Standing on ceremony
Judging day is here and table sales for this year's channel Oscars are open
Napoleon reportedly said: “Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.” Similarly, those who have troubled themselves to enter this year’s CRN Channel Awards and succeeded do but enjoy a brief moment standing on the podium before slinking back into the crowd.
However, the fact that their peers and various pundits chose them as winners even for that moment suggests they will not remain in the shadows. As Sara Yirrell, editor of CRN, who has presided over the Awards in recent years, says: “Those who go home as winners are likely to find that that very recognition feeds through to how their employees, customers and other partners see them.
“This in itself fosters excellence across the industry.”
CRN, and Incisive Media more generally, believes that intra-industry awards programmes such as this are reflected in the bottom line of entrants, however indirectly. And the company has made every effort to ensure the process for entering and winning gongs is transparent, objective and relevant enough to nurture success across all categories of reseller, vendor and distributor.
With that in mind, tables for this year’s event are now on sale at a range of prices and hospitality levels. Do not miss out on a table, as the night itself is sure as usual to be lots of fun for everyone, compered by a celebrity whose identity will remain secret until the very last moment.
See the bottom of this article for contact details for further information about attending the glitzy Battersea Arena ceremony in London on Thursday 17 November, kicking off with the traditional champagne reception at 7pm and partying on until the wee hours.
It will not be long before judges announce the shortlisted nominations. Keep an eye on CRN and Channelweb.co.uk for the full details, as there are sure to be surprises.
Judging in 2011
All entries were submitted online, with a deadline in early August. Judging day takes place in just over a week, on 30 August.
This year’s two judging panels have seen some changes, instigated in part to keep the process fresh while maintaining continuity and thus consistency with previous years.
The panel for the first stage comprises 10 leading lights who will analyse all entries and decide on a shortlist for each of the 19 categories for the main group of awards.
Panel one is boosted by the presence of several analysts and other leading alongside more vendor-agnostic players, such as representatives from CompTIA and channel-focused companies such as trade finance specialists.
In panel two, the likely talent will be reassessed by a different group, many of whom are intimately involved as technology providers themselves. This aims to ensure the best entry in each category wins, acting as a form of quality assurance.
All categories will be subjected to this two-stage judging process. All those shortlisted for Reseller of the Year, Distributor of the Year and Vendor of the Year will be required to present their entries to the judges in person on the second judging day.
The Editor’s Choice gongs - Channel Personality of the Year and Emerging Channel Company of the Year - provide an additional chance to win, as they are not based on previous categories and shortlists and will be chosen by CRN editor Sara Yirrell.
For further enquiries please contact Lucy Tarbard on the CRN Events team at [email protected] or call 020 7004 7472.