Tech Ascension Awards Announces 2026 DevOps Award Winners

The Tech Ascension Awards announced the winners of its 2026 DevOps Awards, recognizing the companies and solutions advancing the future of software delivery, AI-powered operations, automation, observability, workforce technology, infrastructure management, and engineering productivity. This year’s winners reflect a fast-changing DevOps landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, intelligent automation, real-time investigation, continuous compliance, and the growing need for resilient, scalable digital systems.

The 2026 DevOps Awards honor organizations that are helping enterprises, public sector agencies, engineering teams, and technology leaders solve critical challenges across modern technology operations. Winners were selected based on innovation, competitive differentiation, market impact, and their ability to deliver measurable business outcomes in increasingly complex digital environments.

2026 DevOps Award Winners

Best AI / ML Powered Solution Geographic Solutions, Virtual OneStop Sapphire AI (VOS Sapphire AI)

Geographic Solutions was recognized for Virtual OneStop Sapphire AI for its ability to bring practical, secure, and scalable AI into public workforce technology. Built on the company’s Virtual OneStop Sapphire platform, VOS Sapphire AI applies artificial intelligence and machine learning across labor exchange, case management, labor market intelligence, unemployment insurance, federal reporting, job matching, resume and cover letter support, mock interview preparation, employer recruiting, and workforce service delivery. The solution stood out for helping agencies reduce manual work, improve job seeker and employer experiences, accelerate modernization, and introduce configurable AI capabilities while protecting sensitive workforce data. With deployments and modernization work supporting states including Georgia, Texas, Arizona, and Iowa, Geographic Solutions demonstrated how AI can improve operational efficiency, strengthen workforce outcomes, and modernize large-scale government systems.

DevOps Innovation of the Year

Honeycomb.io, Honeycomb Intelligence

Honeycomb.io was honored for Honeycomb Intelligence for redefining observability and incident investigation for an AI-driven software era. Embedded directly into the Honeycomb platform, Honeycomb Intelligence combines high-cardinality telemetry, trace-first observability, AI-assisted investigation, collaborative incident response, and institutional knowledge capture to help engineering teams understand complex production systems faster. Its Canvas workspace and Canvas Skills capabilities allow engineers and AI agents to investigate incidents together, surface ranked hypotheses, preserve runbooks and escalation logic, and accelerate root-cause analysis before teams lose valuable time in manual triage. By addressing alert fatigue, fragmented observability, silent AI agent failures, and increasingly complex distributed systems, Honeycomb Intelligence helps teams reduce downtime, improve reliability, and move from alert to actionable insight faster.

Best DevOps Automation Solution

Progress Software, Progress Chef360

Progress Software was recognized for Progress Chef360 for delivering a unified DevOps automation platform that helps enterprises orchestrate infrastructure, application delivery, compliance, and remediation from a single control plane. Chef360 stood out for its ability to reduce tool sprawl, preserve existing automation investments, and help organizations modernize incrementally without disruptive rip-and-replace projects. The platform brings together infrastructure automation, workflow orchestration, node management, policy-as-code, continuous scanning, drift detection, and closed-loop remediation to improve consistency, security, and audit readiness across hybrid, multi-cloud, and on-premises environments. With measurable business value tied to improved infrastructure efficiency, higher DevOps productivity, faster release cycles, fewer configuration errors, and reduced audit preparation effort, Progress Chef360 demonstrated why automation remains a strategic foundation for modern enterprise DevOps.

Recognizing Excellence in DevOps Innovation

As software delivery, infrastructure operations, observability, AI systems, and automation continue to evolve, organizations need technology that can improve speed, reliability, intelligence, security, and operational efficiency at the same time. The 2026 DevOps Tech Ascension Award winners exemplify how innovative companies are applying AI, automation, observability, and modern platform capabilities to solve some of the most urgent challenges facing engineering, IT, workforce, and public sector technology teams.

