New Product Awards Blog

HZO, Inc., of Draper, Utah, USA won the Gold Stevie® for Best New Product or Service of the Year - Consumer Electronics in the new product awards categories of The 2013 International Business Awards. The early bird deadline for the 2014 IBAs is April 16. Get your entry kit here.

HZO WaterBlock™ is a nano-coating that protects electronic devices from liquid and corrosion damage. HZO debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 and has caught the attention of the world ever since. From just CES 2012 and 2013 alone, this product has garnered over $7 million in earned media with outlets including MSNBC, The Huffington Post, the BBC, The Today Show on NBC, The New York Times, and Reuters.

Rapid Pace of Change

We asked Sergio Leveratto, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at HZO, what he saw as the major challenges facing the electronics industry today.  According to Sergio, it’s keeping up with the rapid pace of change.  So how does Sergio manage that?

 “My approach is to do what I can to make sure HZO plays a consistent role in driving those changes by establishing and maintaining a leadership position in the industry,” Sergio told us. “HZO does this by providing device makers with a powerful and differentiating technology that creates value and allows consumers to do more with their electronics.”

A Milestone for the Company

Winning a Stevie® Award in 2013 has contributed to the success of HZO, added Sergio. “HZO has experienced a lot of growth over the past several years, and winning a Stevie Award has helped the company maintain that momentum by providing additional credibility and recognition to the hard work of our world-class team. An accolade like a Stevie is an inspiration for the company, and outside validation of our technology not only feels great, but also inspires us to keep innovating.”

Concludes Sergio: “To win a prestigious award like a Stevie is both an honor and a milestone for our company. “

Developing Relationships into Partnerships

The HZO WaterBlock team develops relationships into partnerships. The following list is a highlight of some of these associations:

-Brightstar Corporation, the world’s largest wireless distributor, is currently engaged with HZO to market WaterBlock to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and repair & refurbishment processors worldwide.

-TAG Heuer, the watch maker and luxury phone designer, features HZO WaterBlock in its Android smartphone, the TAG Heuer Racer Sub Nano, a high end phone that offers superior water protection.

-NavELite, creators of the NavELite backlit wrist compass, features HZO WaterBlock in its line of products, which are purchased by the military around the world as well as by civilian adventurers.

-LaiPac Technology features HZO WaterBlock on their AGPS Cell Phone Tracking Device and on other products by the company.  

-LiveFree, creators of the senior mobile alert product Life Beacon, features HZO WaterBlock on many of its alert systems. 

-Bully Dog features HZO WaterBlock on its diesel engine performance monitor.

According to Sergio, HZO WaterBlock can be featured on virtually any small- to medium-form electronic device in any market or industry. The products featured above are just the beginning of the opportunities of protection from HZO.

Keeping Track of Travel

Because he has to travel so much on business, we asked Sergio if he had a favorite travel app. “Concur is the key travel app,” advised Sergio. “ It helps me to make reservations on the fly while allowing me to keep track of my travel expenses.”

Defining the Future

We asked Sergio what motivated him. “My inspiration comes from the unique opportunity that a small company like HZO has to shape and define the future of an entire industry,” he told us. “Because HZO's technology protects electronics from damage caused by exposure to liquids or submersion in water, the company is truly changing where people use their electronic devices. Being a part of this revolution is very exciting, and seeing the potential and added value that our technology provides to innovative electronic products is a powerful motivator. 

“We feel that the Stevie Award shows that the industry recognizes HZO as the ideal form of liquid protection in consumer electronics going forward. We’re excited to continue to deliver on this recognition,” concluded Sergio.

About Sergio Leveratto

Sergio Leveratto is the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at HZO, where he directs the global growth strategy for the company’s superior corrosion and liquid submersion protection technology. His expertise in global expansion planning is helping HZO build and advance international distribution channels, strategically align technologies with target markets and develop intelligent lifecycle programs that help maximize consistent growth potential.

