Channel Awards: Raising standards

Just making it onto the short list for the Channel Awards is great news, writes Simon Meredith.

There is always that moment at the Oscars when the TV cameras linger over the nominees as the envelope is opened, and their desperately casual "Really, I don't expect to win" facades break. At that moment, just as at the Channel Awards, you know that it really does matter to the people in the spotlights.

However, while the Oscars runners-up benefit from nothing but a short mention in the next day's papers, being on the Channel Awards short list can make a big difference to a company's reputation.

"We are absolutely delighted to have been short-listed. We feel it recognises our place in the industry and the professionalism with which we do business," said Tony Davis, managing director of Elcom IT.

"Our customers already know about our service, but the nomination gives us the opportunity to get greater recognition in the industry, and to potential new customers in particular."

Although there are more awards this year for resellers, only a few of the many thousands of organisations in the channel can make it onto the short lists. For this reason alone, being nominated is a great achievement, said Tony Price, managing director of WStore.

"For us, just being on the short list is a sign of success. We were short-listed in the SME Reseller of the Year category last year and the E-Reseller of the Year category in the previous two years. We have never won a Channel Award but being short-listed is something we feel proud of. There are plenty of resellers that will never make it."

Equanet is a previous winner, but just being nominated this time around is a shot in the arm for the whole company, said marketing manager Abdul Terry. "To be short-listed reassures our customers that we are still maintaining our focus on improving systems and processes to provide the best business IT solutions for them.

"Within Equanet it gives us an increased sense of pride. The firm was overjoyed when the announcement was made that we have been short-listed."

Lynx Technology has not won before but is pleased to get a nomination in the Corporate category, said Ranjit Dhillon, the company's marketing communications manager.

"This is the awards ceremony of the year for the IT sector, and being a part of it is a testament to the progress we have made. CRN is a leading newspaper and being short-listed through its awards programme endorses our position in the industry," he said.

Nomination is also a significant achievement for smaller resellers. Richard Young, chief executive of SME award nominee Prior Analytics, believes it will make a significant difference to the company. "We hope the excitement that the award creates will expose us to a larger audience.

"Hopefully companies that were previously unaware of us will now know who we are and what we do. We have already started to promote the fact that we are involved," he said.

While winning would be wonderful, he believes that simply getting this far is a major achievement. "Winning would be fantastic, but it is not the only point of entering.

For us, to be nominated for such a prestigious award alongside such reputable companies is an achievement in itself. We are just happy to be appreciated and recognised by others for what we do," he said.

Another relatively small company that has been nominated this year is East Anglia Computer Systems (EACS). Mike Dearlove, managing director of EACS, said it has already had an impact on the company and its customers.

"From the level of communication we have received within the channel, it has definitely raised the level of perception of EACS among our distributors, especially those that are not currently our prime suppliers," he said.

"It has also raised the perception within our customers that we do not simply focus on their business size or sector, and has raised the level of confidence that our customers have that we can provide larger and more specialist solutions for them."

The story is similar for another new name on the short lists: Elyzium. Probal Sil, business development director at Elyzium, said the nomination has already had a positive effect both within and outside the company.

"Being a finalist has increased Elyzium's credibility, status and visibility in the market. Internally, it has increased morale," he said.

While there are not as many vendors and distributors fighting it out for their awards, there are several companies that are being recognised for the first time on the short lists.

BT is one of them and Chris Jagusz, general manager of chapter management at BT Indirect Channels, said it means a lot to the business.

"In the past 18 months BT has been building its business in the data channel, and being a finalist in the Channel Awards affirms our success so far," he said.

"It's especially rewarding to be the first telecoms vendor short-listed. This alone is important to us. That's not to say that we wouldn't be ecstatic to win!"

Another company being acknowledged for the first time is antivirus specialist Sophos. David Stanley, UK manager at the company, said it is a very positive reflection on the firm's channel programme.

"We are very lucky to have a good reputation among the channel, and being short-listed not only raises our profile externally, it also acts as an excellent reminder of our successes to the Sophos team and partners," he said.

Ann Keefe, sales director at memory specialists Kingston Technology, also believes it makes a big difference to the company just to be nominated.

She said: "It is an achievement to be recognised as a leader in your own marketplace, and being short-listed for an award tells us that we are getting it right."

