Award winners 2012: in the spotlight

CRN Channel Awards winners 2012

The contributions of UK's leading IT resellers, distributors and vendors made it all worthwhile at this year's Channel Awards

Whether shimmying and shimmering in glittering frocks or stylishly understated in a dark and dapper tux, every guest injected a dash of glamour into the 19th CRN Channel Awards in his or her own individual way – not least because the event remains the UK channel's biggest night of the year with 1,700 attendees and 24 prizes.

Irish comedian Ed Byrne, known for, among other things, his regular appearances on panel shows such as Mock the Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, compered the evening with his own particular take on the droll – not to mention the downright ridiculous.

Phil Brown, managing director of Micro-P, which took out the best distributor in the audiovisual category this year, told Channelweb that the event is "always a really great night".

Gary Cove, senior consumer sales manager at Nvidia, agreed. "I think the Awards are great. However, next year is the 20th anniversary so perhaps something different – in terms of format – could mark the occasion," Cove suggested.

Janet Gibbons, director of partner strategy and programmes at Microsoft, made a point of offering "a huge thank you" once again to the vendor giant's partners. "It is really the channel that gets us here. And I think that it is about the investment we have made in our channel – ultimately, we wouldn't be anywhere without the channel," she said.

Microsoft won Software Vendor of the Year 2012. "It's great to win it this year, with all the product launches we have had," Gibbons noted.

Paul Barlow, managing director of Servium, said his company had to content itself with a Highly Commended this year. "But we're really honoured," Barlow said.

Fujitsu's marketing manager Ian Leigh and sales director Alistair Hollands did not go on to the after-party but both said they had had a good meal and enjoyed their evening. "It was the ambiance, for us," they said.

Steve Pearce, channel marketing manager at Kyocera, said the event was "fantastic" and he was thrilled that partner Chiltern IT had gone away with a prize. "Chiltern IT won an award, I believe, for most unique distributor. We've had a relationship with them for three months, and they've been growing month by month," he said. "They're definitely one to watch."

We did also hear a rumour that a certain marcomms professional from a certain distributor had warned staff pre-Awards this year in a luridly-phrased memo that no one had better speak to the press – meaning Channelweb, we presume? – at the event unless he or she had been thoroughly media-trained beforehand.

Above and beyond the networking and entertainment, attendees enjoyed a delicious three-course dinner, washed down with wine and followed up, if desired, by steaming pots of coffee and handmade chocolate truffles. This writer, for example, is quite unashamed to say that the chicken with truffle mash and seasonal vegetables was absolutely mouth-watering.

The prizegiving which followed started rather later than usual, but was moved through very quickly - meaning there was plenty of time for guests to catch up with partners and contacts from all over the UK.

Sara Yirrell, editor of CRN and Channelweb, said this year's event would long be remembered for the special contributions made by all the entrants - who this year really stretched the judging panels' capabilities.

"There were so many worthy entries from so many talented companies. If you did miss out, we do hope you will try again next year as the results could so easily have been shuffled around - the competition in some categories was extremely close and it took us all a long time to decide on the eventual winners," Yirrell said.

"Massive thanks is also due to headline sponsor IBM, and all the other sponsors this year, including Wick Hill, SDG, Riso, TP-Link, Huawei, Interactive Ideas, Hammer, Fujitsu, and Comms-care."

After the awards were all given out, the crowd dispersed to enjoy the gaming and funfair attractions on the mezzanine and in the lobby – sponsored by Interactive Ideas – while a live band, iPop, played pop and R&B hits on the main stage.

Some attendees attempted to ride the bucking bull that wasn't (well, actually it was shaped like a giant rugby ball, rather than the usual bull or bronc), while others "raced" mechanical thoroughbreds, played fussbol, tried to score a goal, chanced their arm at the roulette wheel, or donned fancy dress to have their photos taken.

We're hoping that the channel professional who caught her heel on the red carpet, falling to the floor still clutching her award while those around her rushed gallantly to help, is feeling much better now.

Although we're also betting there were more than a few sore heads following the infamous Pacha nightclub afterparty – sponsored by SDG – which some of the CRN team will confirm, went on past 5am this year. We do hope we will see you all again next year - at the Channel Awards' 20th anniversary.

And the winners were:

Specialist Vendor of the Year
Winner: Brother
Judges commended: Entanet International

Specialist Distributor of the Year
Winner: Chiltern IT

Specialist Reseller of the Year
Winner: Tandem Solutions Group

Security Vendor of the Year
Winner: Mimecast

Security Distributor of the Year
Winner: Vigil

Software Vendor of the Year
Winner: Microsoft
Judges commended: IBM

Software Distributor of the Year
Winner: Westcoast
Judges commended: Computer 2000

Audiovisual or Print Distributor of the Year
Winner: Micro-P

Channel Service Provider of the Year
Winner: CompTIA
Judges commended: Synaxon and Network Group

Services Provider of the Year
Winner: Trustmarque
Judges commended: IP Soft

SME Reseller of the Year
Winner: LDD
Judges commended: Lanway

Storage Vendor of the Year
Winner: Hitachi Data Systems

Storage Distributor of the Year
Winner: Avnet
Judges commended: Hammer

Mid-Market Reseller of the Year
Winner: Total Computer Networks
Judges commended: Servium

Networking Vendor of the Year
Extreme Networks

Networking Distributor of the Year
Winner: Comstor
Judges commended: Micro P

Enterprise Reseller of the Year
Winner: Bytes Software Services
Judges commended: Trustmarque

Systems Vendor of the Year
Winner: Lenovo

Systems Distributor of the Year
Winner: Westcoast

Editor's Choice Awards:

Channel Personality of the Year
Winner: Neil Ledger, Exclusive Networks

One to watch
Winner: ShiftF7

And the Big Three:

Vendor of the Year
Winner: VMware
Judges commended: Microsoft

Reseller of the Year
Winner: Softcat
Judges commended: ANS and Trustmarque

Distributor of the Year
Winner: Computer 2000
Judges commended: Avnet