Channel Awards 2023 - Distributor Criteria

Everything you need to know about entering the distributor categories of the 2023 Channel Awards

Cloud Distributor of the Year

This award is open to distributors that either operate a cloud-based business unit or are fully cloud-based, and are helping resellers either get into cloud services, or further develop their existing cloud offerings. Entrants must prove that they have assisted their reseller and vendor partners to build a profitable business between July 2022 and July 2023, and are really adding value around cloud services.

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 customer 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 and provide stats and figures to describe the size of your business in this category - ie turnover and growth, and any investment made in this area of your business over the past 12 months.
• Provide evidence of the value provided to both your reseller partners and your vendor partners over the past year - use stats and growth figures to back up points. Why does your business stand out from the competition in this category? What successful campaigns have you run (using MDF) that has borne fruit for both your reseller and vendor partners?
• Outline any particular cloud-focused initiatives that you have launched or that you run/develop each year which helps resellers maximise sales and keep their customers happy, but which also appeals to your vendor partners. This can include licensing, credit facilities, support, training, logistics and of course, events.
• Do you have examples of outstanding service provision from your teams in this area that show real value-add? How have they overcome any challenges? How do they operate?
• Pick a particularly successful reseller or vendor case study demonstrating where you have helped them grow their business/grow their channel presence, supported by figures and testimonials from the chosen partner.

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. Distributors 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.

Storage Distributor of the Year

The award is open to all distributors that operate within the storage marketplace, be that software, hardware or peripherals or cloud-based/datacentre storage and related services. Distributors must show how they have helped reseller and vendor partners grow and maintain profitable business between July 2022 and July 2023. Entrants can be fully dedicated to storage, or have a storage division within their overall business - but this needs to be explained fully in the entry.

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 customer 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 and provide stats and figures to describe the size of your business in this category - ie turnover and growth, and any investment made in this area of your storage business over the past 12 months.
• Provide evidence of the value provided to both your reseller partners and your vendor partners over the past year - use stats and growth figures to back up points. Why does your business stand out from the competition in this category? What successful campaigns have you run (using MDF) that has borne fruit for both your reseller and vendor partners?
• Outline any particular storage-focused initiatives that you have launched or that you run/develop each year which helps resellers maximise sales and keep their customers happy, but which also appeals to your vendor partners.
• Do you have examples of outstanding service provision from your teams in this area that show real value-add? How have they overcome any challenges? How do they operate?
• Pick a particularly successful reseller or vendor case study demonstrating where you have helped them grow their business/grow their channel presence, supported by figures and testimonials from the chosen partner.

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. Distributors 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.

Security Distributor of the Year

The category is aimed at distributors offering cybersecurity solutions, including hardware, software, peripherals or related services within the cybersecurity arena. Entrants must prove how they have assisted their reseller and vendor partners to build a profitable business between July 2022 and July 2023. Entrants can either be fully dedicated to Security, or have a Security division within their overall business.

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 customer 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, why you are relevant to this category, and provide stats and figures to describe the size of your business in this category - ie turnover and growth and any investment made in this area of your Security business over the past 12 months.
• Provide evidence of the value given to both your reseller partners and your vendor partners over the past year - use stats and growth figures to back up points. Why does your business stand out from the competition in this category? What successful campaigns have you run that has borne fruit for both your reseller and vendor partners?
• Outline any particular Security focused initiatives (events, training, support schemes etc) that you have launched or that you run/develop each year which helps resellers maximise sales and keep their customers happy, but which also appeals to your vendor partners.
• Do you have examples of outstanding service provision from your teams in this area that show real value-add? How have they overcome any challenges? How do they operate?
• Pick a particularly successful reseller or vendor case study demonstrating where you have helped them grow their business/grow their channel presence, supported by figures and testimonials from the chosen partner.

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. Distributors 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.

Networking/Comms Distributor of the Year

The award is open to all distributors that operate within the networking/comms marketplace, be that SDN, UC, WiFi, AV, network infrastructure or peripherals and related services. Distributors must show how they have helped reseller and vendor partners grow and maintain profitable business between July 2022 and July 2023. Entrants can be a full networking/comms specialist or have a division dedicated to networking/comms technology within their overall business.

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 customer 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, why you are relevant to this category and provide stats and figures to describe the size of your business in this category - ie turnover and growth, and any investment made in your datacentre business over the past 12 months.
• Provide evidence of the value given to both your reseller partners and your vendor partners over the past year - use stats and growth figures to back up points. Why does your business stand out from the competition in this category? What successful campaigns have you run that has borne fruit for both your reseller and vendor partners?
• Outline any particular datacentre-focused initiatives that you have launched or that you run/develop each year which helps resellers maximise sales and keep their customers happy, but which also appeals to your vendor partners.
• Do you have examples of outstanding service provision from your teams in this area that show real value-add? How have they overcome any challenges? How do they operate?
• Pick a particularly successful reseller or vendor case study demonstrating where you have helped them grow their business/grow their channel presence, supported by figures and testimonials from the chosen partner.