Prior to HZO, Sergio spent nearly two decades spearheading global sales, marketing, and business development initiatives with Nokia and global mobile operator Telefonica, where he helped drive, launch, and promote value-add services and user-based application enhancements. He is fluent in four languages, and maximizes his ability to form strong alliances with multinational organizations to successfully execute global outreach and expansion campaigns.

About HZO

HZO is an innovative and rapidly growing nanotechnology company that has set the world standard in solutions that protect electronics from corrosion and extended liquid submersion. A robust coating is applied at the component level, creating a physical barrier between the vital circuitry of a device and any kind of liquid. The company's advanced technology provides innovative liquid protection from the inside out, and our patent protected materials, process and equipment provides an end-to-end solution that allows flexibility for manufacturers to develop new product features and functionality, while giving end-users the freedom to do more with the electronic devices they rely on.

Navantis Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, won the Gold Stevie® Award for Best New Business Intelligence Solution in the new product awards categories of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's top honors for business development, sales, contact center, and customer service professionals. The competition also features categories that recognize new products and services used by these professionals.  (Entries to the 2014 edition are now being accepted - learn more here.)

Here we look at how Navantis has partnered with NBC News to advance online learning technologies.

It’s 3:00AM in the morning. A college student has a paper due at 9:00AM. In a remote farming community, a grade ten student is studying for an exam and struggling to download a required video assignment. Long after putting her own children to bed, a public school teacher is completing her lesson plan. All of these scenarios are real and all of these people expect the NBC Learn website to be available at any time of the day or night to help them meet their professional and classroom commitments.

NBC Learn is the educational arm of NBC News and is dedicated to making historic stories, images, and primary source documents available on-demand to teachers, students, and parents by providing access to more than 14,000 stories from the NBC News archives—one of the largest news archives in the world, with records dating back to the 1920s.

A State-of-the-art Call Center

NBC Learn’s hundreds of thousands of clients—teachers, students, and parents—rely on being able to access the website from a PC, MAC, or iPad, at school or at home, 24/7. They expect a site that is always available and with technical support that is always on.

Providing high-quality technical support around the clock and being able to solve every kind of issue facing every type of user was a challenge. Realizing they couldn’t do it alone, NBC Learn turned to the expert technical Call Center team at Navantis for help.

Under the leadership of Vice President Client Support Karl Weiss, Navantis operates a state-of-the-art call center incorporating voice calls, email, chat, collaboration, and remote technical assist. Navantis acts transparently so that NBC Learn clients never realize they are dealing with an outsourced team. Every call, email, and instant message is handled with care and monitored under strict Service Level Agreements.

Deep Business Insight

Navantis manages all of the case tracking and reporting, and provides deep business insight back to NBC Learn for continuous improvement.

An advanced offering that Navantis includes is usage tracking, which helps to identify schools with reduced participation. Once identified, the Navantis reach- out program encourages online training through webinars, resulting in better understanding, awareness, and increased usage of the NBC Learn offerings while also ensuring that 21st century education continues to help teachers and students improve skills and knowledge.

Building a Brighter Future

“Nobody else in our industry is able to approach the level of content and support provided by NBC Learn, making us the most competitive and compelling solution in the market today,” commented Michael Levin, Director of Sales and Technical Operations at NBC Learn. “Navantis has completed our service offering by providing a seamless experience for our community and becoming a trusted member of our team. They treat our clients with patience and respect, ensuring that no problem goes unsolved.”

Because of the work that the Navantis team continues to do, NBC Learn is able to fully meet the needs of their clients. Thousands of teachers, students, and parents are now able to streamline videos; access history on-demand; enhance lesson plans; and continue to build a brighter future with full support.

"We are delighted to be recognized for excellence in customer service and support," commented Karl Weiss on receiving the Gold Stevie Award. "The partnership with NBC Learn has enabled both of our organizations to innovate, delivering unparalleled levels of service to students, teachers and families across the country and helping to set a standard for 21st century learning."

