SMG Opens 2027 IMPACT Awards Across Customer Experience, Employee Experience and Enterprise AI Categories

Eight new AI categories and a first-ever enterprise AI program; Early Bird vendor pricing ends Sept. 30.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 10, 2026 — Simpler Media Group (SMG) is accepting submissions for the 2027 IMPACT Awards across its three editorial brands: CMSWire, Reworked and VKTR. Entries close November 20, 2026, and winners will be announced in March 2027.

The awards span these subject areas:

• Customer experience, digital experience and customer service — customer journeys, contact center and CCaaS, conversational AI, chatbots, agentic AI, customer data and personalization, DX analytics
• Employee experience and the digital workplace — intranets and internal communications, knowledge management and enterprise search, frontline enablement, employee learning, work management, human-AI collaboration
• Enterprise AI — AI agents and orchestration, workplace agents and digital coworkers, AI app development for business users, AI data foundation and governance

Entries are judged on the outcomes an initiative delivered and the evidence provided to support them. Every application is scored by multiple reviewers from a panel of more than 200 volunteer judges. Each program has practitioner categories for in-house leaders and teams, with self-nominations accepted, plus vendor case study and platform categories.

CMSWire: Recognizing Customer Experience, Digital Experience and Customer Service.

Now in its sixth year, the CMSWire IMPACT Awards program is now accepting applications. Practitioners compete for Customer Experience Leader of the Year, Customer Journey Innovation and, new for 2027, Best Use of Agentic AI in Customer Experience. Vendor categories:

• Case study: Best Use of AI in Customer Experience; Best Customer Experience Transformation; Best Use of AI for Customer Data, Identity or Personalization (new); Best AI-Powered Self-Service or Conversational Experience (new)
• Platform: CCaaS and customer service; chatbots and conversational AI; DX analytics, observability and intelligence; digital experience and journey optimization

Recent honorees include Talkdesk, Optimizely, RingCentral, Quadient and Concentrix.

Reworked: Recognizing Employee Experience, the Digital Workplace and Employee Journeys.

Now in its sixth year, the Reworked IMPACT Awards program is now accepting applications. Practitioners compete for Workplace Technology Leader of the Year, Workplace Culture Leader of the Year, Employee Journey Innovation and, new for 2027, Human-AI Collaboration Excellence. Vendor categories:

• Case study: Best Innovation in Employee Engagement; Best Use of AI in Employee Experience; and, new for 2027, AI to enable frontline employees, AI in knowledge management, and AI in employee learning
• Platform: AI-powered knowledge, search and content intelligence (new); intranets and communications; work management; employee experience and recognition

Recent honorees include CVS Health, TIAA, NiCE, Perceptyx and MangoApps.

VKTR: Recognizing the Best of the Business of Enterprise AI.

In its inaugural year, the VKTR IMPACT Awards program is now accepting applications. Practitioners compete for Leader of the Year: AI Champion for Business and Enterprise AI Technology Leader of the Year. Vendor categories recognize AI app builders for business users, agent development and orchestration platforms, digital coworker platforms, and AI data foundation and governance platforms.

How To Enter

• Deadline: Submissions close Nov. 20, 2026.
• Early Bird: Applications registered and started by Sept. 30 receive an automatic 30% discount, including applications completed after that date.
• Multiple entries: Code TWOORMORE takes 40% off total fees.
• Pricing: Leader of the Year awards are free to enter. Other practitioner awards are $149 per application; vendor awards are $995, before discounts.
• Applicants may enter as many categories as they wish.

Full category descriptions, judging criteria and FAQs for the CMSWire IMPACT Awards are available here.
Full category descriptions, judging criteria and FAQs for the Reworked IMPACT Awards are available here.
Full category descriptions, judging criteria and FAQs for the VKTR IMPACT Awards are available here.

Winners

Winners are recognized in a feature article on the relevant brand, in a listing on the IMPACT Awards site, and with digital badges. Gold winners also receive a physical trophy, and Leaders of the Year are invited to an interview with the brand’s editor.

About Simpler Media Group

Simpler Media Group (SMG) is a B2B technology information and research services company serving a global community of more than 7 million digital business leaders. SMG publishes CMSWire, Reworked and VKTR, and operates a research division producing annual benchmark reports, market guides and custom insights for enterprise clients. SMG’s annual IMPACT Awards recognize outstanding achievement in customer experience, employee experience and enterprise AI, with honors for both practitioners and vendors. Learn more at www.simplermedia.com.