synthetic inputs to feed crops, which add no organic material back into the soil. Nature’s natural process to break down plant and animal waste into usable form can take up to two years. Anuvia’s technology achieves this in minutes.

Achievements & Growth
Anuvia negotiated a partnership with one of the world’s largest companies in the agricultural sector, Novozymes, the world leader in biological solutions. The collaboration with Novozymes will bring advanced technology to plant nutrition by marrying Novozymes microbial solutions to Anuvia’s sustainable bio-based products and proprietary delivery system. This technology will further increase yield and ROI at no incremental cost to the grower while reducing nutrient loss and farming’s environmental footprint.

In February 2021, Anuvia announced a $103 million Series C capital raise led by TPG ART and Pontifax Ag. Anuvia used the financing to increase the production capacity of its new, environmentally friendly facility in Plant City, Florida, and expand commercialization to meet growing demand.

The facility now has the capacity to expand to 1.2 million tons, enough to service over 20 million acres of agricultural crops and meet the growing demand for sustainable products. This facility is a one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art plant. Its manufacturing forms a closed loop in which no waste stream is created—only clean air and finished product. For every ton of organic material used, approximately a ton of fertilizer is produced.

US farmers are responsible for creating the most abundant food supply in the world––a need that will continue to grow as the population climbs to more than 9 billion by 2050. As a result, food production will need to increase from the current 8.4 billion metric tons annually to nearly 13.5 billion metric tons per year (FAO, Building a common vision for sustainable food and agriculture).

At the same time, there is growing demand by consumers and retailers for environmentally sustainable practices and products. To meet these demands, pressure is now on commercial agriculture to not only increase productivity using the same acreage, but to do it more sustainably. Enter Anuvia: by simply swapping traditional synthetic fertilizer for Anuvia’s organic-based nutrients, commercial growers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 35%. What’s more, Anuvia’s products significantly increase yield while also improving long-term soil health.

According to estimates, for every million acres that uses Anuvia’s unique technology, the reduction of greenhouse gases is equivalent to removing 20,000 to 30,000 cars from the road. If applied to only the US corn crop, which is 90 million acres, this greenhouse gas reduction would conservatively translate to 1.8 million cars removed from our roads in perpetuity.

Since winning their Gold Stevie Award, Anuvia has raised a significant round of new funding from Piva Capital and Riverstone, allowing them to rapidly scale US production of their bio-based fertilizer. This funding is needed to meet the increasing demand for sustainable solutions for commercial agriculture and is a testament to the immediate impact Anuvia is having on farmers and the industry.

Anuvia Plant Nutrients won a Gold Stevie Award for Company of the Year - Food & Beverage - Small at The 2022 American Business Awards.

Interested in entering The 2023 American Business Awards?

The 20th American Business Awards® will be celebrated at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Time Square in New York City next Monday, June 13 - the first live ABA event since June 2019.  More than 520 professionals from across the USA will gather to network and to celebrate one another's achievements.  

Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and People's Choice Stevie® Awards will be presented to winners announced in April in May this year.  TV personality Cheryl Casone will emcee.  The presentations will be livestreamed at https://stevieawards.com/aba/watch-2022-awards-presentations and on the Stevie Awards Facebook page, beginning at 7:00 pm ET.

The following organizations will be represented at the event:

