Dear Channelweb readers

I must apologise for my absence in the first working week back of the year - unfortunately my 2011 ended with some unpleasant personal challenges and these continued into 2012.

But I'm pleased to say things are finally on the up now and I'll be back atmy desk next week and raring to go.

It is looking like an extremely busy year ahead for CRN - we have all the old favourites such as CRN Fight Night and the channel Awards to come, but also many new projects and exciting events in the pipeline.

I'm looking forward to being back and getting back in touch with all my old contacts and friends in the industry..

I hope you have all had a bearable first week back at work and I hope 2012 is a positive year for you all.

See you all very soon.

OK so the Christmas tree picture is a little cliched - but hey - it is only one time a year.

It really doesn't seem like five minutes since last Christmas - but it has been an eventful year inbetweet.

We've watched the economy stagnate while inflation goes through the roof, the Eurozone crisis kick off full pelt ad a wave of natural disasters rock places like Japan and Thailand - both of which have had an adverse impact on the  - industry as well.  then of course we have had riots, strikes and globally the Arab Spring which saw several dictators toppled after decades in power.

On a note closer to home, CRN has as usual held a range of events throughout the year aimed at getting people togetherand it seems to be working - our Channel Conference was the most successful yet and the Channel Awards smashed all our previous records and was certainly a night to remember for many reasons.

Next year is one of the same - we will continue to innovate as much as we can and strive to ensure the idustry has a voice and plenty of events to discuss issues most important to the channel. Of course we have the backdrop of economic uncertainty as well - but many have said those that innovate their way through recession are the ones that survive.

I would like to thank all our readers and sponsors for their continued support of CRN throughout 2011 - I hope you have found our events useful, and if you have not been to one yet, will consider coming along next year.

Merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy New Year to you all.

See you in 2012.

Don't trust a stranger with your laptop when you go to the toilet in a public place.

That is one of the genius bits of advice from security vendor AVG in an aptly titled press release sent this morning - Lessons from the security professionals to SMBs.

As we all know, many companies have suffered from data breaches this year and maybe they should be reading this simplistic advice. But I seriously hope most employees have a little more common sense.

Another gem is to 'count the items you take out of your bag when travelling - and count them back in' - really?

Are we addressing a bunch of toddlers, or supposed serious business professionals here? You wouldn't get any funny looks from fellow train or bus passengers if you counted every item in your bag out loud would you?

Also think about where you are sitting so people can't look at your screen - personally I like to set up a projector and screen so everybody can see what I'm doing. Is that wrong?

Use password protection and ensure you have a fully updated anti-virus suite installed - gosh I wonder if there is a vendor that can provide this.....oh, hang on.

There are some other points of advice, but I'll let you find those out for yourself.

There is even a video to watch on how to protect your business on the move which can be watched here.

I know I may mock (in a gentle way, I hasten to add), but I'm sure there are plenty of careless employees out there who leave USB sticks in the back of taxis, on trains etc who really should watch this.

But I just couldn't resist having a pop.

It should be entitled: Key advice for corporate dimwits on the move.

If you are a high street shop with no online presence look away now.  It is over for you. Apparently.

According to the latest report from Shopow (altogether now, who?), a whopping £7.76bn is expected to be spend online in the run up to Christmas as high street chains seek to quell losses over unsold stock.

And this is starting a new trend - social shopping. Again, apparently.

For those of you wondering who Shopow is - it is a site that "empowers online shoppers" and taps into the 'growing phenomenon' of social shopping.

The rest of the press release was one long marketing spiel about the wonders of sharing your shopping experiences over Twitter, Facebook etc - so I won't be going there. I'll leave you to discover Shopow for yourself. Enjoy.

But high street figures do make gloomy reading. According to the latest British Retail Consortium report, sales fell 1.6 per cent on a like for like basis (compared with 2010) for November, and hopes that consumers would start to treat themselves in December already seem to be fading with a few stores issuing profit warnings already.

Unfortunately people are just too worried about the doom and gloom over the economy, to be thinking about splashing out on expensive Christmas presents.

With things set to get even more difficult next year, it is little wonder.

