ERP Writers Awards 2017 winners announced

The judges have made their decisions. You’ve cast your votes. We’ve tallied them up and tallied them up again - just to make sure we’ve got it right.

We’re now in a position to reveal the winners of the ERP Writers’ Awards 2017!

But before we do, we feel we need to point out how close run this year’s competition has been. The judges spent a long time deliberating over who to give their points to, and in a couple of cases we had a complete tie. As there was really very little to differentiate on, we've awarded these awards jointly. 

We had some great articles submitted for these awards, so we’ve left the shortlist up with links to everyone's work for your perusal. It’s the season of giving after all, so it would have been selfish to keep it all to ourselves. You’ll also find our awards FAQ and last year’s winners, should you want more ideas on where to find great ERP writing.

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So, without further ado, here are the winners. Congrats to all our winners, runners-up and shortlistees - and here’s to more great ERP-based content in 2018!

ERP Writers' Awards 2017 winners

Best writer

• Gold: Jessica Glace (ACC Solutions)
• Silver: Rod O'Connor (ERP Software Blog)
• Silver: Samantha Hornby (Blue Link ERP)
• Bronze: Glenn Graney (QAD)

Best article

• 'A new Aera for ERP in the search for productivity gains' - Brian Sommer, diginomica
• 'What a failed ERP implementation looks like' - Salli Churchill, Ultra Consultants
• 'Project success: what is it and how do you know it’s been achieved?' - Dave Skinner, Godlan

Best vendor blog

• Gold: QAD
• Silver: IQMS
• Bronze: Blue Link ERP
• Bronze: ProcessPro

Best independent blog

• Gold: ERP Software Blog
• Silver: ACC Software Solutions
• Bronze: Anegis Blog

ERP Writers' Awards 2017 shortlist

Best writer

• Jessica Glace (ACC Software Solutions)
• Bobby Rudder (Godlan)
• Rod O'Connor (ERP Software Blog)
• Beth Garofallou (AKA Enterprise Solutions)
• Glenn Graney (QAD)
• Samantha Hornby (Blue Link ERP)

Best article

• 'Future proof with post modern ERP' - Jessica Glace, ACC Software Solutions
• 'Project success: what is it and how do you know it’s been achieved?' - Dave Skinner, Godlan
• 'Reducing upgrade anxiety: six ways to get past it and start enjoying the benefits' - Beth Garofallou, AKA Enterprise Solutions
• 'Cost-effective predictive analytics is placing the Power of Big Data In SMBs' hands' - Daniel Erikson, ProcessPro
• 'A new Aera for ERP in the search for productivity gains' - Brian Sommer, diginomica
• 'What a failed ERP implementation looks like' - Salli Churchill, Ultra Consultants 

Best vendor blog

• Merit Solutions
• Godlan
• QAD
• Avaap
• Global Shop Solutions
• IQMS
• Blue Link ERP
• ProcessPro

Best independent blog

• ACC Software Solutions
• Ultra Consultants 
• LMA Consulting Group
• ERP Software Blog
• Carl de Souza
• Anegis Blog

When will the ERP Writers' Awards 2018 open for nominations?

The ERP Writers' Awards run annually, typically over November and December. 

We don't have exact dates yet - but are happy that you are interested! Announcements will be made on this page in due course, so do bookmark us and check back later in 2018. 

What are the categories for the ERP Writers’ Awards?

There are four categories in the awards, with ‘gold’, ‘silver’ and ‘bronze’ awards up for grabs in each.

• Best writer: submit three supporting examples of your writing, all from within the last year
• Best article: submit your best article of the past year - choose carefully!
• Best vendor blog: all that’s required is the URL of your blog, though there is space to signpost three of your blog’s best articles on the nomination form
• Best independent blog: same criteria as ‘best vendor blog’. Whilst the only strict requirement is your URL, we'd love it if you showed off your best work by submitting three of your best pieces as well

Just to be clear, we’re defining an independent blog as any blog that isn’t directly operated by an ERP vendor.

Consultants, analysts, enthusiasts and anyone else who isn’t an ERP vendor should be entered into the ‘best independent blog’ category. For example, if you’re an independent Dynamics consultant wanting to nominate your Dynamics blog for an award, do so in the ‘independent’ category.

You can enter your nominee for as many categories as they are eligible. You are also free to nominate your blog into one of the blog categories and your content creators into the individual categories - but these should be entered as separate nominations on the form.

What type of writing is admissible to the awards?

Our criteria for supporting examples of writing are simple. Anything submitted must be:

• 300 words or more
• Not explicitly marketing material

That’s all. With this in mind, please do not send us press releases, case studies or web copy from your sales pages.

On the other hand, we’re open to just about everything else! So, dig out your news articles, blog posts, reports, whitepapers or whatever else will impress our judging panel - we’d love to read them.

Talking of which…

Who judged the 2017 ERP Writers’ Awards?

Four key players here:

• Kathryn Beeson: ERP Focus editor (yours truly)
• Tom Miller: longtime ERP contributor, all-round ERP expert
• Jon Reed: ERP analyst and consultant at jonerp.com; diginomica co-founder; winner of last year’s Best Writer gold award 
• You: the awards are partly decided by public vote - see below for how to make your voice heard

As well as taking the ‘best writer’ award individually, Jon and his team won ‘best independent blog’ with diginomica at last year’s awards, so we’re really looking forward to the expertise that Jon can bring to the table.

“As the co-founder of diginomica, I'm also a full time blogger” explains Jon. “Part of that role involves my five year tradition of curating the best enterprise blogs and analysis for my weekly Enterprise Hits and Misses column. I'm always looking for work that cuts through the enterprise noise and provides context and critique in the midst of tech hype.”

How does voting work?

This year, voting will comprise a third of the overall decision.

Once the nomination period is over, you’ll be able to vote on this page from the 4th of December. Bookmark us now so you remember.

It’s one vote per person in each of our four categories (and yes, you can vote for yourself if you want to).

What are the criteria for winning the ERP Writers’ Awards?

For all categories, we judge based on:

• Writing style: is your prose clear and engaging to read?
• Originality: are your ideas fresh and exciting, or just a rehash of things everyone else has said before?
• Depth of insight: how much detail have you gone into, and how is it useful for your readers?

Additionally, for the ‘best vendor blog’ and ‘best independent blog’ categories, we’ll be taking frequency of updates into account, alongside how well your content is presented.

What is the timeline for the ERP Writers' Awards 2017?

• Nominations open 21^st November and close on 3^rd December
• Judging and voting start on 4^th December and close on 10^th December
• Winners are announced on the 11^th December

Last year's winners

Best writer

• Gold: Jon Reed - Diginomica
• Silver: Samantha Hornby - Blue Link
• Bronze: Frank Scavo - Strativa

Best article

• Gold: 'The ERP Boom' - Jeekeshen Chinnapen, Big Bang ERP
• Silver: 'Transforming the supply chain for better customer experiences' - Phil Wainewright, diginomica
• Bronze: ‘'The Big shift - transforming the enterprise software industry' - Lisa Pope, Infor

Best independent ERP blog

• Gold: Diginomica
• Silver: ERP Software Blog
• Bronze: Panorama’s 360^o ERP blog

Best ERP vendor blog

• Gold: QAD
• Silver: Infor
• Bronze: Global Shop Solutions