The Rules

For Nominees | For Judges

The CODiE™ Awards represent excellence in your industry. In order for the program to represent excellence, it must also reflect excellence. We’ve developed new rules and requirements for participation so you know what to expect and can rely on the program’s staff and leadership for guidance, clarity, and counsel.

If you have any questions, contact Wendy Tanner at 202-789-4458.

Nominees

Eligible Products: any service, application, resource or solution that is available in digital form via disk/internet download, network, the Web, software as a service (SaaS), or the cloud or data center environment.
Product Availability: Products must have been launched and/or available for purchase by October 1, 2010 in order to be eligible for the 2011 CODiE Awards.
Category Placement: Each product may be nominated in up to two categories, which are selected by the nominating entity. This includes “best overall” categories. In order to be eligible for a “best overall” category, the product must be nominated in one or more of the relevant subcategories. Additional categories may be purchased (see pricing information for details).
SIIA reserves the right to cancel any CODiE Awards category with fewer than 5 nominations. If a category is cancelled, nominees in that category will have the option to move to another category (if appropriate) or receive a full refund of the nomination fee.
Validation/Verification of Placement: Nominations must include explanatory text that supports the placement of the product in the category or categories. Additionally, SIIA reserves the right to re-assign nominations to a more appropriate category. Should a nominating entity prefer to remain in what is deemed a less appropriate category, SIIA must receive signed acknowledgement and consent from a company executive.
Access to Product Documentation: Nominating entities are expected to develop an online portal for access to high-level product information that provides key information about the company, the nominated product, the sales/marketing strategy for it, and any customer service/support information relating to it. Provision of an online portal allows for “anywhere, anytime” access by judges and SIIA staff. It also provides nominees with the ability to track access by judges and SIIA staff, thereby holding them accountable during the review phase.
Assignment of Judges: All nominated products are assigned to at least 3 judges. Each judge is assigned a maximum of 5 nominated products, unless more are requested by a judge. Nominees are provided with key information about assigned judges in advance of the review phase.
Nominee Concerns with Judges: Any concerns relating to judge qualifications, conflicts of interest, or any other issue that might negatively affect the judging process must be submitted to SIIA staff in writing prior to the start of the review phase. SIIA staff will review such information and determine a course of action, if necessary, based on the rules for judges (see rules for judges).
Accuracy of Information or Presentation: Nominating entities are expected to provide accurate information about the nominated product. If any information provided on the nomination form should change, it is the responsibility of the primary contact to notify SIIA of the change. SIIA takes no responsibility for inaccurate information if not notified of changes.
Inappropriate Claims or Representation: If, during the review process, a judge or SIIA staff discovers and confirms the existence of inappropriate claims about the nominated product, said information will be removed from consideration and one warning will be provided. A second offense will result in removal of the nominated product from consideration without a refund of the nomination fees.
Professional Conduct: all employees of a nominating company, contracted representatives of said company, and judges are expected to conduct themselves according to the highest levels of professionalism, courtesy, respect, and integrity. SIIA staff will investigate any and all complaints of misconduct on the part of nominees and judges. Should a complaint prove to be in valid, one warning will be provided to the offending party. A second offense will result in removal of the nominated product from consideration without a refund of the nomination fees OR removal of a judge from the program.
The primary deadline for submission of nominations is 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, October 1, 2010. Entries received after this date and time but prior to 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, October 15, 2010 will be processed and charged a $100 late fee.
Nominations must be paid in full by the submission deadline. Requests for invoicing or payment by check must be submitted by 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, September 17, 2010.
Cancellation Policy: SIIA’s policy regarding cancellations is as follows:
- Any nomination cancelled by 5:00 PM on Friday, October 1, 2010 will receive a full refund.
- Prior to the start of the judging phase, any nomination that is deemed a poor fit in a category and, upon review by SIIA staff, the nominating entity and judges, cannot appropriately fit into any other category, will receive a full refund.
- After the start of the judging phase, no refunds will be approved.
Nominee-Judge Communication. Nominee communication with judges must be directly related to the review process or in response to requests for information about the product under review. All other communication is prohibited and will be considered a violation of the CODiE Awards Professional Conduct policy.
Nominee Campaigning. Employees and contracted personnel are prohibited from conducting promotional efforts to garner support from judges or members of SIIA. Such activity will be considered a violation of the CODiE Awards Professional Conduct policy.

Judges

All persons agreeing to serve as a member of the SIIA CODiE Award Judge Panel ("Panel") shall abide by the following terms and conditions.

Qualifications: To qualify to participate as a CODiE Judge, an individual must either: 1. have at least 7 years of proven direct experience working in the technology industry with at least 4 years of work relating to the category to be reviewed; OR 2. Have at least 7 years of proven experience as a customer, analyst, journalist, or investor dealing with business to business technologies, with at least 4 years of experience relating to the category to be reviewed.
Disclosure: Potential judges must disclose their full work history to help avoid any possible conflicts of interest.
Review of Nominations: By agreeing to participate as a member of the Judge Panel, you agree to review every nomination in every category you are assigned to by SIIA.
Conflicts of Interest
1. Employees, contractors, and family members of SIIA are not eligible to serve as judges for the CODiE Awards.
2. Persons who have worked directly for any company eligible for the category in question within the past three years effective June 1, 2010 are not eligible to serve as a judge in that category. SIIA staff will work with the candidate to identify a suitable alternative.
3. Users of products may be considered for recusal or reassignment as a judge for the CODiE™ Awards. Prospective judges are expected to provide information relating to product use either during the application process or during the assignment phase. SIIA staff will work with judges to ensure that any potential conflicts are resolved prior to review.
4. Should a judge discover a potential conflict of interest in the midst of product reviews, said judge must immediately disclose the potential conflict to SIIA staff. Options may include, but not be limited to:
  1. Continued full participation as a judge for all assigned products.
  2. Recusal from review of specific products.
  3. Removal from the category, with possible reassignment to another category.
  4. Removal from judging for all CODiE Awards for the current year.
Conduct: In all interaction with nominees, other judges, and SIIA staff, judges are expected to perform and operate according to the highest professional standards. Reported instances of improper or inappropriate behavior or communication are taken seriously by SIIA, and will result in an investigation by SIIA staff. A first time offense in any CODiE Awards cycle deemed valid through investigation will result in a warning. A second confirmed offense in the same CODiE Awards cycle will result in suspension until the next cycle. A third offense in the same cycle will result in expulsion from the CODiE Awards judging program.
Permitted and Prohibited Uses: All Judges must abide by the terms and conditions of any license agreement that accompanies any nominated product or service reviewed by the Judge. Judges must not engage in any activity that would be considered to be a violation of U.S or international copyright law, this includes, but is not limited to:
- modifying, merging, or transferring copies of the nominated product or service, except as expressly authorized in any license agreement accompanying the product or service;
- disassembling, decompiling or "unlocking," or in any manner decoding the nominated product or software for any reason; and
- placing the nominated product or service onto a server in a manner that makes it accessible to others via a public network such as the Internet.
Gifts: A Judge shall not accept fees, gifts or personal benefits that are connected directly or indirectly with the performance of the Judge's duties.