A SMALL Croydon IT firm has been named alongside huge household names like Google and Intel in the shortlist for a respected award.

Software specialist SoThin has been nominated for the prestigious prize by influential computer magazine PC Pro.

KNOW-HOW: SoThin staff (l to r) Noelle Magee, Daniel Adjei-Mensah, James Dempsey, Neil Paton and Laura Child CRNA20100823C_10 by Neale Atkinson
HOPING TO BEAT GOOGLE: SoThin staff
(l to r) Noelle Magee, Daniel Adjei-Mensah, James Dempsey, Neil Paton, Laura Child
CRNA20100823C_07 by Neale Atkinson

The nine-strong team will be battling it out with top international brands, also including AMD and Samsung, for the title of Environmental Innovator of the Year.

While the award is one of 40 categories the magazine gives out gongs for, it carries a great deal of weight, as it is one of just two awards that are voted on by the team's specialists, rather than its readers.

The judges are looking for firms that have made an outstanding green innovation within the last 12 months.

The firm earned the accolade with its SoThin Suite – a computer operating system for companies and organisations which aims to save time, money – and most importantly energy.

"These awards are really important to us," said managing director and co-founder James Dempsey.

"We are a small British company in Croydon and we are up against huge companies like Google – to even be put next to these companies shows we have a product which is in some way comparable.

"These awards have a huge credibility and this kind of seal of approval will show companies there is now a credible British alternative to these big American giants."

SoThin was founded in 2001 with the simple aim of producing software that could "thin" out the resources needed to run a PC by centralising them in a network.

It works on the principle that most workers will only use a small proportion of their PCs operating capabilities, and that power and resources can be focused by effectively "shutting down" areas not in use.

Mr Dempsey, 38, added: "'Thin' is what you do when you thin down the resources that are required to run a network.

"Our product saves organisations money, and helps the environment."

The firm has around 100 clients, with more than two-thirds in the public sector, including NHS bodies, local authorities and schools.

Based in the Capital Enterprise Centre, in South Croydon's Carlton Road, its small team of staff increases to 15 in busy periods.

PC Pro will announce the winners of its Reliability & Service Awards on September 30. The complete list of nominees for Environmental Innovator of the Year is AMD, Google, Intel, Lenovo, Memset, Samsung, Scan, SoThin, VeryPC, VMware.