2012 is definitely going to be an interesting year, although not necessarily in a good way.

I'm off to find all those online bargains that are just waiting for me to come along and buy them.

Wish me luck!

Well. From what George Osborne is hinting at during his Autumn Statement then it looks like things aren't going to get better that quickly.

He has basically admitted that he will not eliminate the government's budget deficit by 2015 as predicted because economic growth is so sluggish.

Most of us could probably have told him that already.

I don't like giving any current politician any credit (basically because I don't like any of them) - but the government did inherit a total economic mess and it is not going to be sorted out overnight.

They warned that people would feel some pain, and boy are they right, with soaring living costs and ever rising inflation denting consumer and business confidence.

Cutbacks are happening everywhere and this climate really is hurting everyone in the pocket.

One thing I am pleased about is the rail fares announcement which will see fares rise at one per cent above inflation rather than three. Personally I think rail fares should be cut. They are disgracefully expensive already and not tax deductible.

However from a business point of view - where are the cuts in red tape? Why are banks still not lending? Why are business rates so astronomically high still?

Will we really see some action on these points now?

What about Europe? How much longer can the farce go on for before common sense begins to reign once more? (no I am not a fan of the Eurozone - did you guess?)

And on a more personal note - what does this all mean for our industry?

I have no way of predicting that, but the number of positive stories I am hearing from our readers gives me hope.

Many channel firms are recruiting, seeing positive growth and experiencing record sales. Others are keeping their heads above water and surviving, despite the tough times.

We have all felt the pain before and are a little wiser to it than perhaps some other industries out there.

There still is positivity in our market and I will ensure CRN does its best to keep rooting it out to keep spirits up.

Whatever happens in the coming year, we are in for a rocky ride and there are some negative stories to come.

But without sounding too cheesy, I am convinced the channel will emerge the other side of this battered, bruised, but with its head held high.

The Channel Conference 2011 seems like an age away now, but luckily we can help you relive all the best bits through the magic of CRN video.

If you missed Phil Doye's keynote, or wanted to know exactly what Dr Andrew Sentance or Dominic Webb from IDC said about the future of the channel and the economy economy, worry no more because all the videos are online for your viewing pleasure.

We also have the sessions from Microsoft, Avnet, CompTIA and Outsourcery.

To view the videos click here and go to 'latest videos'

They really are worth a watch.

Hopefully we will see you all at the event next year.

Judging by the looks of all the partygoers on the CRN newsdesk today - last night was another top night.

I have to say there is nothing quite like the post Channel Awards feeling - a mixture of nausea, amusement as you remember events, head and eye pain and sheer tiredness.

But I do feel a lot of jubilation and elation after our event, which seems to have gone down well with the industry as a whole.

Of course there are the few exceptions (and I mean a small handful at that) - and I would urge anyone who is doubting the judging process to actually speak to my extensive panel of judges- they are all up there on the web site and they are all willing to speak to you and explain their reasoning. 

Several of them remarked to me last night that they were surprised nobody had been up to them and asked them about the process. Don't hide behind Twitter - come and have a chat with them. That is what they are there for.

And if you are still a doubter after speaking to the judges - come and join the judging panel next year and experience for yourself the process and the sheer amount of hard work, time and dedication needed to whittle down the entries and find the winners. I dare you. In fact, I challenge you!

But that aside - the positive comments I have received already have been amazing - so thank you all very much for that - we are glad you all enjoyed yourselves and your continued support means a lot.

Congratulations to all our winners and Judges Commended - very well deserved.

I hope you are not feeling quite as rough as me today.

We were very proud to launch our Top VARs supplement yesterday which is the result of hours of hard work by CRN's own Sam Trendall.

It was no mean feat sifting through pages and pages of stats, information and figures, but the end result was definitely worth it.

Now I must point out that it is the first time we have done this - so there may well have been one or two firms missed out - apologies if we have - but we will endeavour to include you next year. Do let us know.

We hope you enjoy Top VARs and we are keen to know what you think.

Please do leave your thoughts at the bottom of the article or Tweet us @CRN_UK with your comments.

To see the PDF - click here.