The quest for a true knowledge economy, enabled by a superior information and communication technology infrastructure, is a priority for the majority of governments in the Middle East region. Many local private sector companies looking to expand beyond their home base, or international firms looking to tap into the rapidly expanding market that is the GCC, join them on this journey.

As a result, some of the most interesting and impressive networking projects are carried out in the Middle East, and trends impacting on networking professionals are keenly followed. The first port of call for many of those seeking information and critical analysis of these trends is Network Middle East, the region's leading information technology infrastructure title.

Each year, Network Middle East sets out to honour the very best in the regional networking sector at the annual NME Innovation Awards. Designed to herald the projects, people, suppliers and service providers that have excelled in the past 12 months, the awards cover implementations, vendor offerings and key individuals and organisations in the regional networking community.

Of the 17 awards presented at the gala event, a team of expert judges selects 13. The remaining 4 are presided over by perhaps the toughest panel possible – the readers of Network Middle East . For the first time, reader-voted awards will include two of the implementation categories - best wireless implementation, and most innovative use of new technology.