More Than 60 Companies Are Finalists For N.C. Technology Association '21 Awards'

North Carolina Technology Association’s

“21 Awards.”

Some companies are finalists in more than one category. This year’s theme is “Renaissance: Invention to Opportunity” in acknowledging innovation across the state.

Three individuals also will be recognized. NCTA will hand out the awards on Nov. 9 at the Embassy Suites in Cary.

Finalists were selected by past chairpersons of the NCTA board of directors and Grant Thornton, an accounting, tax and business advisory firm.

“Selecting finalists from what became the largest and most impressive list of nominees in NCTA 21 awards program’s history was a difficult task,” said Joan Myers, president and chief executive officer of NCTA. “I look forward to the awards gala so we can celebrate not only the finalists but all the companies and individuals who are driving the knowledge economy in North Carolina.”

The awards fall in five general categories: technology industry, stage of development, functional, leadership and excellence.

The finalists by category are:

Communications Company of the Year: Hatteras Networks, Madison River Communication, Overture Networks, Inc. and Tekelec

Consumer Technology Company of the Year: Dell Inc., goodmortgage.com, LED Lighting Fixtures, Inc. and Lenovo

Corporate Citizenship Award: Capitol Broadcasting Company, Credit Suisse First Boston, Drake Software and GlaxoSmithKline

Corporate Education: Cisco Systems Inc., IBM, SAS and Time Warner Cable

Early Stage Company of the Year: Affinergy, Inc., LED Lighting Fixtures, Inc. and rPath

Electronics Company of the Year: Cree, Inc., Integrian, Inc., MTS Systems Corp. and Tekelec

Healthcare/Pharmaceutical Company of the Year: GlaxoSmithKline, Misys Healthcare Systems, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. and Scynexis, Inc.

IT Support Services Award: Hutchinson Law Group PLLC, Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, L.L.P. and Square 1 Bank

Large Company of the Year: Lenovo, Network Appliance, Inc. and Parata Systems

Media Award: Charlotte Business Journal, Charlotte Observer, WRAL Local Tech Wire and TechJournal South

Mid-Size Company of the Year: Arsenal Digital Solutions, Engineous Software, Inc., goodmortgage.com and Titan Technology Partners

Private Company of the Year: APEX Analytix, Inc., Constella Group, Engineous Software, Inc. and Titan Technology Partners

Public Company: Insteel Industries Inc., Nucor Corporation, PPD, Inc. and SPX Corporation

Software Company of the Year: A4 Health Systems® (now a part of Allscripts), Geomagic, Sageworks and Ultimus

Top Customer Service Company of the Year: Accipiter Solutions, Inc., goodmortgage.com, Misys Healthcare Systems and Peak 10

Top Government/Not-For-Profit of the Year: Advanced Energy, e-NC Authority, First Flight Venture Center and the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI)

Top Growth Company of the Year: Network Appliance, Inc., Peak 10, Square 1 Bank and Titan Technology Partners

Top Venture Capital Invested Company of the Year: Biolex Therapeutics, Motricity, Serenex, Inc. and Tranzyme Pharma

Individual Awards: NCTA will also present three individual awards in the following categories: Outstanding Achievement Award, NCTA Volunteer, and Public Leadership in Technology Award.