Company: PlateSpin Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Company Description: PlateSpin is a leading developer of server virtualization software solutions that bring flexibility and automation to the data center.
Nomination Category: Company, Office & Product Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best New Company

Nomination Title: PlateSpin Ltd

1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

PlateSpin is one of the new breed of start-ups that are thriving in today’s
markets; focusing on solving difficult business problems with truly innovative technology.  The enterprise datacenter is very complicated and difficult to manage.  With shrinking budgets and increased capability expectations, datacenter managers are looking for a change. In March of 2003 PlateSpin Ltd. was founded to address
these needs.  Recognizing the changing trends in the datacenter – a move back to
virtualization and consolidation – PlateSpin tackled the challenge of how
datacenter managers could more easily leverage the benefits that these changes
were promising. 

PlateSpin created its Operating System Portability Technology, which allows
operating systems, data, and applications to be easily moved between computers
from a single point of control.  This is the enabler for many enterprises to
reap real ROI in virtualization and consolidation.   In May of 2004, PowerP2V was released, the world's first automated server conversion solution.  The ability to quickly evolve its product offerings has garnered  PlateSpin unprecedented worldwide growth.

What PlateSpin has achieved in 2004,  ad the massive momentum that it had
built, makes PlateSpin a contender in the est new company category.

Customers were ecstatic with PowerP2V's feature set, “PowerP2V is so far ahead
of your competitors …, PowerP2V is the ‘coolest’ product that I've seen since I
first started working with virtualization software ... it really is amazing …”
were the words of one user.

Starting a successful software company begins with a great idea and a great
product, but many companies have stalled by not being responsive to their
customer's needs.  With a highly skilled product development team, and a
close read on the market, PlateSpin is able to release new versions of its products
in less than three months; in fact PowerP2V has seen 4 major releases in just 8
months.  Its accelerated development schedule is what enables PlateSpin to be
so responsive to its customers. “It's been a pleasure working with your company;
your efforts and willingness to go beyond the initial sell have been appreciated
and set you above other vendors we work with”, commented one of PlateSpin
customers.  This responsiveness is now fostering customer loyalty and
partnership and driving a ten fold customer growth rate over the later half of 2004.

PlateSpin is thriving in a global market by establishing a dedicated group of
channel partners that sell and support PlateSpin products.  This key part of
PlateSpin’s business plan allows for deeper market penetration on all five
continents.  Additionally, by developing these relationships PlateSpin has been
able to win large scale accounts which would not typically engage with newer
vendors.  These large accounts continue to give PlateSpin a high profile in the
market and help to define it as a leader and market trend setter.

With the current evolutionary state of the enterprise datacenter PlateSpin is
poised to help lead the change.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050118.gtspin0118/BNSto
ry/Technology/

http://www.it-analysis.com/article.php?articleid=12175

http://www.platespin.com/corporate/newsdetails.aspx?id=32

http://www.platespin.com/corporate/newsdetails.aspx?id=14

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

As CEO and President of PlateSpin, Stephen leads the overall business strategy
and product management activities for the company. Stephen is a seasoned IT
veteran, with a strong history of creating products and services that exceed
customer expectations. He brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales,
development and lifecycle support of successful commercial software products in
a variety of technology and market segments.

Stephen has held executive positions at FloNetwork Inc., Fulcrum Technologies
(now part of Hummingbird) and NCR Corporation.  Stephen is a product of Queen's University, where he studied both Math and Computing Science.