3Pillar Global
AB Coached
Advanced Drainage System
Align Technology
AscellaHealth
AT&T
Audacy
Avaya Inc.
Bank of America
Binti
Boost Payment Solutions
BRG Communications
Calix
Capital Rx
Carestream NDT
Century Business Solutions
Change and Innovation Agency (C!A)
Chevron Corporation
Childress Business Communication
City National Bank
Coal Creative
Code3
Comsint
Cortex.io
Cox Communications
Crumbl Cookies
Cummins, Inc.
Delaware Life Insurance Company
Dollar General
Donlen
Dottedyellow
Eff Creative Group
EHE Health
Enact Mortgage Insurance
Evisort
Exiger
Experience Kissimmee
EY Global Services Limited
Fidelity Investments
Fiscalnote
Foundry 360
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Fusion Connect
GAVS Technologies N.A., Inc.
Gemini Industries Inc.
Generali Travel Insurance
Givelify
Global Disability Inclusion
Greater Prairie Business Consulting, Inc.
Haemonetics
Hearts & Science
Higher Growth Search
HireRight
Hooked on Code, LLC
IBM
IBM Institute for Business Value
ICON plc
Imperial Steel
InstaMortgage
Interview Connections
IPM
Jade Global
Jeremian Prep. Tutoring Services
JobsOhio
Johnson Controls
Kinetic by Windstream
Kodak
Laundris Corporation
LeverX Group
Light & Wonder
LightBox
Lion Brand Yarn
Lockheed Martin
M&C Saatchi Performance USA
Marvel Marketers
MicroHealth LLC
Modivcare
Moliving
N-Able
National Association of REALTORS®
Noom, Inc.
Openforce
OSMEAC Solutions LLC
Oyate Group
Parallax/APEX
Parkinson's Foundation
Performance Food Group
PickleJar
Praxis AI
Primrose Schools
Protegrity USA, Inc.
Publicis Sapient
QorusDocs
Quantum Metric
Ranial Systems Inc.
Retina AI
RS21
Saint Louis University
Saris and Things, Inc.
Skylex Inc
Skymount Medical US Inc
Soleo Health
SpartanNash
Stanley Black & Decker
SupportU
Swapcard
Talent Works
The Boeing Company
The Collaboration Vector Inc.
The Financial Times
The Flora May Foundation
The Hayes Initiative
The Mosaic Company
The Salvation Army
The Webster Group
Thnks
Transact Campus, Inc.
TTEC
Unum
UPMC for Life
V2Solutions
Veritis Group
Warner Media
Warner Music Group
WebCE
Wells Fargo
West Point Association of Graduates

Entries for the 2023 edition of the ABAs will open this October.  Join the mailing list at https://stevieawards.com/aba/request-entry-kit-american-business-awards and you'll be sent the entry kit as soon as it's available.  Questions? Let us know at help@stevieawards.com. 

The American Business Awards® are the premier business awards program in the U.S.A.  All organizations - public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small - may submit nominations. The 2021 winners were celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, June 30.

The 2021 American Business Awards winners accepted their trophies and medals from home in lieu of an in-person awards gala. Each winning organization that participated was honored during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, June 30. The ceremony live stream was viewed by over 1,000 individuals comprised of winners, friends, and family.

Winners accepted their awards by filming 30-second acceptance speeches from their home offices, corporate settings, and even while holding their prized Stevie trophies outdoors. In addition to pre-recorded acceptance speeches, the ceremony featured videos about the winning organizations, messages from Stevie Awards judges and sponsors, and surprise celebrity guests. This year's surprise guests included actor and director of The Office, Brian Baumgartner, celebrity magician Penn Jillette, and Paula Abdul.

"Congratulations to all of you Stevie Awards winners on your business achievements," Baumgartner said. " I know this last year has been tough, so if you won an award, you really did something right!...But, onwards and upwards. Let's look to the rest of 2021 and make it Twenty-twenty-awesome."

A complete list of The 19th annual American Business Awards winners by category can be found here. The winners are determined by the average scores of more than 250 professionals worldwide in a three-month judging process. Some of the winning organizations that participated in the virtual awards ceremony included:

• AARP, Washington, DC
• American Dental Association, Chicago, IL
• Church's Chicken, Atlanta, GA
• Cyara, Redwood City, CA
• Delta Dental of Kansas, Wichita, KS
• Diamond Resorts®, Las Vegas, NV
• Estée Lauder Companies, New York, NY
• Fidelity Investments, Jersey City, NJ
• GAVS Technologies N.A., Inc., NJ
• Grant Thornton LLP, Chicago, IL
• Hilton Grand Vacations, Orlando, FL
• Hilton Supply Management, McLean, VA
• IBM, Armonk, New York, NY
• Marvel Marketers, LLC, San Mateo, CA
• Masks4Missions, Shelburne, VT
• Medidata Solutions, a Dassault Systemes Company, New York, NY
• Nature's Sunshine, Lehi, UT
• The Salvation Army, New York, NY
• Tinuiti, New York City, NY
• VUMI Group, Dallas, TX
• …and many more

A favorite part of the virtual ceremony platform was our "virtual red carpet," which transformed the background of attendee photos into the 2021 American Business Awards step and repeat backdrop. View the red carpet photo gallery. 

The ceremony replay, individual acceptance speeches, and red carpet interviews are available to watch on YouTube and below.

Of the winning organizations that participated in the June 30 virtual awards, two were esteemed Grand Stevie Awards Winners; The Salvation Army and Tinuiti. 

