Zen Web Solutions - Award for Innovation

ITN News anchorman John Suchet presenting the Zen Web Solutions team the Award for Innovation.

Zen Web Solutions, a division of Zen Internet, has announced that it has won the Award for Innovation in Content Management at the recent International Information Industry Awards. These awards recognise excellence within the entire information community, across six continents. Zen won the Innovation Award for a Web site designed on behalf of the Partners Foundation, a non-profit making organisation providing solutions in care and accommodation of people with learning disabilities.

Zen Web Solutions fought off competition from the likes of KPMG to win the prestigious award. Its winning entry was an information portal developed for Partners Foundation to support its Step-by-Step campaign, offering advice on finding and financing accommodation. The site acts as a map that guides people through the many complicated rules that surround housing, mortgage entitlements and the benefits system.

Zen developed the site so that it would be completely accessible for those with learning disabilities, making it easy to navigate, simple to use and able to show text available in large print - with the facility to increase or decrease the font size as necessary. The design also provided a content management system that could be used by the team maintaining the site to make updates easily and quickly, whenever legislation or benefits information change.

Valerie Braken, chairwoman of the board of directors for the Step-by-Step campaign, said: "We have received some extremely positive feedback from people using the site, including those with learning disabilities, their families and social workers. We are delighted with Zen Web Solutions' innovative response to our original brief. Our site can now be accessed by those with all manner of learning difficulties and empowers them to make their own informed choices."

She continued: "The Discrimination Act comes in to force in October 2004 and requires equal access to information, communication, places and services. It's fantastic that our site has won this award for Zen Web Solutions, and hope that it will influence others to adopt this approach to Web design in the future."

Jamie Mellalieu, business development consultant, Zen Web Solutions said: "We are delighted to have won an award that reflects expertise in the provision of innovative Web sites for organisations where accessibility is fundamental to success and adoption."

The International Information Industry Awards was hosted by Imark Communications and Information World and took place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London. It was hosted by John Suchet, anchorman for the ITN News.