Nominate an IT Hero: Submissions Now Open

Behind every secure login, lightning-fast device setup, and flawless onboarding is an IT hero. They don’t ask for the spotlight, but we think it’s time they got one.

Introducing the 2025 IT Hero Awards

A virtual celebration of the everyday legends powering our workplaces behind the scenes. Whether they’re provisioning laptops for the hundredth new hire or fixing broken Wi-Fi in record time, IT pros deserve more than a thank-you Slack emoji.

On August 13th, we’ll honor 6 outstanding IT professionals during a live virtual event packed with stories, surprises, and well-earned recognition. This award is not product-specific. It’s not about which tools someone uses, it’s about the impact they’ve had.

Why We're Doing This

IT professionals are often the first to respond when something breaks, the last to be thanked when things work perfectly, and the ones juggling dozens of invisible tasks that most people never see. Their success is often measured by the absence of problems—no downtime, no security breaches, no missing laptops. And that very invisibility is why their contributions can go unrecognized.

The IT Hero Awards were created to change that. We’re building a platform to celebrate the individuals who make modern work possible, all without asking for the spotlight.

Why Nominate an IT Hero?

Whether it’s your IT teammate, your boss, your entire one-person IT department, or yourself, this is your chance to show appreciation.

👉 Nominees will receive:

• A feature on Rippling’s social media spotlighting their work

• A limited-edition “Not all heroes wear capes, some run IT.” t-shirt

• The chance to be selected as one of six winners

🥇 Winners will receive:

• A physical trophy to commemorate their achievement

• An all-expenses-paid trip to SpiceWorld 2025 (flight, hotel, and pass included – $1500 value)

• Entry to an exclusive IT Hero VIP Happy Hour with Rippling IT execs and fellow winners

• A swag pack for the “IT Hero Class of 2025”

• Their story turned into a custom comic strip

🎁 Bonus: Nominators Get Rewards Too

Every nomination you submit (yes, you can do more than one) enters YOU into a raffle to win one of three $1000 Airbnb gift cards. Recognition and a weekend getaway? That’s a win-win.

Who Should You Nominate?

We're looking for IT professionals who’ve made a meaningful impact, whether that’s solving a critical incident, scaling a program from scratch, or simply showing up day after day to support their teams.

Nominees should meet the following criteria:

• Role: IT admin, manager, director, or someone in a leadership role (CTO, CISO, or engineer) managing identity, access, devices, or IT operations

• Company Size: 20 to 500 full-time employees (we’re flexible if the story stands out)

• Location: Based in North America (U.S. or Canada preferred, due to travel logistics)

• Impact Story: A clear example of how they went above and beyond. (We love stories with heart and detail. One-liners like “they’re great” don’t count.)

• Consent: The nominee must be willing to be contacted and featured if selected

And just to be clear: you don’t need to use Rippling to qualify. These awards are product-agnostic.

How to Nominate

It takes just a couple of minutes. You don’t need to write a novel, just a short story that helps us understand why your nominee stands out.

Did they rebuild your IT infrastructure from scratch? Roll out device management across the company solo? Keep things running smoothly without ever asking for credit?

Tell us what they did and why it mattered.

Ready to Make Someone’s Day?

Whether it’s a teammate who saved the day during an outage, an IT manager who quietly keeps hundreds of employees running, or even yourself, this is your chance to recognize the impact that often goes unseen.

The 2025 IT Hero Awards are more than just trophies and giveaways. They’re about telling the stories that usually go untold, and celebrating the people who make work work for everyone else.

It only takes a couple of minutes to submit a nomination, but it could mean the world to someone who deserves to be seen.

Nominations are open now through July 30th. Winners will be announced live on August 13 during the live virtual event.