RSA Security has been nominated for the first time, having moved from a direct to an indirect sales model over the past two years. The firm's UK channel manager, Steve Wheeler, said the nomination is a wonderful endorsement of that strategy.

"However much we may talk about our commitment to the channel, it's third-party endorsements that really count," he said.

Helen Wood, distribution business manager at Veritas, is pleased just to be nominated. "Getting this far is an achievement when you compare the size of Veritas with a Hewlett Packard or Microsoft, in sheer people on the streets, let alone revenues. We are having a terrific year in terms of revenue growth, and this nomination reiterates this success."

It is very important to note that there are many companies that did not make it onto the short list this year but have delivered excellent service during 2003. Not being on the final list does not mean you have not achieved anything.

Hopefully, vendors, distributors and resellers in this group will redouble their efforts to win in 2004 and make the 11th Channel Awards even more keenly contested.

Even some of the biggest names in the business are happy just to have been nominated again. Sue Smith, sales director at corporate distribution contender ETC, said: "To be nominated means a lot.

"We have been nominated several times before but have never been one of the lucky winners. Being nominated means we are still there in the minds of our resellers, which is great."

Amanda Jones, sales director at Interchange, believes the company's nomination could completely change its image in the industry. "It demonstrates that at last we are becoming recognised as a distributor within the SME market," she said.

"Many people believe Interchange is a small distributor with very little impact. Hopefully, now that we have been nominated in such prestigious awards, resellers will see we are firmly placed amongst top distribution companies, dealing with specific needs of specific resellers."

There is very strong competition in the Specialist Distributor category, which has been bolstered this year by the emergence of several companies in the convergence space. One of the new names on the list this year is Crane.

Will Morey, group communications manager at the company, said being selected for the final round of voting is a tremendous fillip for the business.

"It means a lot to Crane to be short-listed by CRN because we highly value the magazine," Morey said.

"Any recognition such as this is positive. We would hope that our resellers already perceive us as supportive partners, and we'd like to think our reputation hangs on our work and service to them. But an award such as this is a boost to any company."

Manny Pinon, marketing director at Norwood Adam, said that while it says a lot if you are nominated, it is important to keep your feet on the ground. "I hope it means we are doing things right and differentiating ourselves from the rest of the distributors out there," he said.

"But perception is a funny thing. If people perceive that we add value in our specialist area of convergence then that's great. But I would challenge them to put that perception to the test and engage with us. Perception is great but reality is better."

It is vital, Keefe added, that resellers do take the opportunity to cast their votes. "Everyone should use their vote so the final results are a true representation of channel opinion," she said.

Resellers will be doing their best to get customers, not just their channel partners, to make their opinions count. "It is crucial for customers to vote," said Terry.

"The winner of the award should have the majority of its votes from customers rather than suppliers and vendors. It is this fact that adds kudos to winning and is certainly very gratifying to have won the award because of your customers. After all, the customer knows best."

The voting process
The short lists for this year's Channel Awards were selected at the end of August and voting began at the start of last month.

Resellers are able to vote for vendors and distributors, while end users are being asked to vote for the reseller awards. Many of the short-listed companies have been encouraging their customers to cast their votes and a great number of votes have already been received.

However, there is still plenty of time to vote. The website will be accepting valid reader votes until 24 October. The winners will be announced at the Channel Awards in London on Wednesday 19 November.

Voting is verified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

Awards for innovation
The 11 winners of this year's CRN/Syscap Approved Technology Innovator of the Month awards will make up the short list for the two annual Technology Innovator awards, for the public and private sectors, which will be presented at the Channel Awards.

Backed by CRN and its sister title Computing, the scheme recognises innovation in the design, development and delivery of ICT solutions. The final monthly award will be announced shortly and the short list will be published in CRN.

Contacts

BT Indirect Channels
www.bt.com

Crane
www.cranetel.co.uk

EACS
www.eacs.co.uk

Elcom IT
www.elcom.co.uk

Elyzium
www.elyzium.co.uk

Equanet
www.equanet.com

ETC
www.etc-dist.co.uk

Interchange
www.i-change.co.uk

Kingston Technology
www.kingston-technology.com

Lynx
www.lynx-tec.co.uk

Norwood Adam
www.norwood-adam.com