From left to right, Councillor Vicky Howes, RBWM; Claire
Simpson, Director of System Associates and Daphne Milner, Chief
Executive of Business Link Wiltshire & Berkshire.
System Associates, a provider of enterprise-wide Internet
technology, has won the Small Business of the Year Award in the
Business Excellence Awards, staged by the Royal Borough of Windsor
and Maidenhead and sponsored by Business Link.
The Awards recognise the achievements of local businesses and
aim to provide a benchmark of excellence within the Royal Borough
of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM). Julie Shields, Economic
Development Officer for RBWM comments: "Small businesses represent
more than 90% of business within the Royal Borough and so, the
Small Business Award category is hotly contested. This year saw the
number of entries up by 20%."
Claire Simpson, director of System Associates collected the
award at a ceremony on 21st April and was delighted with the
result. She comments: "We knew we were one of the finalists for the
Award, but it was fantastic to hear our name called out as the
overall winner for the Small Business of the Year Award."
System Associates last year was runner-up in the same award
category and it was determined to win this year. Claire Simpson
comments: "We won some significant new contracts last year against
some of the major blue-chip players in our field. Our team has been
working incredibly hard to grow our business and it has been a
fantastic year for us."
Last year saw System Associates win the contract to develop the
London Portal, a web portal aimed at unifying the various borough
councils and services, to create a world-leading information
resource for visitors, businesses and residents of London. The year
also saw completion of a digital media library and content
management system for 'Collect Britain', an eclectic online
collection from the British Library, which comprises more than
90,000 sounds and images about British life, from as far back as
800AD. The company has also moved into new premises this year,
achieved Investor in People status, ISO9001:2000 quality standard
and BS7799 for data management and security.
Julie Shields comments: "System Associates' entry represented a
thriving company, which operates within a fast-moving and
competitive area of information technology. It has surpassed its
business objectives and, at the same time, it demonstrates a
focused commitment to quality and flexibility for its workforce and
its customers."