Highest-rated COVID-19 Response Category Nomination: The Salvation Army’s (New York, NY) nomination of Seth Ditmer, their Deputy Director of Operations - Emergency Services, won Gold for Delivery Hero of the Year, for his oversight of the delivery of pantry boxes to home-bound seniors, people with compromised immune systems, and coordinated mass grocery deliveries to soup kitchens at The Salvation Army’s 38 community centers in the New York City area. With an average score from the judges of 9.5/10, the nomination wins a Grand Stevie Award as the highest rated of all those in the competition’s COVID-19 Response categories.

Most Honored Marketing Agency: Tinuiti, the New York-based performance marketing firm, wins for 26.5 award points earned for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie wins in a variety of marketing and technology categories.

To close out the 2.5-hour virtual awards show, the President of the Stevie Awards, Maggie Gallagher Miller, remarked on the creativity from this year's winners and her anticipation of celebrating the 2022 American Business Awards in person in New York City. "Thank you again for being here today to celebrate your many accomplishments over the past year, she said. "It was great to hear so much creativity and positivity from the Stevie Awards community. Have a great rest of your day and we hope to see you in person next June."

Sponsors and supporters of The 19th annual American Business Awards are Microsoft, Medidata, VideoAmp, Inc., and HCL Technologies.

Interested in entering The 2022 (20th Annual) American Business Awards? Entries will open this coming October.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards®, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 18^th annual ABA competition has been further extended to May 5. The organizers said it is apparent that the original final deadline extension to April 14 will not be enough time for American organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to submit their nominations of achievement.

No additional late fees will be charged, and nominations submitted through May 5 will not be penalized in any way in the judging process. Organizers still hope to be able to stage the 18^th ABA awards banquet at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, June 12.

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations— public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large, and small. The 2020 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2019. Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

With the announcement of the deadline extension organizers said they have waived all fees for nominations to the Startup of the Year and Tech Startup of the Year categories, for organizations that began operations since the beginning of 2018.

The further extension of the final entry deadline has prompted the organizers to change several other dates in the 2020 ABA calendar:

• May 10: Revised end of judging
• May 15: Revised winners notification and announcement
• May 15 - June 5: Revised window for public voting in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Entrepreneur Awards
• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Website Awards, Smartphone and Tablet Apps, and other Media Awards
• …and more

More than 200 executives on 13 juries will rate nominations to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

The list of past Stevie Award winners in The American Business Awards reads like a who’s who of innovation and business success in the U.S.A. Explore the list of last year’s winners.

Stevie-winner Braviant Holdings is a financial technology company that uses machine-learning to assess borrowers' credit and help them achieve lower rates.

Over 24 million American households are underbanked, and another eight million are unbanked (FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, 2017). While the former have restricted access to financial services (primarily due to bad credit scores), the latter have little or no access at all. As one can imagine, this closes a lot of doors. Many of life’s necessities, such as getting a job or renting an apartment, call for a bank account and a good credit history.

What makes this scenario even more unfortunate is that the unbanked and underbanked often land in these unfavorable financial conditions due to circumstances beyond their control. After all, not everyone with a low credit score is a habitual defaulter. For instance, many have low credit scores because of the 2008 financial crisis. Similarly, all those without bank accounts are not willfully refusing to get one. Many get their applications rejected because they have thin credit files or are migrants who don’t possess all the necessary documents.

Luckily, the fintech industry is now putting big data, machine learning (ML), and augmented analytics to work for these two neglected financial demographics, and the results are promising.

Banking the Unbanked

Online banking and lending services have made it convenient to access and maintain bank accounts, even for those in remote and rural areas. However, despite these advances, around 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked worldwide. Several fintech solutions are working toward making it easier for these individuals to create and to benefit from bank accounts of their own, though. The most notable among these is Onfido, an identity verification company based in London, United Kingdom.

Onfido does not follow the typical identity verification process. They pair highly advanced ML-based document checks with facial verification to compare user-furnished identity documents with their selfies. This makes it easier for individuals to prove their identities and open new bank accounts. This is particularly important for those with thin credit files whom banks are reluctant to trust and migrants who do not possess all the documents required for in-person verification..

Beyond Credit History and Scores

Fintech products are revolutionizing the way credit is assessed, and they are now paving the way for fairer access to financial services.

Zest AI, an artificial intelligence (AI) software platform for credit, based in Los Angeles, California, United States, helps lenders make faster and more accurate decisions on borrowers who are traditionally considered risky. It does so by using and analyzing thousands of data points to better assess predicted risk. Their clients have achieved, on average, a 15 percent increase in approval rates and reduced losses by almost 30 percent.