From AI-powered workforce platforms and intelligent observability to enterprise-grade automation and continuous compliance, this year’s winners are helping define the next generation of DevOps innovation and operational excellence.

Learn more about other Tech Ascension Awards here.

Enzoic’s Mike Green on Winning Most Innovative FinTech Solution and Fighting Payment Card Fraud With Dark Web Intelligence

We sat down with Mike Green, CEO of Enzoic, which won Most Innovative FinTech Solution in the TechAscension FinTech Awards for its Payment Card BIN Monitoring Service, to learn more about the growing payment card fraud landscape and how financial institutions can detect compromised card data before losses escalate. Mike also explains how Enzoic’s real-time Dark Web intelligence helps banks and credit unions proactively identify exposed cards, reduce fraud risk, and protect customers without adding friction to the cardholder experience.

Can you briefly describe the payment card fraud landscape, and why the threat is growing? 

Unfortunately, I think it’s an issue most of us are familiar with.  Sixty-three percent of US cardholders have fallen victim to fraud, with many people experiencing multiple instances. Not only is it a growing issue; it’s also an incredibly costly one. It’s estimated that a single compromised card costs issuers an average of $2,500.Cybercriminals obtain card data through a variety of methods, and either use it for fraudulent activity themselves or share it with others for the same purpose. 

How do hackers obtain compromised card data? 

Payment card numbers can be exploited in numerous ways, including data breaches, skimming devices, malware, and phishing emails. In many cases, hackers target retailers or service providers that store payment data and steal large batches of card numbers in a single attack. They also use fake websites, malicious emails, or infected devices to trick people into entering card details directly. 

Once compromised, this information is often packaged and sold on the Dark Web or other cybercriminal marketplaces. Listings are typically organized by card type, issuing bank, geography, or whether the card has been “verified,” allowing threat actors to quickly identify the most usable data.

One of the most common ways stolen cards are exploited is through Card Not Present (CNP) fraud. This is when cybercriminals make online, phone, or other remote purchases without the card being physically present. These transactions only require the number, expiration date, CVV, and billing details, making it easy to monetize card compromise at scale.

How does Enzoic’s Payment Card BIN Monitoring service address the issue?

We monitor the Dark Web for exposure data so organizations can proactively act at the first sign of compromise to prevent fraudulent purchases. While VISA and Mastercard typically notify issuers after a potential fraud has occurred, our Payment Card BIN Monitoring service provides real-time Dark Web exposure alerts the moment a compromised card is detected. This gives issuers an early signal so fraud teams can act quickly before downstream losses, chargebacks, or customer disruption escalate. 

The solution works by tapping Enzoic’s proprietary Dark Web intelligence to scan for cards associated with customers’ BINs (Bank Identification Numbers), providing immediate notification of any breaches containing the digits. Financial institutions only need to register their BINs, which ensures that customer account details are protected while we scour the Dark Web for compromise. If an exposure is detected, the service sends an immediate alert with the full card number so that the bank or credit union can notify the individual and deny any subsequent transactions. 

Unlike other card monitoring solutions which only provide older data with infrequent updates, Enzoic utilizes a dynamically updated database of compromised payment card information. We really differentiate our solution through the combination of automated scanning tools with dedicated human expertise. Our proprietary technology collects and processes compromised data from the Dark Web and other sources, while our in-house threat research team validates, refines, and organizes the findings. 

Beyond enhanced security, what are some additional benefits for financial institutions and their customers? 

Financial institutions have historically struggled to strike the right balance between security and a positive user experience, as customers are easily frustrated by any action that impedes their card usage. Because our Payment Card BIN Monitoring solution happens entirely in the background there is zero customer friction, with people only becoming aware of it in the event an exposure is detected. 

False positives are another issue we often see with other card fraud solutions. This has obvious customer experience implications and also eats up resources related to restoring account access and authorizing the initial purchase. Enzoic eliminates this administrative burden, with issuer IT teams only alerted if a match is detected. 

