‘A real opportunity to make a difference’ - Esri UK, Vendor of the Year, UK IT Awards 2024

' To come here and receive that recognition for what we do as a business is fantastic’

The UK IT Industry Awards, held in London last week, celebrate the best of the tech sector. Esri UK, specialising in geospatial software, took home the hotly contested Vendor of the Year prize.

Managing director Pete Wilkinson told us the win “feels amazing.”

“We're all very proud of what we do. We often think what we do doesn't get wider recognition around the use of geospatial location, so to come here and receive that recognition for what we do as a business is fantastic - really exciting.”

IT has in the past been seen as a bit of a back-office function, operating behind the scenes but not core to success. Events like the UK IT Industry Awards, Pete said, are helping to change that perception.

“Anything that recognises the efforts made by the IT sector, which can sometimes be seen as a bit of a backroom part of an organisation, I think is great and brings extra profile to the work that people do in this sector.”

Both IT and the geospatial sector itself give people “a real opportunity to make a difference: to use IT in a really interesting and exciting way and actually move the whole UK economy, society and environment forward in ways that people don't always think that IT can help with.”

And the win was really meaningful for Esri. The company has been in business for forty years, but “we often think a lot of people have never heard of [us].”

“To actually get what we're doing out in front of a broader audience, in front of an awards like this, is absolutely fantastic. It means a great deal.”