"Winning strengthens customer relationships”: 2024 Channel Awards winners share their thoughts

A handful of our 2024 winners explain what picking up an award means to them and why it is so important to enter

The Channel Awards, now in their 32nd year, are a testament to the resilience of the channel, and are aimed at celebrating some of the brilliant achievements and successes over the past year.

With over 30 categories to choose from, there really is something for everyone to enter, and the night itself is a fantastic opportunity to reward teams, network with your peers, make new contacts, and just let your hair down.

But every year the awards rely on the support of the channel to keep going. If the entries fail to come in, the awards won’t survive – it really is that simple.

With that in mind, and with less than a month to go until the 27 June entry deadline, CRN caught up with a few of the winners of the 2024 Channel Awards to find out what picking up an award has meant to them and importantly why they believe people should keep entering.

Chris Jones, head of public sector at Trustmarque, which won Public Sector Partner of the Year in 2024, said: “The Channel Awards offers a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the outstanding performance of your teams. Winning the CRN Public Sector Partner of the Year Award was such a proud moment for Trustmarque, bringing external recognition of the achievements of our great team. The actual awards evening is a fantastic experience, and I would encourage you all to get those submissions in.”

Lucinda Mitchell, corporate programmes marketing manager at Westcoast, which scooped the Networking/Comms Distributor of the Year Award in 2024, said winning really helps strengthen customer relationships.

“Entering the Channel Awards provides a platform to highlight achievements and encourages continuous improvement,” she said. “The benefits of entering (and being selected) include increased visibility, and enhanced credibility in the industry. Winning awards not only validates our people’s hard work and dedication but also strengthens our relationships with customers and partners. I’d highly recommend entering CRN awards. (And the awards events are a highlight too!)”

CI Group picked up the Channel Services Provider of the Year (Support) Award last November. Ed Devine, head of sales at CI Group said winning was a proud moment for the whole team.

“Beyond the recognition it gave us for our hard work, we see the awards as an opportunity to raise our profile, benchmark our work against the rest of the industry and demonstrate the value we deliver to the channel,” he said.

“[Winning] can not only open up the door to new opportunities but also reinforces the trust our existing clients and partners place with us by showing them that they are working with a agency recognised for excellence in channel marketing,” Devine added. “We firmly believe that having wins - or even shortlistings - under your belt from such a notable industry award can have a lasting positive effect on business and client relationships. For this reason we enter the CRN Awards year-on-year.”

The final winner we spoke to secured the Channel Services Provider of the Year (Technical) in 2024. Richard Eglon, CMO at Nebula, said winning was a ‘great honour’.

“To be recognised with this accolade among a cohort of our peers provided the team with so much pride, and reinforces that what we are trying to do as a business is both relevant and innovative,” he said. “The award has also raised our profile and helped in attracting new clients, as well as reinforced our relationships with existing customers. I would encourage any channel businesses that are breaking the mold, or are trailblazers in their respective fields, to get involved and share their stories.”

To read all the criteria and categories for 2025, please click here. The deadline for entries is Friday 27 June. The very best of luck to you all!