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Red Hat innovation awards
We don't like to brag—unless it's about our customers
Our customers make inspiring improvements that affect their lines of business, organizations, and even the global community. Red Hat honors select customers each year through the Red Hat® Innovation Awards program.
2021 Red Hat Innovation Awards winners
Each year, a panel of judges narrows down a pool of global nominees to 5 Red Hat Innovation Awards winners. Learn more about the 2021 Red Hat Innovation Awards winners’ stories.
Education Payroll Limited created a digital payroll service for New Zealand schools with help from Deloitte.
The Ireland Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine protects farmers from GDPR risk using artificial intelligence and machine learning with partner Version 1.
Medifé launched a telemedicine platform that rapidly digitized healthcare interactions in Argentina.
The Argentine Ministry of Health created a COVID-19 dashboard to support pandemic response.
The Volkswagen Group developed an environment to test integration among components in increasingly complex vehicles.
Red Hat Innovator of the Year
Cast your vote!
Voting is open for the 2021 Innovator of the Year. Selected from our Innovation Award Winners by the community through online voting, this year’s Innovator of the Year will be announced at the Red Hat Summit virtual event.
2021 Honorable Mentions
In recognition of their innovative use of open source technologies, we congratulate these outstanding customers as the 2021 Red Hat Innovation Awards Honorable Mentions.
Past winners
Since 2007, Red Hat customers and partners have been recognized for their outstanding and innovative use of Red Hat solutions.
2020
Red Hat Innovator of the Year
Vodafone Idea
Red Hat Innovation Awards Winners:
2018
Red Hat Innovator of the Year
UPS
Red Hat Innovation Awards Winners:
2017
Red Hat Innovator of the Year
Rackspace
Red Hat Innovation Awards Winners:
Government of British Columbia
2015
Red Hat Innovator of the Year
Avianca
Red Hat Innovation Awards Winners:
American Product Distributors
PROGRAM DETAILS
2021 Red Hat Innovation Awards
OverviewHow does the Red Hat Innovation Awards nomination and selection process work?
From August to September, customers can nominate themselves for an award, or they can be nominated by others. To request your nomination form, email the Red Hat Customer Reference team: customer-references@redhat.com.
Our panel of industry-expert judges will review and score the nominations (an average of 60 per year, based on past data), narrowing them down to the top 5 winning projects and 5 honorable mentions that meet our Innovation Awards criteria for outstanding work. The winners and honorable mentions will be publicly announced and showcased during Red Hat Summit 2021.
From the 5 winners, the 2021 Red Hat Innovator of the Year will be selected by the community through online voting. The winner will be announced during Red Hat Summit 2021.
Read the 2021 Red Hat Innovation Awards terms and conditions for complete details.
Note: Not all countries are eligible. To find out if your country is eligible, go to section 2 of the terms and conditions. English submissions only.
CriteriaWhat makes an Innovation Awards winner?
Red Hat Innovation Awards submissions will be judged against 5 criteria, which are listed below. Judges will score each submission, and those that receive the highest scores across all criteria will be the 5 winners and 5 honorable mentions.
- Business impact: How is your project directly benefiting your organization? Is it impacting another line of business or return on investment (ROI)? Do data points show increased productivity, cost, or time savings? In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are especially interested in projects that helped organizations adapt to new ways of working or provided new services to customers during this challenging time. Share details about the project’s measurable impact.
- Digital transformation: Has your organization gone through a migration, optimized your existing IT, integrated apps or business processes, or quickly built more modern apps? Has it moved to the cloud (public, private, or hybrid), and are you using AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google? Clearly articulate why you needed to transform, share details of your journey, and illustrate where your organization is now by showing us the before and after.
- Openness: Is your project leading innovation by building an open source culture, contributing to community projects, fostering DevOps, or promoting diversity, collaboration, and meritocracy? Is the project using open source technology to support a broad range of applications and business services? Tell us about it.
- Community impact or influence: How is your IT making a difference in the lives of others? Are you improving the daily experiences of your customers, end users, or employees? Are you influencing an organization or agency to impact communities or your society?
- Cool factor: Does your project have a uniqueness and distinct vision showing innovation, creativity, and originality that we haven’t seen or heard of before?
RecognitionWhat's in it for you?
Red Hat Innovation Awards winners will receive:
- An opportunity to participate in activities during Red Hat Summit.
- Inclusion in the Red Hat Innovation Awards winner announcement.
- Promotion through Red Hat’s website, social media channels, and marketing campaigns.
- Publicity in top industry publications.
- A chance to be included in other Red Hat Innovators in the Open activities throughout the year.
ScheduleDates to remember
August 3, 2020: Nominations open
Sept. 13, 2020: Last day for submissions
October 2020: 2021 winners and honorable mentions notified
April 2021: Voting for Innovator of the Year begins
April 2021: Red Hat Innovation Awards winners, honorable mentions, and Red Hat Innovator of the Year recognized at Red Hat Summit
Judges2020 Red Hat Innovation Awards judges
Ashesh Badani, Senior Vice President, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat
Caroline Chappell, Research Director and Industry Analyst, Analysys Mason
Stefanie Chiras, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux business unit, Red Hat
Leigh Day, Vice President, Marketing Communications, Red Hat
Sean Michael Kerner, Freelance Journalist
Chris Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Red Hat
Alberto Iglesias Fraga, Deputy director, INNOVADORES Supplement, La Razon
How does the Red Hat Innovation Awards nomination and selection process work?
