We've been doing this since 2012.
Recognition as a Service is built by Business Intelligence Group (BIG), an awards organization that's spent more than a decade proving that recognition works when it's actually earned. This isn't our first award program. It's our twelfth.
Judged by peers, not paid panels
Most award programs either charge for a plaque or hand the decision to a small internal committee. BIG does neither. Every program we run, including Recognition as a Service, uses a crowd-sourced judging model: volunteer judges pulled from real companies across the relevant industry evaluate every nomination. The one exception is our Best Places to Work program, which is decided by employee survey instead of outside judges.
That structure is exactly what we bring to your branded award program. Real judges, real criteria, and a process a board member or a skeptical prospect can actually examine without it falling apart.
12 programs. 4,000+ judges. One playbook.
BIG operates 12 annual award programs today, spanning broad business recognition (BIG Award for Business, BIG Innovation Awards) and industry-specific categories: AI Excellence, Cybersecurity, Customer Service, Cloud Computing, Sustainability, and workplace culture through Best Places to Work. See the full list on our award programs section.
Recognition as a Service packages that same playbook, nomination platform, judging panel, content calendar, and marketing support, as a done-for-you program built around your brand instead of ours.
One playbook, twelve award programs
Broad business recognition, industry-specific categories, and programs we've built for trade associations and influencers under their own brand — all judged the same way.
AI Excellence Awards
Breakthrough AI products and implementations
BIG Innovation Awards
Companies bringing new ideas to market
Best Places to Work
Workplace culture, decided by employee survey
Fortress Cybersecurity Awards
Excellence in cybersecurity products and services
Excellence in Customer Service Awards
Outstanding customer experience
Stratus Cloud Computing Awards
Innovation in cloud technology
Sustainability Awards
Environmental and social responsibility
Herizon Awards
Women in business and leadership
BIG Award for Business
Broad business excellence recognition
The Sammy
Sales and marketing excellence
NAA Top Employers
Built for the National Apartment Association
We ♥ Tech Awards
Built for B2B influencer Evan Kirstel
The team behind your program
Russ Fordyce
CEO & Chief Recognition Officer
Russ Fordyce has spent 30 years in marketing and communications, including roles at American City Business Journals, Comcast, and Windstream, where he earned his Six Sigma Black Belt. As CEO of Business Intelligence Group, he oversees 12 annual award programs recognizing excellence in AI, cybersecurity, innovation, workplace culture, and more.
Russ recruits and coordinates thousands of volunteer judges across industries, ensuring every nomination gets evaluated by real experts. His philosophy: real recognition from real experts, not pay-to-play plaques.
Russ hosts The Winners' Circle, a B2B podcast featuring the leaders behind award-winning companies.
When he's not running BIG, he's usually on a tennis court, planning his next trip, tinkering with cars, or testing whatever tech has caught his attention.
Eliana Starbird
Chief Nominations Officer
Eliana Starbird is the face of BIG for thousands of nominees each year. She guides companies through the nomination process, consults on positioning, and ensures every organization gets the support they need to put their best work forward.
Outside of BIG, Eliana owns and operates two ice cream stores and spends her summers mentoring over 60 high school women, helping them build confidence and professional skills before they head to college. She's also raising two young daughters, which means she's mastered the art of juggling chaos with grace.
Eliana believes recognition matters when it's earned. Her job is making sure the signal gets through.
Ready to build your own?
The same judging discipline, nomination platform, and content support behind 12 BIG programs, and counting, built around your brand.
Let's Chat →