About Karl Weiss: 

Karl Weiss is a seasoned Customer Care and Services professional with over thirty years of experience in Information Services operations. Karl builds customer care environments that provide innovation aimed at driving sales, marketing, business intelligence, development, and customer service. He has earned an enviable reputation for customer service excellence and for providing complex implementation and support of large-scale network deployments for multinational clients such as Lafarge, Royal Bank, and Magna. Karl’s core operational principles are client satisfaction and delivery excellence during all phases of deployment and support. His expertise spans quality assurance, process re-engineering, software development, technical support, and design, all of which provide tremendous value to Navantis.

About Navantis:

Navantis combines strategy, design, and technology to help their clients realize new opportunities, solve business challenges, and focus on excellence in customer service and delivery. Founded in 1998, Navantis was Microsoft's Canadian Partner of the year in 2012, and is the partner channel with the most industry awards including recognition from Microsoft, CDN Magazine, and the Branham Group.

MicroStrategy Express is the big winner in the 2013 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a feature of The American Business Awards, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, which are now in their 11th year.

The nationwide public vote was conducted this summer, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 34 product categories.  More than 20,000 votes were cast.

MicroStrategy Express was the top vote-getter in three categories.  NetScout Systems’ nGenius 3900 series packet flow switch received the most votes in two categories.

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The American Business Awards’ new product and tech awards banquet on Monday, September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.  There the winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will also be announced and presented their awards.  More than 250 nominees and their guests are expected to attend.

All new products and services to be honored in the new product awards categories of this year’s American Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.

The winners of the 2013 People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products are:

Favorite Business-to-Business Product: MicroStrategy Express

Favorite Business-to-Business Service: Beyond20 IT Service Management Launchpad Assessment

Favorite Consumer Electronics Product: Silicon Image’s UltraGig™ 6400 60GHz WirelessHD® Transmitter

Favorite Consumer Product: Reliv International's LunaRich X

Favorite Consumer Service: FDIC's Money Smart

Favorite Computer Hardware Product: BOXLIGHT's ProjectoWrite5

Favorite Networking Hardware Product: NetScout Systems’ nGenius 3900 series packet flow switch

Favorite Peripheral Hardware Product: KODAK SCANMATE i940 Scanner

Favorite Semiconductor Hardware Product: Marvell Mobile QuadCore – PXA1088

Favorite Storage Hardware Product: Overland Storage SnapScale X2

Favorite Health or Pharmaceutical Product: Vemma Nutrition's Verve Bold

Favorite Health or Pharmaceutical Service: CDC's Medical Monitoring Project

Favorite Industrial Product or Service: Graco Inc.'s Integrated Reactor Proportioning System

Favorite Business Intelligence Software: Teradata Aster Discovery Platform 5.10

Favorite Cloud Application or Service: MicroStrategy Express

Favorite Cloud Infrastructure or Platform: Stoneware's webNetwork 6.1

Favorite Collaboration or Social Networking Solution: Bloomfire

Favorite Content Management Solution: Telerik's Sitefinity

Favorite Electronic Commerce Solution: Stamps.com’s PC Postage Version 10.1

Favorite Financial Management Solution: Acumatica 3.0

Favorite Human Capital Management Solution: Paycor's Perform

Favorite Learning or Workforce Development Solution: Saba People Cloud

Favorite Marketing or Public Relations Solution: Acxiom Audience Propensities

Favorite Mobile On-Demand Solution: MicroStrategy Express

Favorite Mobile Operations Management Solution: Aternity for Mobile

Favorite Relationship Management Solution: Coveo for Salesforce

Favorite Security Solution: Quest One Identity Manager – Data Governance Edition

Favorite Software Development Solution: KonyOne Platform 5.0

Favorite Supply Chain Management Solution: Fieldglass' Global Solution

Favorite Systems Management Solution: Citrix GoToAssist

Favorite Other Software Solution: BillQuick with Forecasting and Intelligent Analytics

Favorite Telecommunications Product: NetScout Systems’ nGenius 3900 series packet flow switch

Favorite Telecommunications Service: BroadSoft UC-One

Favorite Transportation Product or Service: UltraShipTMS™ LoadFusion Optimize

About the Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A fifth program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, will debut later this year.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com  and follow the Stevie Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sponsors and partners of The 2013 American Business Awards include the Business TalkRadio Network, Callidus Software, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, Experian Consumer Services, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, and SoftPro.

