IT managers have been given the opportunity to showcase the teamwork, innovation and physical fortitude of their staff with the launch of the Ultimate IT Challenge from Optus.
To enter, IT teams must explain how they overcame their largest IT challenge, in any ICT related field, by being innovative and working as a team. Nine teams will be shortlisted and given the chance to participate in a sporting day competing against Australian athletes including, Chris Judd, Matt Giteau and Alicia Molik.
The competition is currently open to Australian businesses of any size and is designed to recognise and reward innovation within IT teams. It will be judged by a panel of IT experts including Australian Computer Society chief executive, Bruce Lakin.
“The Ultimate IT Challenge is a great initiative to raise awareness of innovation among ICT practitioners and we’re very excited about our involvement in this year’s program,” Lakin said in a statement.
The challenge will recognise one winner in the enterprise space (200 or more employees) and three small to medium business winners (under 200 employees), plus an additional people’s choice award to be chosen by public vote.
Prizes for the winning enterprise team will be the choice of products or services from the telco to the value of $50,000 for the business which employs the team, or $25,000 to help promote the business. The three winning SMB teams will have the option of products and service to the value of $16,900 for the business or $10,000 to help promote the business.
The competition closes on 15 January 2011 and the winners will be announced on 11 February.