From August to September, customers can nominate themselves for an award, or they can be nominated by others. To request your nomination form, email the Red Hat Customer Reference team: customer-references@redhat.com.
Our panel of industry-expert judges will review and score the nominations (an average of 60 per year, based on past data), narrowing them down to the top 5 winning projects and 5 honorable mentions that meet our Innovation Awards criteria for outstanding work. The winners and honorable mentions will be publicly announced and showcased during Red Hat Summit 2021.
From the 5 winners, the 2021 Red Hat Innovator of the Year will be selected by the community through online voting. The winner will be announced during Red Hat Summit 2021.
Read the 2021 Red Hat Innovation Awards terms and conditions for complete details.
Note: Not all countries are eligible. To find out if your country is eligible, go to section 2 of the terms and conditions. English submissions only.
What makes an Innovation Awards winner?
Red Hat Innovation Awards submissions will be judged against 5 criteria, which are listed below. Judges will score each submission, and those that receive the highest scores across all criteria will be the 5 winners and 5 honorable mentions.
- Business impact: How is your project directly benefiting your organization? Is it impacting another line of business or return on investment (ROI)? Do data points show increased productivity, cost, or time savings? In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are especially interested in projects that helped organizations adapt to new ways of working or provided new services to customers during this challenging time. Share details about the project’s measurable impact.
- Digital transformation: Has your organization gone through a migration, optimized your existing IT, integrated apps or business processes, or quickly built more modern apps? Has it moved to the cloud (public, private, or hybrid), and are you using AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google? Clearly articulate why you needed to transform, share details of your journey, and illustrate where your organization is now by showing us the before and after.
- Openness: Is your project leading innovation by building an open source culture, contributing to community projects, fostering DevOps, or promoting diversity, collaboration, and meritocracy? Is the project using open source technology to support a broad range of applications and business services? Tell us about it.
- Community impact or influence: How is your IT making a difference in the lives of others? Are you improving the daily experiences of your customers, end users, or employees? Are you influencing an organization or agency to impact communities or your society?
- Cool factor: Does your project have a uniqueness and distinct vision showing innovation, creativity, and originality that we haven’t seen or heard of before?
RecognitionWhat's in it for you?
Red Hat Innovation Awards winners will receive:
- An opportunity to participate in activities during Red Hat Summit.
- Inclusion in the Red Hat Innovation Awards winner announcement.
- Promotion through Red Hat’s website, social media channels, and marketing campaigns.
- Publicity in top industry publications.
- A chance to be included in other Red Hat Innovators in the Open activities throughout the year.
ScheduleDates to remember
August 3, 2020: Nominations open
Sept. 13, 2020: Last day for submissions
October 2020: 2021 winners and honorable mentions notified
April 2021: Voting for Innovator of the Year begins
April 2021: Red Hat Innovation Awards winners, honorable mentions, and Red Hat Innovator of the Year recognized at Red Hat Summit
Judges2020 Red Hat Innovation Awards judges
Ashesh Badani, Senior Vice President, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat
Caroline Chappell, Research Director and Industry Analyst, Analysys Mason
Stefanie Chiras, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux business unit, Red Hat
Leigh Day, Vice President, Marketing Communications, Red Hat
Sean Michael Kerner, Freelance Journalist
Chris Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Red Hat
Alberto Iglesias Fraga, Deputy director, INNOVADORES Supplement, La Razon
What's in it for you?
Red Hat Innovation Awards winners will receive:
- An opportunity to participate in activities during Red Hat Summit.
- Inclusion in the Red Hat Innovation Awards winner announcement.
- Promotion through Red Hat’s website, social media channels, and marketing campaigns.
- Publicity in top industry publications.
- A chance to be included in other Red Hat Innovators in the Open activities throughout the year.
Dates to remember
August 3, 2020: Nominations open
Sept. 13, 2020: Last day for submissions
October 2020: 2021 winners and honorable mentions notified
April 2021: Voting for Innovator of the Year begins
April 2021: Red Hat Innovation Awards winners, honorable mentions, and Red Hat Innovator of the Year recognized at Red Hat Summit
Judges2020 Red Hat Innovation Awards judges
Ashesh Badani, Senior Vice President, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat
Caroline Chappell, Research Director and Industry Analyst, Analysys Mason
Stefanie Chiras, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux business unit, Red Hat
Leigh Day, Vice President, Marketing Communications, Red Hat
Sean Michael Kerner, Freelance Journalist
Chris Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Red Hat
Alberto Iglesias Fraga, Deputy director, INNOVADORES Supplement, La Razon
2020 Red Hat Innovation Awards judges
Ashesh Badani, Senior Vice President, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat
Caroline Chappell, Research Director and Industry Analyst, Analysys Mason
Stefanie Chiras, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux business unit, Red Hat
Leigh Day, Vice President, Marketing Communications, Red Hat
Sean Michael Kerner, Freelance Journalist
Chris Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Red Hat
Alberto Iglesias Fraga, Deputy director, INNOVADORES Supplement, La Razon
your perspective
Meet this year’s winners at Summit
Join Red Hat® Summit Virtual Experience for live demos, keynotes, and sessions featuring some of this year's Innovation Awards winners—happening April 27–28 and June 15–16.
Register today
Open source fuels innovation. This fact is exemplified best by Red Hat’s customers, who are using open source technologies to change the game. We’re proud to call them "innovators in the open" and share their stories.