Channel Awards 2023 - Vendor Criteria

Infrastructure and Storage Vendor of the Year - REVISED FOR 2023

The award is open to all vendors operating that have an Infrastructure and/or Storage flavour to their business. This includes manufacturers of servers, networking equipment, software, components or peripherals that are relevant to the infrastructure and storage market. The manufacturers must be able to show that they have helped their channel partners to build and grow a profitable business in 2022/2023 (between July 2022 and July 2023).

Entry Criteria: Use the below criteria as a guide on what to include in your entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and remember to include at least one testimonial. Multi-media or PDF entries are encouraged, but plain text entries are accepted as long as they are well spaced and easy to read. Please do not just copy and paste blocks of text with no spacing.

Outline why you are entering this category, explain a bit about your company, your relevance to the category, what the channel means to your business - back up with numbers and stats to show channel growth and the actual percentage of your business that is through partners - and ensure the entry is relevant to the UK market.
What changes/enhancements have been made to your channel programme (can be in the form of products, new services and support) in the last 12 months, with evidence of the impact those changes have had on your partners (stats, figures) and describe why your programme stands out from the competition.
Describe how you have assisted your channel partners to actively increase their business over the past year - this can be through additional investment, headcount and training - please use facts and figures relevant to the UK market.
Outline a successful partner (reseller/VAR/MSP/Integrator) case study from the past year (ie a partner that has seen their business grow as a result of your partnership) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, how you helped that partner succeed and ensure partner testimonials back up the case study.
Company ethos - how important is the channel throughout your company, how do you encourage staff to ‘think channel' and get the best out of your indirect strategy?

Entries MUST 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 2023 to qualify. Vendors 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.

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Software Vendor of the Year

The award is open to all vendors that manufacture and sell a software product or who have a software development unit as part of their business. Please do bear in mind that there are separate vendor categories for security and cloud focused vendors, so this category is more of a catch-all for vendors that may specialise in other software such as PSA/RMM, datacentre software, BI, storage, virtualisation, CRM or network management software, plus more. Preference will be given to those vendors who are not eligible for the security or cloud categories. Entrants must be able to show that they have helped their channel partners to build and grow a profitable business in 2022/2023 (between July 2022 and July 2023).

Outline why you are entering this category, explain a bit about your company, what software you specialise in, your relevance to the category, what the channel means to your business - back up with numbers and stats to show channel growth and the actual percentage of your business that is through partners - and ensure the entry is relevant to the UK market.
What changes/enhancements have been made to your channel programme (can be in the form of products, new services and support) in the last 12 months, with evidence of the impact those changes have had on your partners (stats, figures) and describe why your programme stands out from the competition.
Describe how you have assisted your channel partners to actively increase their business over the past year - this can be through additional investment, headcount and training - please use facts and figures relevant to the UK market.
Outline a successful partner (reseller/VAR/MSP/Integrator) case study from the past year (ie a partner that has seen their business grow as a result of your partnership) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, how you helped that partner succeed and ensure partner testimonials back up the case study.
Company ethos - how important is the channel throughout your company, how do you encourage staff to ‘think channel' and get the best out of your indirect strategy?

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Security Vendor of the Year

This category is for all vendors that manufacture/develop software, hardware, systems or peripherals for the security market. The manufacturers must be able to show that they have helped their channel partners to build and grow a profitable business in 2022/2023 (between July 2022 and July 2023).

Outline why you are entering this category, explain what your company is, your relevancy to the category, what the channel means to your business - back up with numbers and stats to show channel growth and the actual percentage of your business that is through partners - and ensure the entry is relevant to the UK market.
What changes/enhancements have been made to your channel programme (can be in the form of products, new services and support) in the last 12 months, with evidence of the impact those changes have had on your partners (stats, figures) and describe why your programme stands out from the competition.
Describe how you have assisted your channel partners to actively increase their business over the past year - this can be through additional investment, headcount and training - please use facts and figures relevant to the UK market.
Outline a successful partner (reseller/VAR/MSP/Integrator) case study from the past year (ie a partner that has seen their business grow as a result of your partnership) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, how you helped that partner succeed and ensure partner testimonials back up the case study.
Company ethos - how important is the channel throughout your company, how do you encourage staff to ‘think channel' and get the best out of your indirect strategy?

