Backstop Named Finalist for ITA CityLIGHTS Award

April 20, 2011 - PRLog -- Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 – Backstop Solutions Group announced it has been selected as a finalist for a 2011 Illinois Technology Association (ITA) CityLIGHTS award, in the Rising Star category. Winners will be announced at the CityLIGHTS Awards Gala Thursday, May 12, 2011, in the Great Hall at Union Station in Chicago. The gala attracts more than 700 people from 400 organizations including business owners, investors, legislators and policymakers.  

According to the ITA, the award winning company must have exhibited success in building a sustainable organization, with ongoing revenue growth, and expansion of its products and services to new market segments.  Formed in 2003, Backstop has been successful in bringing the only Software-as-a-Service platform to the alternative asset management industry. When it comes to tracking client and investor account data, building multi-manager portfolios, managing the investment research process, and communicating with investors, Backstop Software is widely recognized as the best of breed solution. Backstop attributes its success to its forward thinking mentality, its collaborative approach to writing software, and tenacity in pursuing its vision of the future of the web.

“We feel truly honored to be named a finalist for the Rising Star Award this year,” said Backstop CEO Jeremie Bacon. “Our team works incredibly hard and to be recognized as a leader not only our industry, but in the broader technology community here in Illinois is fantastic.”

A panel of more than 40 judges representing the Who’s Who in Illinois technology reviewed nominations and selected the finalists. Judges hail from major organizations including Microsoft, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, New World Ventures, and World Business Chicago, and newer entities including Technori, Viewpoints.com, Marchie Enterprises, Inc., SmartSignal and midVentures.   The list of past winners includes companies like The Point (now known as Groupon), GrubHub.com, NAVTEQ, Model Metrics, Smart Signal, Mayor Richard M. Daley, and Jack Noonan.  

“There is a growing energy and momentum in the Illinois technology industry, and this is reflected in the record number, more than 200, and the quality of the CityLIGHTS Awards nominations this year,” said ITA CEO Fred Hoch. “Nominees range from start-up companies to industry leaders, and we are extremely excited to see the organizations and individuals that rise to the top in 2011.”

Public voting runs from April 18–29, 2011. Winners will be determined by composite score (50 percent judges; 50 percent community voting) in all categories except the CityLIGHTS Award, which is determined solely by the ITA Board of Directors. Votes can be submitted through end of the day on April 29, 2011.  

About Backstop Solutions Group
Backstop Solutions Group, LLC is a privately held Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform company, providing cutting-edge software to hedge funds, funds of funds, endowments and other institutional investors. Backstop Solutions was founded in 2003 and is one of the fastest growing software providers in the financial services industry. Backstop software is used by more than 300 firms throughout the United States, Europe and Asia and has been repeatedly recognized by industry leading managers and service providers as a top technology provider in the alternative asset management industry.

About the ITA
The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) is a driving force behind the growth of Illinois' vibrant technology industry. We are relentless in championing the development and application of technology, from start-up companies to industry leaders, leveraging the transformative nature of technology to revolutionize industries. ITA uniquely capitalizes peer-to-peer collaboration, networking, and access to experts across the breadth of business to cultivate the Illinois technology industry. The unique and powerful integration of these valuable and experienced resources differentiates the ITA as a source of accelerated growth for the technology industry of Illinois. For more information about ITA, please visit www.illinoistech.org.

Contact the ITA at headquarters@illinoistech.org, follow the discussion on Twitter at @itabuzz, and visit www.illinoistech.org to find out more about how ITA supports the growth of the local industry.

Media Contacts: Dorothy Radke, Marketing & Communications, ITA, +1.312.924.1044, dradke@illinoistech.org

Press Relations Contact
Contact:    Katherine Pummill
Phone:   (312) 277-7720
Email:   kpummill@backstopsolutions.com
Web Site:   www.backstopsolutions.com

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Backstop Solutions Group, LLC is a global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform company, providing cutting-edge software to hedge funds, funds of funds, endowments and other institutional investors.