PC Dealer Channel - Awards 1998

The winners of the PC Dealer Channel Awards, now in its fifth year, were unveiled on 3 November, ending months of suspense. More than 600 of the channel's leading lights attended the night, which took place at the Hilton in Mayfair, London.

The award-winning companies were chosen by the channel - made up of vendors, resellers and distributors - who all cast their votes. A panel of industry experts gathered the nominations for the product categories which were then voted on by the whole channel.

Once again the votes were counted and audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation to ensure fairness.

BUSINESS DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

WINNER: IDEAL HARDWARE

Winning for a remarkable third year in a row, Ideal Hardware has been rewarded for reliability and high customer satisfaction, keeping it in its leading position for yet another year.

PC DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- CHS Electronics

- Computer 2000

- ETC

- Ingram Micro

- Northamber

WINNER: COMPUTER 2000

Computer 2000 keeps its place as the PC Distributor of the year in what was one of the most closely fought contests of the awards. It has implemented a number of customer initiatives over the past year and attributes its success to internet and e-commerce strategies.

QQ] SPECIALIST DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Datech 2000

- Datrontech

- Ideal Hardware

- Landis

- Unipalm

WINNER: UNIPALM

Unipalm is one of the UK's leading distributors specialising in Web,connectivity and security software products from open-systems technology companies. Unipalm takes the title from last year's award winner Ilion.

RETAIL DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Computer 2000

- Gem

- Ingram Micro

- Northamber

WINNER: GEM

Gem takes the award for Retail Distributor of the year from last year's winner Ingram Micro - no mean feat. Harlow-based Gem takes pride in the customer service it provides and tries to provide an individual approach for its customers.

NETWORK DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Azlan

- Computer 2000

- Illion

- Landis

- Metrologie

WINNER: COMPUTER 2000

Computer 2000 takes the networking award this year with a concerted push into the networking arena after it was so close to winning the award last year.

PERIPHERALS DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- CHS Electronics

- Computer 2000

- Ideal Hardware

- Ingram Micro

- Micro Peripherals

WINNER: IDEAL HARDWARE

Yet again, Ideal takes the award for Peripherals Distributor of the year. Ideal has built its business around the peripherals market and has not been shy of taking different directions in business.

DEALER OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Action Computer Supplies

- Basilica

- Computacenter

- Mygate

WINNER: ACTION COMPUTER SUPPLIES

Action Computer Supplies is a London company which has invested heavily in its infrastructure over the course of the past year. It has shown its customers that the dealer can provide the service which is equal to the giants of the industry, as well as maintain customer loyalty.

VAR OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Accord (IT Services)

- Bytes

- Compel

- P&I Data Services

WINNER: P&I DATA SERVICES

This is a category which is very hard to win twice over, but Buckinghamshire Var P&I Data Services has done just that. It says that adding real value and concentrating on that aspect of its business year on year has been its recipe for success.

RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- PC World

- Software Warehouse

- Time

WINNER: PC WORLD

Third time lucky for PC World as the retailer continues to improve its customer expertise and become easier to buy from.

HARDWARE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Hewlett Packard Vectra VL Desktop

- Toshiba Satellite Pro 440 Notebook

- Digital Hi Note Ultra 2000

- Notebook

- Apple iMac Desktop

- Sun Ultra 10 Workstation

- Psion Series 5 Personal Digital Assistant

WINNER: HEWLETT PACKARD VECTRA VL DESKTOP

Described by the VNU labs as one of the easiest systems to use, configure and alter, this was the undisputed winner in this category.

SOFTWARE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Microsoft Windows 98

- Microsoft Office 97 Professional

- Bestware Mind Your Own Business

- Adobe Photoshop 4

- Megatech TAS Books for

- Windows

- MacroMedia Director 6

WINNER: MICROSOFT OFFICE 97 PROFESSIONAL

A popular winner with the reseller community Microsoft's Office suite proves its perennial appeal.

PERIPHERALS PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Pace 56 Voice External 56K

- Modem

- Terratec EWS 64 S Soundcard

- EiZO FlexScan L23 Monitor

- Agfa ePhoto 1280 Digital Camera

- Sony MultiScan 400 PST Monitor

- Leibert PowerSure Interactive UPS

WINNER: PACE 56 VOICE EXTERNAL 56K MODEM

This well-designed modem won because of its speed, full features including caller ID, good styling and excellent technical support.

NETWORK PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Citrix Metaframe

- ACC Tigris 11 Slot

- Security Dynamics SecurSight

- Ascend Max600

- Cisco 2600 Series Modular Access Router

- Cabletron AN600

WINNER: CISCO 2600 SERIES MODULAR ACCESS ROUTER

Cisco take first place for a router which is easy to use and provides the best list of features in its class making it a good seller.

RETAIL PRODUCT OF THE YEAR

Nominees: Microsoft Windows 98

- Gremlin Premier Manager 98

- Microsoft SideWinder Force Feed-back Pro

- EA Sports Word Cup 98

- Pace Colour Video Camera USB

- Sony Computer Entertainment Gran Turismo

WINNER: MICROSOFT WINDOWS '98

Starting to take wings in the same way as its predecessors, this OS has been welcomed by users who have been shifting it in volume.

BEST IT WEBSITE OF THE YEAR

Nominees:

- Cisco

- Compaq

- Hewlett Packard

- Ideal Hardware

- Microsoft

- ICLMC

WINNER: IDEAL HARDWARE

Ideal has always prided itself on the features it provides on its Website and has been rewarded with the best Website of the year award.