Are you worthy of a CRN Reseller Award?

Trevor Treharne

Surviving and succeeding in the highly competitive IT industry is no mean feat for Australia’s thousands of resellers.

However, many resellers fail to get recognition they deserve, but on 7 November at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel, CRN plans to put that right.

Following on from the unprecedented success of the inaugural CRN Channel Champion Awards last year, the gala night will return later this year in an expanded format with further recognition for resellers.

Alongside 12 vendor and distributor categories and the Channel Champion Awards, there are three new reseller award categories: Enterprise Reseller of the Year, Regional Reseller of the Year and Most Innovative Solution.

The Enterprise category is for resellers which operate in three states or more, while the Regional category is for resellers that cover one or two states.

Resellers are invited to enter themselves, but that does not mean resellers cannot source assistance from their distributor and vendor partners when putting together their entries.

Submissions will be accepted via email or post and may be no more than 15 pages including images, technical drawings and marketing material.

The panel will consider a variety of areas and look at resellers who have successfully diversified their business, implemented creative solutions, created and implemented successful business plans, collaborated with partners, developed an innovative technology or included Green IT practices.

Nominations need to include the name of the organisation, the number of staff, notable achievements in the last 12 months, key contracts won and vendor partners.

The judging panel will consist of vendor and distributor representatives who will review a shortlist chosen by the CRN editorial team.

The third category is Most Innovative Solution and all resellers are eligible to submit an entry. This section is open to a range of solutions that may feature new technology, successful implementation of Green IT practices or a different approach to servicing customers.

Nominations should be no more than 10 pages and can include technical drawings, staff profiles, images and web links to solutions where possible.

The interpretation of an innovative solution should see the accolade gain a diverse range of entries. The IT industry is known for its innovative approach; in fact few industries match its fast-moving pace.

This year will also see the return of the Channel Champion Award which is open to resellers, vendors and distributors.

CRN is encouraging all within the channel to nominate one of their colleagues, partners or anyone within the channel who is committed and passionate about the industry.

Submissions can be up to five pages and should include a brief outline of the person’s recent work history, key achievements in the channel and their ambitions.

Michael Costigan, national sales manager at distributor Avnet Technology Solutions, won a Channel Champion Award in 2007. Costigan created a range of successful programs, has a deep knowledge of the channel and a dedication to helping resellers.

A reseller winner last year was Wayne Small who started his outfit Correct Solutions 10 years ago.
He is a published technical writer for vendors such as Microsoft and Trend Micro.

“My initial feeling to winning the award was: who me?” said Small. “The stuff that I have done out there in the channel was of value, but I did not consider myself worthy of such a prestigious award. I have used the honour of winning the award to further the interests of the channel with the vendors.”

Small said just after winning the award he was given additional support from distribution giant Ingram Micro, who helped with resources to start a small business focus group in Perth.

“Prior to winning the award we had no resources in Perth to host the event, now Ingram has stepped up to the plate and helped us do that,” said Small.

Resellers should be proud of their achievements and the CRN reseller awards give them an opportunity to highlight their efforts and possibly pick up an award on the big night.

The next question is: What are you waiting for?

Mail entries can be sent to CRN Awards Entry, Haymarket Media, 52 Victoria Street, McMahons Point, NSW 2060 and email entries should be sent to awardnominations@techpartner.news

Good luck!