About the Technology Industry category
What belongs in this category
The Technology Industry category covers security products and services built for technology companies other than software companies: makers of hardware, devices and semiconductors, telecommunications operators, IT services and hosting companies, and internet platforms. Typical entries protect design data and intellectual property, secure the supply chain for hardware and firmware (the software built into devices), or defend networks and platforms that serve millions of users.
Solutions for software and SaaS companies have their own category, Software Industry, and a solution that serves both kinds of company can enter both categories. Telecommunications is also an essential service, so a solution for operators can go into Critical Infrastructure as well.
Related categories to enter
Each category is judged separately, so you can enter a solution in every category that fits, with a separate nomination for each. Write each nomination for its category: on these pages, show what the solution does for organizations in the sector. The same product or service can also be entered in the product category that matches what it does. Entering several related categories gives the solution more than one chance to be recognized.
How entries are judged
An independent jury of security practitioners, analysts and CISOs scores each nomination on leadership, innovation and impact. Each nomination competes in its category against entries from vendors of similar size and region, so a mid-sized vendor is not ranked against a global enterprise. Your entry package, any sponsorship and public votes do not affect the jury's scores.
Strong entries in this category show:
- Leadership — the technology companies that rely on the solution: device makers, operators or platforms served, users or devices protected, industry standards met.
- Innovation — what was built for the technology sector, such as protection for chip and product designs, security at every stage of a long hardware supply chain, or defense at the scale of a telecommunications network.
- Impact — results for technology customers: attempts to take design data detected and stopped, supply chain weaknesses fixed, service outages avoided, attacks stopped without disruption to users. Give figures from technology customers.
The jury awards Gold, Silver or Bronze, or a Finalist badge, and results are published on this site and announced to the 600,000+ member Cybersecurity Insiders community. Every approved nomination also enters the separate Community Choice award, decided by public votes.
How to enter
A vendor or service provider can enter its own solution, or someone else can enter it, for example a PR or marketing agency acting for a client. The nomination form has a confidential field for detail that is shared with the judges and not published, such as customer names, numbers of sites, users or devices protected, or contract details. Deadlines, pricing and entry steps are on the How it Works page.