UltraFICO, a credit scoring system based on augmented analytics, was launched by FICO, a data analytics company based in San Jose, California, United States. It serves as yet another good example. While still in the works, it promises to be a huge step up from the antiquated FICO score system that prevents millions of people from receiving credit because of incomplete credit histories. UltraFICO will create more complete credit histories by using data from FICO, Experian, Finicity, different finance houses, and banks.

Stevie-winner Braviant Holdings, a fintech company based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, also offers financial solutions that help non-prime consumers graduate to lower rates as they work toward prime credit. They do so by building machine-learning decision models that look beyond a traditional credit score to more accurately assess the prospective borrower’s true ability and willingness to repay.

“Mainstream financial institutions cater to the needs of U.S. consumers with proven credit history, but more than 50 million adults labeled ‘underbanked’ are forced to look outside the traditional banking system to meet their needs,” says Stephanie Klein, CEO of Braviant Holdings. “Braviant offers tech-enabled credit products to help these deserving consumers access the credit they need today and work toward better rates in the future.”

Braviant Holdings recently won a Gold Stevie Award for Company of the Year in the Financial Services category at The 17th Annual American Business Awards®, 2019.

Interested in entering The American Business Awards?

Top Business Honors Will Accept Nominations Through April 14

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards®, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 18^th annual ABA competition has been extended to April 14. No additional late fees will be charged. Entries submitted through April 14 will not be penalized in any way in the judging process.

“We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was March 11.

Interested in entering The 2020 American Business Awards®?

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations— public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large, and small. The 2020 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2019. Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Entrepreneur Awards
• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Website Awards, Smartphone and Tablet Apps, and other Media Awards
• …and more

The new Achievement categories  recognize singular achievements of various types of entire organizations (for-profit or non-profit, large medium or small, public or private) in nine categories. Among the category groups that feature one or more new categories are Information Technology, New Product & Service, Mobile Website & App, Publication, and Video.

More than 200 executives on 13 juries have already begun the process of rating nominations to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Stevie winners will be announced on April 30, and the awards will be presented at a gala banquet on June 12 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Attendance is not required to win.

The list of past Stevie Award winners in The American Business Awards reads like a who’s who of innovation and business success in the U.S.A. Explore the list of last year’s winners.

London Computer Systems is a property management software company that seeks to help businesses operate efficiently using their integrated technologies. Their Stevie Award-winning product, Rent Manager, is proven to help companies manage all types of properties.

As the property technology world develops, real estate firms are devoting more attention to how technology can help their businesses. Technology impacts real estate agents to an ever-increasing degree, and tools for every aspect of a real estate company are currently being developed.

When Communications Are Down, Technology Helps

New programs and apps help manage and streamline real estate processes for realtors—not just in the course of their everyday work but also when disasters strike. For example, in areas of the country that suffer from severe weather-related issues, property management can be extremely challenging for industry professionals and their clients. 

Software products recently released on the market, however, can help property managers connect with residents and track communications. With just a few clicks of a button, the software can ensure tenants get the help they need by using targeted text messages and phone calls. This greatly eases the stress on client and owner alike. 

Increasing Industry Use

More than half of commercial real estate agents are now using at least one form of property technology. Two common ways they’re using technology are to analyze performance and to manage accounts and properties on their lists. The goal of moving toward artificial intelligence (AI) in real estate is to give business owners the freedom to customize information technology to better fit the needs of their companies. 

At its heart, property technology makes the realtor or property manager's job easier and helps that person do a great job for his or her clients. In the past, the industry relied on time-consuming paper management systems, which didn’t allow for tracking communication between manager and tenant. Today, there are more innovative products on the market. Rent Manager makes the process much more straightforward and transparent. 

Next-Level Integration

The industry’s goal now is to progress to the next level of integration, wherein platforms connect seamlessly. This evolution will enable different software systems to work together, which will allow businesses to personalize their systems. Modern application programming interfaces (APIs) allow programmers to construct solutions that work perfectly for them and their customers. 

What Is the Future of Property Technology?

In the future, the property management industry is likely to dive deeper into the world of artificial business intelligence. The world, after all, works on electronic automation in nearly all sectors. You can book an appointment with your dentist from a website, use the self-checkout at the market, and buy a car online; to keep up, managing your rental property needs to move in the same direction.

Property management companies are likely to automate processes and to move the workforce into service-focused tasks. In that landscape, attention to detail and a focus on customer service will become the things that make a property management system stand out from the competition. 

