Tier I
Early Bird
$695per submission
Volume IX · 2026 Cycle · Submission Window Open
CIS Excellence
Awards
Recognizing the people, projects, and partnerships redefining Customer Identity & Access Management worldwide.
- 41Judges
- 22Categories
- 38Countries
- 1,8472025 Entries
Submission Desk · Volume IX
Six Steps from Brief to Bench
The 2026 entry process has been engineered for rigor and audit. Read the rail at left for deadlines, fees, and materials; complete the form at right to begin a draft submission. Every finalist is independently benchmarked against the CIS Excellence Framework, a 142-criterion maturity model.
2024 Winner · CIAM Program of the Year
“Winning the CIS Excellence Award did two things our internal metrics never could. It gave the board an independent verdict that our identity program was production-grade, and within two quarters it surfaced in fourteen enterprise RFPs as the buyer’s selection criterion. The benchmark was sharper than anything a vendor case study could produce.”
Reference · 2026 Cycle
Fees, Dates, and Withdrawal Terms
Three fee tiers, three deadlines, one clear withdrawal window. Print this page, forward to procurement, and let the numbers do the work.
Tier II
Standard
$895per submission
Tier III
Final
$1,195per submission
Withdrawal Policy
Written withdrawal requests received before the tier's refundable date receive a full refund, less a $45 processing fee. After that date, entries may be deferred once to the 2027 cycle at no charge, or withdrawn without refund. Substitutions of project contact or category are permitted at any time during the open window.
Payment & Tax
Invoices are issued within two business days. We accept wire transfer, ACH, and corporate card. U.S. organizations add applicable state sales tax; international organizations are reverse-charge VAT where registered. W-9 and W-8BEN forms available on request to [email protected].
Group & Multi-Category
Submitting the same project across two related categories (e.g., Best CIAM Deployment and Best Customer Experience Impact) receives a 20% combined discount applied at invoice. Enterprise programs entering five or more categories are eligible for a custom bundle — request the submission kit below.
Institutional Guarantees
Four Independent Pillars Behind Every Award
The CIS Excellence Awards is not a vendor-run trophy program. Every plaque, badge, and press citation rests on the same four external guarantees — auditable, contractable, and unchanged since 2018.
41Judges
Practitioner Panel, 100% Certified
Final-round judging is conducted by 41 practicing CISOs and identity architects from Fortune 500 enterprises. Every panelist holds CISSP or CIAM certification. The roster is refreshed 25% annually to preserve independence — no judge serves more than four consecutive cycles.
DeloitteAnnual Audit
Third-Party Methodology Review
Scoring procedures, conflict-of-interest declarations, and judge rotation are audited each year by Deloitte. The audit letter is published in full on the program site and is available on request for procurement due-diligence packets.
12(ISC)² CPE Credits
Professional Credentialing Credit
Each winning entry earns 12 CPE credits toward CISSP recertification, formally endorsed by (ISC)². The award has been an official recognition partner of the Identity Management Institute since 2020.
142Criterion Framework
CIS Excellence Framework Benchmarking
Every finalist is independently benchmarked against the CIS Excellence Framework — a 142-criterion maturity model used by Gartner as a reference. Winners receive the benchmark report as a board-ready artifact alongside the award itself.
Founded in 2018 by former KuppingerCole and Gartner identity-security analysts. The 2025 cycle recorded 1,847 submissions from 38 countries across 22 categories — the largest dedicated IAM awards field on record.
2026 Cycle · Now Open
Begin Your 2026 Entry
The submission portal takes roughly 35 minutes per category. You may save, return, and assign internal collaborators before final submit. Early Bird closes 14 March 2026, 23:59 PT.