Countdown to the channel Oscars entry deadline

There are just a few days left to get your entries in for the 2013 Channel Awards so make sure you don't miss out, writes Sara Yirrell

The CRN Channel Awards – due to take place on 14 November in Battersea – are now in their 20th year, and we are planning a night to remember as we celebrate two decades of success in the IT channel.

But the deadline for entries is Friday 19 July – just a few days away. Remember, there are no extensions in order to keep it fair for everyone who manages to adhere to the deadline so please do not miss out or leave it until the last minute.

This year we have added three new categories to the mix – one focused on cloud vendors, one on mobility vendors, and another on distributor services.

CRN is constantly trying to keep up with the trends in the market, and these three categories reflect the changing nature of technology and the demands from customers to help their businesses adapt to a more mobile and flexible style of working.

In terms of the new vendor categories, any vendor that considers itself a cloud specialist should apply, and similarly if you manufacture a mobility solution, be this hardware or software, then that is the category for you.

Services Distributor of the Year is just what it implies – aimed at distributors that are increasing their services offering to their customers – whether this is finance, support (sales and technical), training, marketing, helpdesk, cloud brokering or the countless other services supplied by distributors on a daily basis. Any distributor can enter this category, whether they are a 100 per cent services player, or a more traditional broadline/volume player with a growing services arm.

We would also recommend reading the full criteria and top tips for entering at www.channelweb.co.uk/awards before starting your entry – it is there to provide help and guidance on creating an entry that will grab the judges’ attention.

There are two panels of judges: one that decides the shortlist, and the other that decides the winners. Both are fully independent and make their decisions based on entry quality only. Remember, it is not who submits the most fancy-looking entry, but who can provide one that contains relevant facts, backed up by figures and testimonials, and can demonstrate a successful year in the UK channel.

To enter the 2013 Channel Awards (categories listed below), click here!

Also to add to the excitement on the night, CRN has launched Channel’s Got Talent – a bit of light-hearted fun to celebrate all the other skills that the characters in the channel keep hidden away. So whether you can sing, dance, train animals or play an instrument, please submit your short video clip entries to [email protected]. Entries close at the end of September. Good luck!

AWARDS CATEGORIES

■ Vendor categories

Mobility vendor of the year – New for 2013!

Cloud services vendor of the year – New for 2013!

Channel services provider of the year (open to specialist channel services agencies as well as vendors - including marketing, finance providers, training suppliers etc)

Storage vendor of the year

Networking vendor of the year

Software vendor of the year

Systems vendor of the year

Security vendor of the year

Specialist vendor of the year

Vendor of the year

■ Distributor categories to enter

Services distributor of the year – New for 2013!

Storage distributor of the year

Security distributor of the year

Software distributor of the year

Systems distributor of the year

Specialist distributor of the year

Networking distributor of the year

Distributor of the year

■ Reseller categories

SMB reseller of the year

Mid-market reseller of the year

Enterprise reseller of the year

Managed services provider of the year

Specialist reseller of the year

Reseller of the year