The ability to stay on top of trends in the property management industry keeps businesses at the top of their game. In 2020 and beyond, these companies need to operate efficiently and stay connected to clients in order to build a reputation for top quality service. That involves not only relying on property management technology but employing dedicated people to use it. 

This dedication to being at the forefront of property sector tech development, as well as a commitment to excellent customer service, helped London Computer Systems, a property management software company, earn recognition as a leader in their field. London Computer Systems is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.

The Rent Manager Product Support Department was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Customer Service Department of the Year category in The 16th Annual American Business Awards® (2018). The Rent Manager User Conference was also named the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the Corporate & Community - Corporate Event category in The 17th Annual American Business Awards.

Interested in entering The American Business Awards?

Financial wellness is a luxury that younger demographics seem to have a harder time achieving. Stevie-winner John Hancock is an insurance company refining its approach to develop financial solutions for the modern generation of consumers.

With the ongoing economic impacts of the Great Recession, astronomical student debt, rising housing costs, and myriad other financial factors, retirement looks a lot different today than it used to. Gone are the days of getting into a job, working for 40 years, and retiring with a handshake and a gold watch. Pensions and 401(k)s are increasingly hard to come by. Plus, with often insurmountably expensive real estate costs, fewer people are entering the realty market. As a result, many people don’t have valuable homes to supplement their retirement nest eggs.

Given these kinds of factors, it’s little surprise that the concept of “retirement” has shifted. In this landscape, one thing is clear: If financial services groups want to continue to stay relevant, they will need to change their approaches, advice, and outlook to match what financial wellness means to millennials and members of Generation Z.

Rethinking Retirement Age

In a 2018 study by Bankrate.com, millennials responded that they think 61 is the ideal age to retire. Despite this aspiration of early retirement, however, approximately two-thirds of millennials have nothing saved for retirement.

Because of increased debt and decreased financial opportunities, more people than ever are being forced to reevaluate what’s realistic when it comes to retirement. For many, this means bumping out that expected age of retirement. Some don’t even expect to retire at all, instead considering part-time jobs, second careers, or other money-making opportunities as they get into the later years of their lives.

Increased longevity further complicates the issue. Across the globe, people are living longer than ever, which seriously skews issues related to realistic retirement age, health insurance, and life insurance.

Rethinking Financial Wellness

Companies that provide financial planning and other money-management services are often viewed as symbolic of a bygone era. After all, someone who has nothing saved for retirement, doesn’t own a home, and is working on paying down $50,000 in student debt can feel as if these companies aren’t relevant to their financial realities.

That doesn’t need to be the case, though. These companies can still help younger clientele reach their financial goals; they just have to shift how they think about accomplishing this endeavor. Stevie-winner John Hancock, which is based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one such company successfully refining its approach. 

The people at John Hancock understand it’s time to look beyond outdated concepts like ‘net assets’ and to build financial solutions that fit into customers’ whole lives—with easily accessible products that reflect their values, their approach to wellness, and their holistic well-being. That’s why they’re redefining retirement, insurance, and investing for the modern generation of consumers to address both their health and wealth.

To connect with this modern generation of consumers, one key is reframing the idea of financial wellness as the most important kind of wellness. Financial service providers are finding that the younger generation prizes a more holistic approach to well-being, and providing advice that resonates means tailoring to that mind-set.

John Hancock believes good health and financial wellness are essential ingredients to overall well-being, and they want to help motivate people to make healthier choices—for themselves and their future.

With this goal in mind, the organization has had success especially with one initiative: a partnership with the Vitality Group, which can serve as a template for similar companies looking to connect with younger investors.

In 2015, John Hancock started a new chapter in their 155-year history when they partnered with the Vitality Group to help clients live longer, healthier lives. As the first life insurance company in the United States to offer a wellness-based rewards program, John Hancock life insurance with Vitality gives customers the financial protection they need while also helping them earn savings on their premiums, shopping gift cards, and travel discounts for their everyday healthy habits, such as going for a walk, eating well, and getting a regular health check.

John Hancock was honored with seven Stevie® Awards at The 2019 American Business Awards®, earning the company a Grand Stevie® Award. This designation is reserved for the top 10 most-recognized organizations at the event. The company’s honors included four Gold awards (in the categories of Mobile Site and App, Innovation of the Year, and two in Achievement in Management), two Silver awards (in the categories of Woman of the Year and Financial Services), and two Bronze awards (in the categories of Information Technology Team of the Year and Customer Service Team of the Year).

Interested in entering the next American Business Awards?