The SESAMES Awards: Innovations That Herald Future Trends

Organised as part of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS, the SESAMES Awards are given to the 10 best technological innovations in the smart card, digital security, identification, secure transactions and contactless technologies sectors.

For this 20th edition, participants from 15 countries have presented their projects to the keen and critical scrutiny of a panel of international experts.

The SESAMES Awards: Banking & Payment Application category well represented

An undisputed hallmark of excellence, the SESAMES Awards, which celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2015, will once again pay tribute to projects that reflect the dynamism of innovation in the trust-based technologies industries.

The 2015 edition has attracted a host of entrants and introduced two new categories: Best Joint Initiative, awarded to projects carried out in partnership between several companies with common economic and social objectives and Best Connected Objects Applications, which acknowledges the rapid development of connected objects in recent years.

Olivier Trebucq¹, panel member for the "Discovery" category observes: "Once again, the SESAMES awards 2015 has been a huge success. Most technologies and applications were seen in the "Best Banking & Payment Application" with almost 50 proposals. Many projects in the "Best IT Security Solution" and "Best Identification Application" categories also meet growing requirements for security and ID verification in online exchanges and commerce. In general, the innovations that have been presented meet the expectations of network operators and service providers who need to take account of mobile use".

A competition showcasing innovation and providing media exposure

The 2015 competition has attracted companies from 15 countries and was open to all innovative projects regardless of whether the entrants are exhibiting at the CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS exhibition. This free competition draws entries from all types of companies from start-ups and SMEs to major global leaders.

The winners of this 20th edition will be announced at the awards ceremony which will take place on 17 November, the first day of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS.

After the ceremony, the winners of each category have the chance to present their innovation during "Innovation Breaks" on "Innovation TV", the television platform set up at CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS. Throughout the exhibition, images will be broadcast offering the winners unique exposure and credibility as testified by the winners of the 2014 edition.

Mareike NEUMAYER, Senior Communications Manager, business Solutions Division - Morpho: "As winners of a SESAMES in 2014 with the MorphoTablet™, we were able to present our new product to a relevant audience and enhance our brand reputation. CARTES Secure Connexions allowed us to access additional communication channels. Communication about the SESAMES awards gave our product a lot of visibility. Our award-winning product MorphoTablet™ has been deployed in significant numbers in various countries throughout the world. A new-generation biometric tablet is will soon be release. The SESAMES competition is a great platform through which Morpho was able to show its innovative credentials."

Henning MOELLER, Product Manager OTAbility - Comprion: "It was a great honour for the entire OTAbility development team to win a SESAMES Award in the Manufacturing and Tests category. Convincing an independent panel motivated us to develop our OTA solution with our clients. OTA solutions are on a roll thanks to the growth of M2M, IOT and eUICC. OTAbility has become a standard part of our full range of testing tools. We view the SESAMES Awards as a seal of quality which we highlight in our marketing and communication operations throughout the year.

Mattias Eld, CEO and Co-founder - Fidesmo AB: "The SESAMES Awards are the most prestigious innovation awards in the smart card and secure transactions industry. As such, it shows that we are recognised as an innovative company in the sector. This opens doors for us in terms of the media and new clients, which are the most difficult hurdles for a startup to overcome.
We have recently launched our service with the Swedish Sunfleet Group and the website triply.se. We are currently developing our service for other form factors and applications. The SESAMES Awards are a rare opportunity to show the entire industry what you have achieved. When you win one, you can be genuinely proud as you know that the judges are aware of all the work that has gone into the product and all the fine detail required to reach this level. It was one of the proudest moments of my life."

A panel of international experts to choose the 10 winners

Entries are submitted to a panel of 34 international experts all recognised within their field of expertise.

Here is a list of panel members for the 2015 edition of the SESAMES Awards:

BEST IDENTIFICATION APPLICATION

Donald E. Malloy, Chairman - Initiative for Open Authentication - OATH

Max Snijder, CEO - European Biometrics Group

Frédéric Trojani, Chairman - Secure Identity Alliance

BEST IT SECURITY SOLUTION

Jean-Noël Georges, Global Program Director - Frost & Sullivan

Jorge F. Krug, CIO and IT Director - Banrisul

Al Pascual, Senior Analyst – Security, Risk & Fraud - Javelin Strategy & Research

BEST TRANSPORTATION APPLICATION

Laurent Cremer, Executive Director - OSPT Alliance

Greg Pote, Chairman - Asia Pacific Smart Card Association (APSCA)

Nicolas Raffin, President - Smart Payment Association

BEST BANKING & PAYMENT APPLICATION

Stefano Vincenzo Ciminelli, Executive Director, EMEIA Financial Services - Ernst & Young

Michelle Evans, Senior Analyst, Consumer Finance - Euromonitor

Eric Nizard, President - EESTEL European Experts in E-Transactions Systems

David Robertson, Publisher - The Nilson Report

Christophe Uzureau, Research VP - Gartner Industry Advisory Services

BEST MOBILE SECURITY SOLUTION

Daniel Bachenheimer, Unique Identity Services, Global Head - Accenture

Sergio Cozzolino, VP Strategy & Innovation - Telecom Italia - GSMA

Kevin Gillick, Executive Director - GlobalPlatform

Nathan Hilt, Director - PwC

Liisa Kanniainen, VP, Corporate Mobile Solutions - Nordea Bank

BEST RETAIL SOLUTION

Angelo Caci, Owner - Caci Consulting

Vincent Druguet, Deputy General Manager - DigitasIbi

David Parker, Director - Polymath Consulting

BEST MANUFACTURING & TESTS PRODUCT

Pierre Métivier, Founder - NET7 Innovation

Jean-Jacques Quisquater, Director - Math RiZK

Fredy Yiap, Publisher & Editor in Chief - CardsNow! Magazines

BEST CONNECTED OBJECTS APPLICATIONS

Pierre Courrieu, Partner – Cepheid/Consulting

Jean-Christophe Lecosse, General Manager - CNRFID

Thierry Spanjaard, Chief Editor - Smart Insights

BEST JOINT INITIATIVE

Marilyn Bochicchio, CEO - PayBefore

Frazier Evans, Payments Director - Booz Allen Hamilton

Timothée Mangenot, President - Eurosmart

DISCOVERY

John Devlin, Principal Analyst and Founder - P.A.I.D Strategies

Guillaume Rio, Technology Trends Manager - L’Echangeur

Olivier Trebucq, Head of Cloud, Big Data, Privacy - INRIA

Panel members selected the finalists and winners of the SESAMES Awards based on 3 fundamental criteria: how innovative the product/service submitted is, how suitable it is for the market and the strength of the pitch.

Upcoming dates for the competition:
The panel will examine entries throughout August up until 27 September with product finalists officially announced on 1 October.

¹ Cloud, Big Data, Privacy – Directorate General for Data Transfer, INRIA

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Contact information

CARTES
Stéphanie Champion, 01 42 30 81 00
s.champion@rpca.fr
or
Cathy Bubbe, 01 42 30 81 00
c.bubbe@rpca.fr
or
Clotilde De Angelis, 01 42 30 81 00
c.deangelis@rpca.fr