Channel Awards 2021 - Reseller Criteria

Have a read through all the criteria for Resellers in this year's Channel Awards

Award Name Rising Star Award

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the end user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Rising Star Award

This category is open any company that is seeing phenomenal growth in their field and has been in business for a MAXIMUM of five years and MINIMUM of 18 months in their current form. There is no specific business model that is more qualified than others to enter - so you could be an MSP, VAR, integrator or a specific vertical sector IT provider. If you can demonstrate strong growth over the past year, feel you are a disruptive force and can give some example of your potential growth in the future, then you are the ideal candidate for this award.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name MSSP/Security VAR of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the end user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

MSSP/Security VAR of the Year

With security being the number one concern of end user customers, this category is aimed at VARs/security service providers to highlight excellence in cybersecurity. This category is open to all VARs/MSSPs/integrators that specialise in security solutions and services to customers of any size, whether this is SMB, mid-market or enterprise, or to those that have a strong security flavour to their portfolio of services.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name Corporate VAR of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the end user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Corporate VAR of the Year

This category is open to all VARs/MSPs/integrators that deal with either mid-market (loose definition: 250-1,000 seats) or enterprise (loose definition: 1,000+ seats) customers, or a mix of both - supplying products, managed services or a mix of both, preferably from a mix of vendors. These customers can be UK based, have multiple UK offices, or be multi-national companies with a significant base in the UK, in the private sector. At least 50 per cent of your business needs to fall under the ‘corporate' definition to be eligible to enter.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name Public Sector VAR/MSP of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Public Sector VAR of the Year

This category is open to VARs/MSPs that have a clear focus on doing business, providing products and solutions to public sector customers. These organisations can be in any part of the public sector from education to healthcare, from local government to government, and emergency services.

AT LEAST 40 per cent of your business must be public sector-based to qualify for entry.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name SMB Reseller of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

SMB Reseller of the Year

The award is open to resellers that have a focus on the SMB market, whether this is on very small companies (1-9 employees) within a locality or region, or larger firms that fall within the ‘SMB' definition i.e. fewer than 250 employees. Firms that are fairly young and consider themselves an ‘up and coming' player in the SMB space, and have seen excellent growth since launch can also enter.

NOTE - More than 75 per cent of your business must be SMB to qualify for entry. Please make sure you address this point.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name MSP of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new service offerings will also be candidates for these awards.

MSP of the Year

This award is ONLY open to companies that can truly call themselves a managed service provider (MSP). Vendors or support companies DO NOT qualify for this award and will be removed from the category. Business has to consist primarily of managed services TO END USER CUSTOMERS, this can be any or as many of the ‘as-a-service' disciplines as you like - although bear in mind there is a separate cloud category, so non-cloud entries will be given priority and cloud entries could be moved by the judges. Entries can cover managed services to enterprise, mid-market or SMB level customers. We would ask that at least 75 per cent of your business is through managed services to qualify for entry.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name Cloud Services Provider of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Cloud Services Provider of the Year

This category is open to channel players with a specific focus on providing cloud-based services to their end user customers. This can be in any vertical sector with any relevant cloud technology set, whether it is security, storage, infrastructure, datacentre services or a mix of the above and others.

NOTE: Resellers/MSPs entering this category should derive at least 40 per cent of their business from the provision of cloud products and services. Please address this point in your entry.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name: Best Lockdown project/initiative of the Year - Reseller - For 2021 ONLY

This has been a year like no other, and while there has been far too much sadness, sacrifice and tragic loss, the Coronavirus Pandemic has also brought out the best in so many people and companies.

Businesses have been forced to innovate like never before, and channel firms have been at the very heart of this innovation - whether it is helping customers speed up their digital transformation, or being involved in many initiatives that have helped a range of vital organisations - ranging from NHS/Schools/research labs to supermarkets, insurance and funeral directors - keep going under immense pressure.

This award is to recognise that innovation and give some much-deserved recognition to those companies that have gone out of their way to help keep this country running during the most challenging conditions we have experienced in living memory.

Entry Criteria: Please use these criteria as a rough guide to shaping your entry - but feel free to make it as personal as possible, including photographs

Entries can be anything between 400 and 1,000 words - please include as much relevant information as possible and make it as personal as you like. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name: Reseller of the Year (£101m+ turnover)

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Reseller of the Year (£101m+ turnover)

This category is open to all VARs/MSPs/Integrators with a turnover above £101m, that feel they have done a particularly outstanding job over the past 12 months that deserves a top reseller accolade at the CRN awards. Any IT supplier, regardless of specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award, but to be in with a chance of winning you have to have done something spectacular to impress the judges and be prepared to shout about it. Plus your turnover threshold must qualify to enter.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

Award Name: Reseller of the Year (sub £100m turnover)

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Reseller of the Year (sub £100m turnover)

This category has been launched to give the smaller players in the market a chance to compete on a more even playing field against their peers. The award is open to all VARs/MSPs/Integrators with a turnover up to £100m, that feel they have done a particularly outstanding job over the past 12 months that deserves a top reseller accolade at the CRN awards. Any IT supplier, regardless of specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award, but to be in with a chance of winning you have to have done something spectacular to impress the judges and be prepared to shout about it. Plus your turnover threshold must qualify to enter.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2021 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that.

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count. Videos must be five minutes or less.

The deadline for entries is Friday 2 July. The Awards will take place on Thursday 11 November 2021. Please click here to submit an entry and find out more.