START YOUR BUSINESS AWARDS 2009

From the panel at Start Your Business magazine, we are pleased to announce the winners for the 2009 Small Business Awards. The selection was made by our readers, writers, contributors, and subscribers through our survey.

• Best Small Business Domain
  Registration - 1&1
• Best Small Business Bank - HSBC
• Best Small Business Insurance – Hiscox
• Best Small Business Software – Palo Alto
  
• Best Small Business Webhosting – WebFusion
  
• Best Small Business E-Commerce
  Product – ekmPowershop
  
• Best Small Business Serviced office – Regus
  
• Best Small Business Accounting Product  - Sage
  
• Best Small Business CRM product  - Maximizer
  
• Best Small Business IT supplier – Dell
  
• Best Small Business Product – Blackberry
  
• Best Small Business Resource – Google
  
• Best Franchise Opportunity – Subway

Best Small Business Domain Registration - 1&1

Oliver Mauss, CEO 1&1 Internet Ltd. said, “We are honoured to be recognised by those well served by 1&1 Internet. It is always our top priority to provide entrepreneurs with the tools necessary for business success”.

1&1 Internet Ltd. is the UK branch of 1&1 Internet, Europe'sNo.1 web host and domain name registration company. Some 9 million customer contracts and 10 million domains are hosted in its green Data Centres worldwide.

Best Small Business Product - 1&1

BlackBerry is developed by Research In Motion (RIM) and offers business solutions to SMEs through softwares such as the BlackBerry Professional Software and Business Solutions through smartphones.

Winners of the Best Small Business Product 2009, the BlackBerry solution is an integrated platformthat enables access to data and information via email, voice, text and internet/intranet-basedapplications.

Best Small Business IT Supplier - DELL

“Dell is delighted and proud to be named the winner of the Best Small Business IT Provider Award by the readers, writers and subscribers of Start Your Business Magazine. As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell is committed to helping small businesses solve their technology challenges, ease common business issues and draw greater value from IT.

Dell is here to support entrepreneurs every step of the way with
a world-class line-up
of products, solutions
and services.”

Best Small Business E-Commerce Provider- ekmPowershop

“It’s a great honour for ekmPowershop.com to receive the SYB ‘Shopping Cart of the Year’ award. It means a great deal to all the staff at Ekm Systems to have been commended by such an established publication like Start Your Business Magazine, and its readers.
 
ekmPowershop has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, and now powers 1 in every 5 online shops in the UK. Awards like this inspire us to keep pushing the platform and make us more determined toincrease our leading market share, offering an even better service to our customers along the way.“

Best Small Business Resource- Google

Google continues to think about ways in which technology can improve upon existing ways of doing business. New areas are explored, ideas prototyped and budding services nurtured to make them more useful to businesses.

They are the winner of Best Small Business Resource for their services for SMEs that are constantly improved and enhanced to make them more practical and beneficial for business purposes.

The most popular Google applications for business include Gmail, Google Docs and Google Sites.

Best Small Business Insurance - Hiscox

"At Hiscox, we appreciate that no two small businesses are the same. That’s why we offer specialist business insurance that is suited to the risks small businesses may face. Our specialist knowledge and expertise enables us to design flexible insurance policies, so you can choose the right cover for your business."

Hiscox offer a range of business insurance products from professional indemnity to office insurance. For more details on our products, visit www.hiscox.co. uk/business

Best Small Business Bank- HSBC

HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world. They are the winners of Small Business Bank Award 2009 for their continued support to small businesses. They are the leading bank for SMEs by offering a range of targeted solutions and financial advice.

HSBC has a comprehensive range of financial services: personal financial services; commercial banking; corporate, investment banking and markets; private banking; and other activities.

Best Small Business CRM Product - Maximizer

"A big thank you to everyone who voted Maximizer best small business CRM. As a leading provider of simple, accessible, customer relationship management solutions for more than 20 years, Maximizer prides itself on helping new and small businesses increase sales, generate high quality leads, manage Customer Service and build long-term success. Maximizer combines best value with an adaptable, scalable system that empowers small businesses to succeed whether from your desk, on-line or on the move."

Best Small Business Software - Palo Alto

Alan Gleeson of Palo Alto Software (www.paloalto.co.uk) is delighted to accept the best small business software award for Business Plan Pro. "It is great to be recognized independently by Start Your Business Magazine. Our mission at Palo Alto Software is to help entrepreneurs succeed and we hope that Business Plan Pro helps us achieve that in offering entrepreneurs support during their early days. I am delighted to accept this fantastic accolade on behalf of the entire team behind Business Plan Pro - the fastest and easiest way to write a business plan."

Best Small Business Serviced Office- Regus

Regus is the world’s largest provider of workplace solutions and the winner of Best Small Business Serviced Office 2009 for their products and services that benefit SMEs in the workplace.

Products and services that are offered to businesses include fully furnished, equipped and staffed offices, world-class business support services, meeting conference and training facilities. By using Regus, costs are reduced as well as the burden of property ownership to have a workplace to suit however they want to work.

Best Small Business Accounting Product - Sage

"It is fantastic that Sage’s work with small businesses has been recognised with this award. What really makes it special is that it is voted for by Start Your Business’ readers, writers and contributors.

At Sage we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and working in partnership with them in order to develop software and services that meet the challenges they face today, but will also enable them to grow their business profitably."

Best Small Business Web Hosting - Web Fusion

Webfusion Ltd is one of the UK’s leading web hosting groups with 1.4 million hosted websites and 2.15 million registered domains. Webfusion offers cost-effective, feature-rich hosting packages for a diverse customer-base - from web developers, designers and hobbyists to businesses with complex e-commerce operations. Winner of 2009’s SYB Award for Best Small Business Web Hosting Provider, Webfusion’s customers benefit from market-leading security and service, including 24x7 technical support and state-of-the-art data centres.

Best Franchise Opportunity- Domino's

Domino’s Pizza is delighted to have been voted Best Franchise by Start Your Business readers. 2009 has been a great year for pizza but we’re still seeking new franchisees to open Domino’s stores. Domino’s is ideal for anyone looking to take their career in a new and tasty direction. With one in three franchisees owning businesses worth over £1 million, this is an opportunity not to be missed. For details, call 0198 580657 or visit www.dominos.uk.com /franchising