CRN Vendor of the Year: Q&A with Rachel Rothwell, Zyxel Networks

Zyxel Networks is riding high after being named Vendor of the Year at the CRN Channel Awards, and Senior Regional Director Rachel Rothwell credits the recognition to a powerful mix of innovation, teamwork, and partner collaboration. With over 25 years of IT channel experience, Rothwell has been at the forefront of driving Zyxel Networks’ strategy across the UK and Ireland. In this exclusive Q&A, she reflects on the significance of the award, the company’s biggest achievements, and how the channel can evolve to meet future challenges, from embracing cutting-edge technologies to prioritising sustainability and sector-specific needs.

What does winning an award mean to your company?

Winning the Vendor of the Year award is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and collaborative spirit of the entire Zyxel Networks team and all our partners. It’s an acknowledgment of our technological advancements and innovation, enhances our position as a leading provider in networking solutions, and bolsters our brand’s visibility and credibility. It reinforces our bond with partners and customers, underlining our mutual commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, and will help us to both attract new business opportunities and retain our valued customers. This accolade goes beyond recognition – it’s a celebration of the loyalty and achievements of our partners and of the close relationships between us that are fundamental to our shared success.

Why did you enter this year, in this specific category?

We entered the Vendor of the Year category as we’d made tremendous progress and seen notable successes through our partners with our Nebula cloud management platform, multi-gig switches, WiFi products, and security solutions. With all these platforms and solutions, we've innovated, achieved substantial growth, and made positive impacts. We wanted to highlight our strategic advancements in product development, including our adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI. It was a way of exemplifying our commitment to leading the industry in innovation, sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). Finally, entering highlighted our holistic approach to growth and our dedication to supporting partners with high-calibre services and solutions and underscored our stand-out contributions to the industry.

What has been your biggest lesson in business this year?

The critical importance of resilience and adaptability, and the strength of our partnerships and community. The uncertain market conditions and fluctuating buyer confidence that we have seen in the past year have shown just how much external factors can impact our partners and our own business. By adopting a flexible strategy, being prepared to pivot quickly, and nurturing a positive, supportive relationship with our partners, we have been able to maintain our growth and commitments to our customers. Our collective resilience has helped us navigate the challenges effectively and to identify opportunities for further growth and learning.

What has been your company’s biggest achievement this year?

The phenomenal growth of our Nebula cloud management platform and enabling and supporting many partners in making the transition to becoming successful managed service providers (MSPs). Nebula has enabled partners to manage networks in a streamlined, scalable and efficient way and its ongoing development reflects our commitment to innovation and excellence. By providing extensive support and resources for network and security management and strategic business development, we’ve empowered our partners to deliver exceptional services that generate steady and reliable revenue streams. This has not only fostered their growth, but also reinforced the value of our partnerships.

What would you like to see more of (technology, behaviour or anything else) in the channel in 2025?

I’d like to see a greater emphasis on sustainability, security, and the use of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. We also need to make sure end customers are aware of technologies that will give them much better performance, protection and productivity. Many have deferred updates to their WiFi and their network infrastructure and we have a collective duty to ensure that they have the best technologies for their needs. We need to deliver up-to-date, reliable, secure, and sustainable solutions that will deliver the best user experiences and benefits and protect both individual users and organisations.

I think we need to work harder at addressing the needs of verticals such as education and hospitality, and nurturing and developing growth in these markets. That can only be done by focusing on their specific requirements.

Overall, I’d like to see a redoubling of the effort and commitment to delivering personalised, high-quality service and support, and helping partners to stand out and succeed in an increasingly complex channel ecosystem.

This article is sponsored by Zyxel.