This Friday, August 9, is the last day to vote in the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, as part of The American Business Awards, the nation’s premier business awards program.

Voting continues at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com and will conclude at 11:59PM ET this Friday evening.

This is a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories. Among the categories are Favorite Cloud App/Service, Favorite Consumer Product, Favorite Telecommunications Service, and Favorite Hardware.

All new products and services that were nominated in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards are automatically included in people’s choice voting. Organizations will have the opportunity to win two awards: a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award, as determined by professionals in the ABAs’ peer-review judging, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as determined by the public vote.

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be announced at The American Business Awards' new product and tech awards banquet at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco on September 16.

Past winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products include Apple, Boost Mobile, Dow Jones, and Samsung.

Edwards Group Limited in Crawley, United Kingdom won the Gold Stevie® Award for Best New Industrial Product or Service in the new product awards categories of last year’s International Business Awards , the world's top business honors.  (This year's IBA winners will be announced on August 14.) Here we look at how this global technology company affects all of us in one way or another.

Edwards Group Limited (NASDAQ: EVAC), the UK-based manufacturer of sophisticated vacuum products and abatement systems and a provider of related value-added services, beat off stiff competition from across the globe when its class-leading CXS dry vacuum pump was named a Best New Product in The 2012 International Business Awards.

Not many people realize how important it is to be able to create a vacuum and how this affects our lives and so many of the appliances we use daily.  To find out more, watch a short video created by Edwards.

On winning last year’s award, Sia Abbaszadeh, Edwards’ Chief Technology and Marketing Officer, commented: “2012 was truly a golden year for Edwards. After being honored with a momentous seventh Queen’s Award earlier in the year for our nEXT turbomolecular pump, and then successfully listing on the NASDAQ market, we were delighted to build on our success with a Gold Stevie® Award.”

“To have received this accolade for the CXS, so soon after its launch, was testament to the hard work and expertise of all those at Edwards who were involved in its conception. This award has set the CXS’ credentials beyond refute and places Edwards at the forefront of international innovation.”

Standing Out from the Competition
Edwards CXS is the latest generation dry vacuum pump for harsh chemical and pharmaceutical processing applications, and builds on Edwards’ strong record of innovation and application expertise. Since its introduction in 2011, it has set new industry standards for reliability, performance, and control.

Two elements of the cutting-edge CXS set it apart from competitor pumps. The novel tapered screw technology facilitates excellent liquid and solids handling leading to high operational reliability while providing deep vacuum down to 10-3 mbar. The range of built-in control and safety features makes the CXS easier and cheaper to install when compared to some pumps currently available on the market.

Edwards believes this is the first “plug and pump” system. The development of the CXS has proved to be a crucial tipping point for vacuum, taking the technology from “specialist equipment” to “utility.”

About Sia Abbaszadeh
Sia Abbaszadeh has served as Edwards’ Chief Technology & Marketing Officer since June 2010. Sia joined Edwards in November 1989 to lead new product development programs in semiconductor vacuum pumping. He has subsequently built a broad base of New Product Introduction capability for all the product and application sectors within Edwards. His responsibilities have included delivery of strategic growth plans by leading new product and technology development for the Semiconductor, Flat Panel Displays, and Emerging Technologies sectors. Recent responsibilities have included leading the Edwards’ Solar business growth program and doubling Edwards’ footprint within the sector.

Sia holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Non-Destructive Testing from Brunel University in London and a Masters of Science degree in Project Management from Brighton University.

About Edwards
Edwards is a leading developer and manufacturer of sophisticated vacuum products, abatement systems, and related value-added services. These are integral to manufacturing processes for semiconductors, flat panel displays, LEDs and solar cells; are used within an increasingly diverse range of industrial processes including power, glass and other coating applications, steel and other metallurgy, pharmaceutical, and chemical; and for both scientific instruments and a wide range of R&D applications.