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Specialist Vendor of the Year

This category is open to vendors that manufacture (and/or market) particular ‘specialist' offerings. This includes both specialist products which a vendor may develop and/or a service that the vendor may offer. It must be a finished product and/or service, not component i.e. a product or service that a distributor or reseller can stock and/or sell. This will include audio-visual vendors, printer vendors, internet services, hosting or broadband services, WAN infrastructure and managed services or hosted applications. Please note that because there are cloud services, software, datacentre and security categories as well, preference will be given to entries outside those three areas. Vendors must show that they have helped their channel partners grow and build a profitable business in 2022/2023 (between July 2022 and July 2023).

Outline why you are entering this category, describe your company briefly, your relevancy to the category, what the channel means to your business - back up with numbers and stats to show channel growth and the actual percentage of your business that is through partners - and ensure the entry is relevant to the UK market.
What changes/enhancements have been made to your channel programme (can be in the form of products, new services and support) in the last 12 months, with evidence of the impact those changes have had on your partners (stats, figures) and describe why your programme stands out from the competition.
Describe how you have assisted your channel partners to actively increase their business over the past year - this can be through additional investment, headcount and training - please use facts and figures relevant to the UK market.
Outline a successful partner (reseller/VAR/MSP/Integrator) case study from the past year (ie a partner that has seen their business grow as a result of your partnership) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, how you helped that partner succeed and ensure partner testimonials back up the case study.
Company ethos - how important is the channel throughout your company, how do you encourage staff to ‘think channel' and get the best out of your indirect strategy?

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Cloud Services Vendor of the Year

This category is open to all cloud services vendors, whether they sell a physical product or a virtual one. This includes cloud-based software manufacturers/developers and providers of any type of cloud service/product TO the channel. The vendors entering must be able to show that they have helped their channel partners to build and grow a profitable business in 2022/2023 (between July 2022 and July 2023).

Outline why you are entering this category, briefly describe your company, your relevancy to the category, what the channel means to your business - back up with numbers and stats to show channel growth and the actual percentage of your business that is through partners - and ensure the entry is relevant to the UK market.
What changes/enhancements have been made to your channel programme (can be in the form of products, new services and support) in the last 12 months, with evidence of the impact those changes have had on your partners (stats, figures) and describe why your programme stands out from the competition.
Describe how you have assisted your channel partners to actively increase their business over the past year - this can be through additional investment, headcount and training - please use facts and figures relevant to the UK market.
Outline a successful partner (reseller/VAR/MSP/Integrator) case study from the past year (ie a partner that has seen their business grow as a result of your partnership) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, how you helped that partner succeed and ensure partner testimonials back up the case study.
Company ethos - how important is the channel throughout your company, how do you encourage staff to ‘think channel' and get the best out of your indirect strategy?

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Emerging Vendor of the Year

This category is open to all manufacturers/vendors that would class themselves as a relative newcomer to the channel, having worked with channel partners IN THE UK for a minimum of one and MAXIMUM of seven years to qualify. The manufacturers must be able to show that they have helped their UK channel partners to build and grow a profitable business in 2022/2023 (between July 2022 and July 2023), and also demonstrate what they think makes them eligible to be classed as an emerging vendor.

