The best and brightest of Bermuda’s technology talent were awarded for their innovative thinking over the weekend.The 2012 Technology Innovation Awards, or TechAwards, which were held at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on Sunday night, recognised the achievements of individuals in Bermuda’s information technology industry.This year’s awards covered nine different categories including best interactive experience, best business solutions, best local e-commerce site, best local mobile application, most innovative youth project, most inspiring mentor or teacher and innovation of the year (local and international). A People’s Choice Award was also added for the first time this year.The Best Interactive Experience was awarded to Tour de Turtles Bermuda — a website that helps to raise awareness both in Bermuda and around the world about the Island’s iconic green turtles. The site logs information about their daily movements and long-range migrations.The Best Business Solution award went to Gateway Systems Ltd. for its ongoing development of their Customs Clearance product which has become the standard Bermuda Customs software for vendors importing goods to the island. It interacts directly with the HM Customs CAPS system and as on of the nominators said, it “does what it is supposed to do: save time, effort and money”.Winner of the Best Local E-Commerce Website category was Five Star Home Delivery. Five Star was noted for establishing itself as the one stop shop for delivery service of just about anything. The site gives customers the option of ordering groceries, laundry service or restaurant takeout and even has real time tracking of orders.Best Mobile Application went to VIBE 103FM — an app that lets you listen to the radio station on your Apple, Android or BlackBerry device. One nominator said “they are at the top of their category for putting Bermuda’s listeners first”.Most Innovative Youth Project was awarded to Ariel Kaplen, a graduate of The Bermuda High School for Girls. She developed an IT solution that helped with the bookings and ticket sales of all the plays and musical programmes performed at the school, a process that in the past was done manually.Michael Branco was named the Most Inspiring Teacher or Mentor. One nominator wrote: “Michael is deserving of this award as he has given countless hours to supporting and mentoring youth in IT.”CellOne won the Local Innovation of the Year for its Crown and Anchor App released around Cup Match time. The application was developed by Cosmic Ltd.And the International Innovation of the Year went to First Atlantic Commerce for the development of its Tokenization product used by the company’s international clients. The security solution removes consumer card data from a merchant’s payment environment — minimising the risks associated with handling and storing card data.And this year’s People’s Choice Award went to Coffee Works Bermuda Ltd, whose website received the most nominations overall.“I offer my congratulations to all who were nominated and encourage you to continue the good work that you do,” said Wayne Furbert, Minister of Business Development and Tourism. “I was extremely impressed by the creativity and technology innovation displayed in the entries this year. The TechAwards represent the pinnacle for the use of technology in Bermuda. It is important that we identify and publicise these achievements so that Bermuda obtains credit for its successes. The awards also motivate and encourage development of the sector.”