Finally, the solution offers significant cost savings. Fraud insurance is primarily designed for large scale breaches, so financial institutions are often responsible for covering the smaller card compromise that occurs more frequently. With a new person falling victim to identity theft in the US every 4.9 seconds, this could quickly become an expensive undertaking. By enabling banks and credit unions to act before fraudulent transactions occur, Enzoic prevents these financial headaches from compounding. 

Does Enzoic offer solutions for other industries? 

Absolutely. Our focus is on keeping compromised data out of the hands of those that would exploit it—whether it’s payment card numbers, exposed credentials, or other personally identifiable information (PII). As such, we have a lot of customers in other regulated industries such as healthcare, government, and education. 

Enzoic for Active Directory is one of our products which sits across these and other sectors. It draws on the same technology that powers the Payment Card BIN Monitoring service to scan passwords both at their creation and at every subsequent login to ensure they are safe. If we detect a breach, the solution can automate a range of customizable actions—including immediately disabling the account to prevent unauthorized access. 

What’s your perspective on the passwordless movement?

There’s certainly been a lot of buzz around this topic, but I don’t anticipate that our personal or professional lives will be truly passwordless for the foreseeable future. While numerous authentication alternatives have emerged in recent years, passwords are still deeply embedded in digital identity systems.

Passkeys and other passwordless solutions are heavily reliant on underlying device ecosystems and their respective identity frameworks. This can quickly lead to interoperability issues due to differences in implementation, device management, and account syncing. What this means in practice is that a passkey stored in an iCloud Keychain cannot automatically transfer to a Windows-based laptop. When you think about how many operating systems are utilized in your average corporate environment, it’s easy to see why this is a major hurdle. 

There are other integration and interoperability challenges to consider, but even if a company were to address them, credentials are still required to authenticate a passwordless system at some point in the security chain. So, in reality even the most aggressive passkey-first implementations are only as secure as the password that underpins them. 

What is your focus for the next 12 months? 

Hopefully it’s clear from our conversation that cybercriminals are always looking to capitalize on exposed PII! As such, Enzoic’s focus is on helping our customers stay a step ahead and be more proactive in the face of these risks. While it’s not possible to completely eliminate card compromise or credential abuse, integrating real-time threat intelligence prevents hackers from further weaponizing this information. 

Tech Ascension Awards Announces 2026 FinTech Award Winners

The Tech Ascension Awards announced the winners of its 2026 FinTech Awards, recognizing the companies and solutions advancing the future of financial technology, payments, compliance, fraud prevention, and AI-driven financial operations. This year’s winners reflect a fast-changing FinTech landscape shaped by agentic AI, real-time payment access, proactive fraud intelligence, secure identity verification, and compliance-ready infrastructure for distributed financial environments.

The 2026 FinTech Awards honor organizations that are helping financial institutions, enterprises, employers, and consumers solve critical challenges across modern finance. Winners were selected based on innovation, competitive differentiation, market impact, and their ability to deliver measurable business outcomes in an increasingly digital and risk-driven financial ecosystem.

2026 FinTech Award Winners

Best AI / ML Powered Solution BlackLine, Agentic Financial Operations

BlackLine was recognized for its Agentic Financial Operations Platform, an AI-powered system of execution designed to transform finance and accounting operations. Built around Studio360 and Verity AI, BlackLine unifies financial data across ERP systems and enables digital finance agents to automate reconciliations, transaction matching, cash application, collections, variance analysis, and reporting intelligence. The platform helps finance teams move from fragmented, manual processes to continuous, governed, real-time operations with explainable and auditable AI. By combining a unified financial data foundation, event-driven orchestration, embedded intelligence, and a strong trust and governance layer, BlackLine is helping organizations improve close readiness, strengthen auditability, reduce manual work, and deliver faster, more accurate financial insight.

