Channel awards
As the 4 July deadline for entries to this year's awards rapidly approaches, who will you vote for?
Caltell gets through to VARs
Voice and data convergence has become part of the mainstream, but according to Huddersfield-based Avaya distributor Caltell you still need to be a specialist to meet the needs of resellers in this area.
Shaun Garrity, business development manager at the company, said: "We must have been one of the first convergence resellers in the country. We've remained very focused, and that's why people like us."
One of only two Avaya Diamond partners, Caltell also works with BT and has Cisco expertise. "We have engineers that have done over 400 Alchemy installs.
"They are massively skilled and that's our USP. We can offer advice on integration, switching and routing. We have more than just traditional telephony skills," Garrity said.
Caltell is part of the Xpert Systems Group. Although it has only 10 dedicated staff, it has 40 engineers distributed around the UK. The firm has annual sales approaching £6m.
Caltell works with about 150 resellers and the top tier are very loyal, said Garrity. "We have resellers that have stayed with us for four or five years and never wavered," he said.
CRN analysis
Caltell is small but in the growing area of voice and data convergence it is a leading distribution expert. Support from its loyal resellers could give it a chance in the Specialist Distributor category.
Sage spices up accounting
Sage's accounting software has been a staple of the SME IT buyer in the UK for almost 20 years. Its products have attracted new business consistently, and for this reason alone, Sage is certain to be a contender for the SME Vendor of the Year award.
Phil Gordon, UK channel director at the company, said Sage is far from complacent about its position in the market.
"The SME market is now mature and this year we've introduced new initiatives to help achieve closer working between Sage and its resellers to ensure they can meet the demands of a changing marketplace," he said.
The Reseller Forum for 10 of Sage's top Premier resellers is one of these schemes. "Resellers are at the coalface. They know what will work with customers and what won't. We have held two forum meetings so far and feedback has been very encouraging," said Gordon.
Sage has expanded its range of marketing tools and support. Additional training and accreditation schemes were introduced last year to bolster reseller service, and over 90 per cent of Premier resellers have been accredited under the new rules.
Sage wants to win the SME award in recognition of the commitment it has made to the channel. "Our goal is to have a channel of quality partners whom we make rich. We believe the initiatives we have introduced since January are an important step in that direction," Gordon said.
CRN analysis
Sage has been a big supporter of the channel and generated a lot of bread-and-butter business for SME resellers. It must have a good chance of competing for the SME Vendor award.
Time to take action
There are now only a few weeks to go before the 4 July deadline for entries to this year's channel awards.
There are eight awards for which a panel of 12 independent judges will select short-lists of six contenders. Readers of CRN and its sister title Computing will be asked to vote for one of these six companies to select the winner.
To enter you simply need to outline - in as little as 250 words - why you think your company deserves to be nominated for a specific award this year.
To find out more and place your entry, go to CRN's website at www.crn.vnunet.com and click on the Awards button. Entries must be in by 4 July 2003.
The eight categories you can enter are:
- Corporate Vendor of the Year
- SME Vendor of the Year
- Specialist Vendor of the Year
- Corporate Distributor of the Year
- SME Distributor of the Year
- Specialist Distributor of the Year
- Corporate Reseller of the Year
- SME Reseller of the Year
All CRN reader votes will be audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.