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. Distributors 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.

Most Innovative Distributor Award - NEW for 2023

This award is new for 2023 and is all about showcasing the many examples of innovation that distributors show during the year. We have combined this category with the former Technology Incubator Award category so it covers every aspect of innovation from finding new and exciting technologies for the channel to adopt, to a particularly innovative event, platform, project or team that has been launched during the past year (July 2022 - July 2023) that has really made a difference. Please note there is a separate category for ESG-related projects this year.

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 customer 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 and why you feel you are an innovative distributor. Please describe what particular scheme/project/platform/event/team you are entering, why you think it is innovative and how it makes you stand apart from the competition.
• Explain how your innovation has helped your reseller and your vendor partners over the past year - use stats and growth figures to back up points. Have you run any particularly unusual campaigns or events to promote this specific project?
• How have your people helped with the innovation - what challenges, particular achievements have they made, how does it work?
• Showcase a reseller or vendor case study demonstrating where your particular innovation has helped. Use facts/figures and testimonials.

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. Distributors 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.

Best ESG project/initiative of the Year - Distributor - 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 distributors are making the world a better place, whether this is for their own employees and customers, or their wider community and partners.

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.

Distributor of the Year - (up to £50m turnover) - NEW for 2023

This year we have revised all our distribution revenue brackets after a market re-evaluation. This category will give the ‘smaller' distribution players in the market a category in their own right to compete on a more level playing field. This category is open to all distributors with turnover up to £50m. Any Distributor, regardless of specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award. Divisions of larger organisations CANNOT be entered in this category unless they are totally standalone from the parent company.

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 customer 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.

• Demonstrate why you feel you qualify for the Distributor of the Year (up to £50m turnover) Award, use stats and figures to back up your claims and convince the judges you deserve to win.
• What has your business achieved in the past 12 months that makes it stand out from the competition? ie This can be a mix of initiatives launched to help your customers maximise their business, reorganisation of reseller/vendor facing teams, exceptional service in a difficult or challenging situation, significant expansion of the business through organic or acquisitive growth, or simply punching above your weight in terms of business offerings and most of all results. Back up all claims with stats and figures.
• What has been your company's biggest achievement over the past year? Why are you proud of it, how have your people contributed to that and what extra resources did you dedicate to achieving this success?
• Highlight a case study (can be either reseller partnership or vendor partnership) from the past year (using stats and figures again) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, and why you think it will help you win this award.

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. Distributors 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.

Distributor of the Year - (£51- £300m turnover) - REVISED for 2023

CRN has revised the revenue brackets for its distribution categories, and noted a significant number of distribution players fall into this bracket that have perhaps struggled to compete with the behemoths of distribution in the past. This category is open to all distributors with between £51 and £300m turnover that feel they have done a particularly outstanding job over the past 12 months. Any distributor, regardless of specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award. Divisions of larger organisations cannot be entered in this category unless they are totally standalone from the parent company.

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 customer 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.

• Demonstrate why you feel you qualify for the Distributor of the Year (£51-£300m, turnover) Award, use stats and figures to back up your claims and convince the judges you deserve to win.
• What has your business achieved in the past 12 months that makes it stand out from the competition? ie This can be a mix of initiatives launched to help your customers maximise their business, reorganisation of reseller/vendor facing teams, exceptional service in a difficult or challenging situation, significant expansion of the business through organic or acquisitive growth, or simply punching above your weight in terms of business offerings and most of all results. Back up all claims with stats and figures.
• What has been your company's biggest achievement over the past year? Why are you proud of it, how have your people contributed to that and what extra resources did you dedicate to achieving this success?
• Highlight a case study (can be either reseller partnership or vendor partnership) from the past year (using stats and figures again) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, and why you think it will help you win this award. A reseller/vendor testimonial can be used to back up the case study.

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. Distributors 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.

Distributor of the Year (£300m+ turnover)

Following a revision of the distribution revenue brackets, this category has been renamed to give those at the very top end of the market their own category to compete in like-for-like.

Any distributor, with a turnover of £300m+, regardless of specialisation or focus, is eligible to enter this award. Please do not enter if you turnover is below £300m.

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 customer 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.

• Demonstrate why you feel you qualify for the Distributor of the Year Award, use stats and figures to back up your claims and convince the judges you deserve to win.
• What has your business achieved in the past 12 months that makes it stand out from the competition? ie This can be a mix of initiatives launched to help your customers maximise their business, reorganisation of reseller/vendor facing teams, exceptional service in a difficult or challenging situation, significant expansion of the business through organic or acquisitive growth, or simply punching above your weight in terms of business offerings and most of all results. Back up all claims with stats and figures.
• What has been your company's biggest achievement over the past year? Why are you proud of it, how have your people contributed to that and what extra resources did you dedicate to achieving this success?
• Pick a particularly successful case study (can be either reseller partnership or vendor partnership) from the past year (using stats and figures again) and explain to the judges why it was such a success, and why you think it will help you win this award. A reseller/vendor testimonial can be used to back up the case study.

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. Distributors 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.