Outline why you are entering this category, briefly describe your company, your relevancy to the category, what the channel means to your business. Explain why you consider yourself an emerging vendor and what makes you stand out from the competition - back these claims up with numbers and stats to show both company and channel growth and the actual percentage of your business that is through partners. Please ensure the entry is relevant to the UK market.
Why have you picked the channel as your preferred route to market, and what benefits do you think you can bring your channel partners - can you provide any proof in the form of stats/figures (from the last 12 months?) Why should they go with you rather than the more established vendors in the market? What do you bring to channel that is fresh, exciting and new?
Describe how you have assisted your channel partners to actively increase their business over the past year - this can be through additional investment, headcount and training, or indeed have you seen rapid channel growth this year that has made a difference to your business? - please use facts and figures relevant to the UK market.
Outline a successful partner (reseller/VAR/MSP/Integrator) case study from the past year (ie a partner that has seen their business grow as a result of your partnership) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, how you helped that partner succeed and ensure partner testimonials back up the case study.
Company ethos - how important is the channel throughout your company, how do you encourage staff to ‘think channel' and get the best out of your indirect strategy?

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Best ESG project/initiative of the Year - Vendor - NEW FOR 2023

Having a proper ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategy in place is fast becoming a must for all technology companies, as firms prioritise their people and pledge to follow a more ethical and sustainable business model.

This category is aimed at showcasing a particular ESG project that a company has worked on during the past year (between July 2022 and July 2023).

We want these entries to be personal, yet fun, and really give some good examples of how IT vendors are making the world a better place, whether this is for their own employees and customers, their partners, or their wider community.

The reach for this award is deliberately broad to give every company a chance to pick an area of ESG that is most relevant to them.

Projects can range from a newly developed recycling strategy for example, to any environmental/circular economy-related initiative, or it can be a charity fundraising project that the whole company has been involved in. It can also cover any projects centred around STEM education, mentoring, mental health, and diversity, plus much more.

Following the Coronavirus pandemic, everyone has realised that there is much more to running a business than profit and loss. It is all about people and community, and making a difference.

This award is to recognise the work that so many firms are doing behind the scenes to address the vital issues addressed above (and others) and give some much-deserved recognition to the people and teams behind that crucially important work.

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

Outline what project you are entering in this category and explain how it came about. Tell us why this project is so important to your company and your employees.
Explain the benefits of the project - who it was aimed at, what kind of a difference it has made/is making - get comments from those involved.
The personal touch - how did your teams pull together to get this project off the ground? How much did they go above and beyond to make it a success?
Testimonial - ask those who have benefitted to provide a short explanation of how your project has made a difference and why it is so important to them.
Any figures/facts you can share to demonstrate the achievements of the project will be welcomed by the judges.

Entries can be anything between 500 and 1,000 words - please include as much relevant information as possible and make it as personal as you like.

Channel Chief of the Year

The aim of this award is to discover a UK channel boss that the industry feels has gone above and beyond the call of duty over the past year (between July 2022 and July 2023) to ensure their partners are well looked after, listened to and supported.

This person will have proved themselves an integral part of the channel and deserves some recognition for their efforts.

Nominations can be either from partners, or from colleagues, or from yourself - all we ask is that you submit a 200-250 word nomination explaining the name, title of person and why they have been nominated for this award - in other words what have they done for channel partners, and why do they deserve recognition?

The most deserving candidates will go forward onto the shortlist and we will put this to a channel vote. It will not be decided by the judging panel. The person with the most votes will win the trophy. But they have to be in it to win it.

So get nominating!

Vendor of the Year

This category is open to all vendors that feel they have done a particularly outstanding job in the UK channel over the past 12 months that deserves the top vendor accolade at the CRN awards. Any vendor, regardless of size, specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award but the entry must be UK focussed.

Demonstrate why you feel you qualify for the Vendor of the Year award - use UK-based stats and examples to show channel business growth, partner acquisition (both reseller and distributor), support and investment made into your channel strategy over the past year.
Why do you think you have done a better job than your competitors?
What has your channel-facing business achieved in the past 12 months that makes it stand out from the competition? Use UK-based facts, stats and figures to back this up and strengthen your entry.
What has been your company's biggest achievement over the past year in relation to the channel?
What part has your channel-facing team played in this and how is their relationship generally with the channel?
Outline a successful UK-based case study (can be either reseller or distributor partnership) from the past year and explain to the judges why it was such a success, and why you think it will help you win this award. A reseller/distributor testimonial can be used to back up the case study.

Maximum word count: 1,000.