Sage Business Awards ‘Highly Commend’ Connexion2
It was celebrations all the way at South Yorkshire based Connexion2, the developer and manufacturer of the highly acclaimed Identicom, lone worker protection device, after beating off hundreds of entries in the Sage Business Awards, in Partnership with The Daily Telegraph, to win “Highly Commended” in the “Best Start Up” category.The presentation was made during a gala dinner, held at Newcastle United Football Ground, which was attended by more than 100 leading business and media figures.
Now in its ninth year, The Daily Telegraph’s Business Awards sponsored by Sage is a platform to recognise the entrepreneurial achievements of British companies. The category for “Best Start Up” was open to businesses with between 1-10 employees that started up in the last two years.
James Averdieck, last year’s winner and a 2005 judge, said: “Competition in the new business category was intense and Connexion2 really impressed me with their highly innovative product and approach – They are a company that’s really going places”
Accepting the award from Mr Averdieck, Craig Swallow, Managing Director of Connexion2 said: “It is commendable that The Daily Telegraph encompasses both established and newly founded companies in this award scheme. We are delighted that Identicom has made such an impression on the judges and has already been adopted by many organisations to prevent verbal and physical abuse against lone workers.”
Launched in 2004, Identicom looks like a standard ID holder but is equipped with mobile telephone technology.The device includes a lanyard attachment that enables it to be worn around the neck as a standard ID and hides a ‘rip alarm’ function, which is triggered if the unit is forcibly removed from the wearer.
If a worker feels threatened they discreetly push an alarm button, which sends a call for help to a remote centre. Any exchange between the worker and an assailant is also recorded, providing valuable, admissible evidence if a case is brought to court.The device can also support the pinpointing of a worker’s location using GSM/LBS technology.
Connexion2 has already successfully launched Identicom to the NHS for its employees who work alone in the community. Other groups of workers in the UK now benefiting from the security Identicom provides include those employed in transport, local government, housing associations, finance and commerce.Ends
