Glasgow company could win prestigious ‘tech for good’ award 

A Glasgow-based technology company has been nominated for a ‘tech for good’ award after offering free support to healthcare organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Simul8, which provides specialist simulation software to aid planning decisions, has been recognised by the 2021 UK Business Tech Awards after giving away more than £100,000 worth of free software licenses to over 150 organisations throughout the public health crisis.

Helping services in both in the UK and internationally, the company also offered around six weeks of pro-bono consulting.

The awards celebrate the UK’s finest technology businesses, while the tech for good category looks to reward an outstanding campaign or project that has significantly impacted society and made a lasting positive change.

Hospitals across the country have benefitted from using Simul8’s software to ensure that any updates to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity would be sufficient to handle the added strain on resources, while cold supply chain expert Controlant was able to triple production of its specialist internet of things (IoT) trackers that were vital in the shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Simul8 has also been used to support vaccination rollouts at several international hospitals including Saint Anthony in Chicago, where it doubled vaccination efforts, and St. Luke’s University Health Network in Pittsburgh.

Additionally, it has helped with planning overflow at hospitals in major cities and managing testing processes in labs

Simul8 chief executive Laura Reid said: “The decision to offer our support during the pandemic for free was an easy one. The alternative would have been not to act at all, or to try and profit at the time of greatest need, which would simply go against our whole ethos of improved empowerment and accessibility to technology that can make a positive difference.

“As a Glasgow-based SME [small medium enterprise], this was a big undertaking where we were successful in getting our pro-bono support out to numerous organisations both in the UK and around the world. I couldn’t be more proud of the whole Simul8 team and it’s such an honour to have their fantastic achievements recognised by this nomination for the prestigious UK Business Tech Awards.”

Other categories at the UK Business Tech Awards include ‘best use of data’, ‘Covid continuity award’, ‘app of the year’ and ‘best use of innovation’.

The event will take place at a gala dinner and awards ceremony in London on Wednesday 13 October at the Montcalm Marble Arch Hotel.