Edwards has over 3,200 full-time employees and 500 temporary workers operating in approximately 30 countries worldwide engaged in the design, manufacture, and support of high technology vacuum and exhaust management equipment.  

Edwards’ American Depositary Shares trade on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol EVAC. Further information about Edwards can be found at www.edwardsvacuum.com. 

The last day to vote in the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, as part of The American Business Awards, the nation’s premier business awards program, is August 9.

If you haven't yet voted, you can vote now: http://PeoplesChoice.StevieAwards.com.

This is a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories. Among the categories are Favorite Cloud App/Service, Favorite Consumer Product, Favorite Telecommunications Service, and Favorite Hardware.

All new products and services that were nominated in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards are automatically included in people’s choice voting. Organizations will have the opportunity to win two awards: a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award, as determined by professionals in the ABAs’ peer-review judging, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as determined by the public vote.

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be announced at The American Business Awards' new product and tech awards banquet at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco on September 16.

Past winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products include Apple, Boost Mobile, Dow Jones, and Samsung.

August 9 is the last day to vote in the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, as part of The American Business Awards, the nation’s premier business awards program.

If you haven't yet voted, you can vote now: http://PeoplesChoice.StevieAwards.com.

This is a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories including:

• Favorite Cloud App/Service
• Favorite Consumer Product
• Favorite Hardware
• Favorite Telecommunications Service

All new products and services that were nominated in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards are automatically included in people’s choice voting. Organizations will have the opportunity to win two awards: a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award, as determined by professionals in the ABAs’ peer-review judging, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as determined by the public vote.

Winners of the crystal People's Choice Stevie Awards will be announced at The American Business Awards' new product and tech awards banquet at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco on September 16.

Past winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products include Apple, Boost Mobile, Dow Jones, and Samsung.

Leave us a comment and let us know about your favorite new product!

The 2013 American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the USA, will feature the 5th edition of the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a nationwide vote in which the general public will get to choose one favorite product in more than 30 categories. (The final entry deadline for the 2013 ABAs is April 24, request your entry kit here and you will receive it right away.)

All Finalists in the new product awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards will automatically be included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a public vote that will commence in July. Finalists in the Best New Product or Service categories will have an opportunity to win two awards: a Stevie® Award, as voted by peers, and a crystal People's Choice Stevie Award, as voted by customers.

Products and services introduced to the marketplace since January 1, 2012 are eligible for our new product awards and nominees may be brand new or new versions. Our product of the year awards categories include:

• Business-to-Business Products
• Business-to-Business Services    
• Consumer Electronics
• Consumer Products
• Consumer Services
• Financial Services
• Hardware
     a. Computer
     b. Networking
     c. Peripheral
     d. Semiconductor or Other Electronic Component
     e. Storage
     f. Other
• Health & Pharmaceuticals
     a. Product
     b. Service
• Industrial Products & Services
• Media & Entertainment
     a. Product
     b. Service
• Software
     a. Asset Management Solution
     b. Business or Competitive Intelligence Solution
     c. Cloud Application/Service
     d. Cloud Infrastructure
     e. Cloud Platform
     f. Collaboration/Social Networking Solution
     g. Content Management Solution
     h. Corporate Learning/Workforce Development Solution
     i. Database Innovation
     j. Document Management Solution
     k. Electronic Commerce Solution
     l. Financial Management Solution
     m. Human Capital Management Solution
     n. Integration Solution
     o. International Data Protection Solution
     p. Marketing/Public Relations Solution
     q. Mobile On-Demand Application
     r. Mobile Operations Management Solution
     s. Project Management Solution
     t. Relationship Management Solution
     u. Security Solution
     v. Software Development Solution
     w. Supply Chain Management Solution
     x. Systems Management Solution
     y. Web Services Solution
     z. Other
• Telecommunications
     a. Hardware
     b. Service
• Transportation

Voting will be conducted by the general public in July-August, and the winners will be honored at the ABA's tech awards ceremony in San Francisco on September 16 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom.   

Which best new product will you nominate in this year's ABAs?