Most Innovative FinTech Solution Enzoic, Payment Card BIN Monitoring Service

Enzoic was honored for its Payment Card BIN Monitoring Service, which helps financial institutions and card issuers detect compromised payment card data before fraud escalates. The solution scans dark web sources, illicit marketplaces, and cybercriminal forums for exposed card data associated with registered Bank Identification Numbers, giving organizations real-time alerts when compromised cards are detected. Enzoic’s approach enables issuers to act earlier than traditional fraud notification processes, reducing downstream losses, chargebacks, customer disruption, and operational burden. With proprietary dark web intelligence, machine learning models, human threat research, and easy integration into SIEM platforms, card management systems, and fraud operations workflows, Enzoic gives banks and credit unions a proactive way to protect cardholders while minimizing false positives and customer friction.

Best Payment Tech Solution DailyPay, On-Demand Pay

DailyPay was recognized for On-Demand Pay, its earned wage access platform that gives employees more choice and control over when they access their pay. The solution provides workers with a real-time accumulating balance of available earned wages throughout the pay period, helping reduce reliance on overdraft, credit card debt, late fees, and predatory financial products. DailyPay has moved more than $20 billion on its platform over the past year, demonstrating the scale and demand for real-time access to earned income. By helping employees pay bills on time, manage emergencies, and reduce financial stress, DailyPay also supports employers seeking to improve retention, engagement, hiring, and workforce satisfaction. The company’s platform is helping redefine payroll from a delayed, batch-based process into a more flexible financial benefit centered around the employee.

Best Compliance Solution

Scale Computing, SC//AcuVigil™ managed network services

Scale Computing was honored for SC//AcuVigil managed network services, a compliance-focused edge networking platform designed for distributed organizations that need secure connectivity, remote access, vulnerability management, and 24/7 network operations support. Built specifically for edge environments, SC//AcuVigil combines real-time network visibility, secure remote troubleshooting, PCI-compliant access, segmentation, vulnerability scanning, broadband and cellular failover, and cloud-based reporting into a unified platform. The solution helps organizations simplify compliance activity, reduce downtime, minimize truck rolls, and avoid the cost of building and staffing a full 24/7 network operations center. By giving businesses a single view across devices, applications, and locations, SC//AcuVigil helps multi-site operators and service providers strengthen security, maintain uptime, and scale compliance without adding operational complexity.

Best Fraud Prevention Solution

Shufti, Shufti Glocal IDV & Fraud Prevention Platform

Shufti was recognized for its Glocal IDV & Fraud Prevention Platform, a unified identity verification and fraud prevention solution built to address global onboarding, compliance, deepfake fraud, synthetic identity risk, document fraud, age fraud, AML screening, and transaction monitoring. The platform verifies users across more than 10,000 document types and 150 languages, supports electronic identity verification across 85-plus countries, and uses biometric, document, device, and behavioral signals to detect increasingly sophisticated fraud. Shufti’s technology includes passive liveness detection, deepfake detection, electronic IDV, AML watchlist screening, KYT transaction monitoring, and a single API designed to reduce compliance silos. With automation rates above 96%, rapid verification times, and customer results including faster onboarding, fraud reduction, and lower operational workload, Shufti is helping enterprises balance stronger fraud prevention with smoother user experiences.

Recognizing Excellence in Financial Technology

As financial services, payroll, payments, compliance, and identity verification continue to evolve, organizations need technology that can improve speed, trust, security, and operational efficiency at the same time. The 2026 FinTech Tech Ascension Award winners exemplify how innovative companies are applying AI, automation, real-time intelligence, secure infrastructure, and advanced fraud prevention to solve some of the most urgent challenges facing the financial technology ecosystem.

From agentic finance operations and earned wage access to dark web payment card monitoring, compliance-ready edge networking, and global identity verification, this year’s winners are helping define the next generation of FinTech innovation. Learn more about other Tech Ascension Awards here.