The channel Oscars are approaching

When CRN announced the launch of its inaugural Channel Champions Awards, it was the first time such a channel event had been launched in Australia.

Haymarket Media, which owns CRN Australia, announced back in May that Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel would host the 2 November gala event. The channel community is finally being given its chance to acknowledge those who have achieved the most, while taking advantage of an ideal networking opportunity.

Global appeal

The Australian awards are the third leg of a global channel event which was held for the 17th time in the US in March and will run for the 14th time in the UK next month. Thousands of vendors, distributors and resellers flock to the annual channel awards in the US and UK, and it is expected the CRN Australia awards will grow annually as the event matures.

The shortlist and final winners of the awards have been chosen by a closed panel of industry experts, and depending on the category, this has been a combination of vendors, distributors, resellers, analysts and channel consultants. Using their inside knowledge and understanding of what makes a superior channel player, the judges have ensured that the winners on the night are the ones who deserve it the most.

The shortlist for this year (page 18) gives an indication of the frontrunners in the distributor and vendor categories, but perhaps the most anticipated section is the Channel Champions Awards, which will reward commitment to the channel, influence on the industry, and innovator of a product or service and is open to representatives from a vendor, distributor or reseller.

The CRN Hall of Fame features industry icons such as Avnet’s Roy Vallee; Robert Metcalfe, creator of the Ethernet standard and founder of networking company 3Com; and Apple chief Steve Jobs. Winners of our two Channel Champions Awards will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Giving back

There will also be a charity auction taking place to give the channel the opportunity to give something back to the community. Proceeds from the auction and table sales from the night will be donated to the Cancer Council of Australia.

Helen Frost, editor of CRN, said: “The Channel Awards are a fantastic opportunity for us to recognise local vendors and distributors who have made a big commitment to the channel. Our Channel Champions Awards have been awarded to two individuals who have contributed a great deal to the local industry and we are looking forward to unveiling them on the night.

“We are delighted to partner with the Cancer Council of Australia and hope the event can raise significant funds to go towards important research. Proceeds from our table sales are going to the Cancer Council and we hope our guests will get into the spirit of our charity auction where we have some great prizes to raffle off,” added Frost.

In the running

Jeff Sheard, director of channels for A/NZ at Cisco, which has been shortlisted in the Networking Vendor of the Year category, said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted.
It is quite an honour and public recognition is always very gratifying.

“You are never really sure how you are doing. You get feedback, both positive and negative, but this can mainly be just on the negative side. When you hear you have been nominated for an award it is always great news.”

Sheard said Cisco will have its fingers crossed on the night, but just having a nomination is a “feather in your hat”.

“The awards give everyone an opportunity to increase their profile and have a forum to connect or reconnect with their peers. You can also relax and have a couple of drinks,” added Sheard. “The Australian market is an innovative place, with quite a bit of leadership around innovation. However the Australian market is functional, with people rolling up their sleeves, and they don’t reflect on the positives. This is an opportunity to do that.”

Wayne Neich, regional sales manager for A/NZ at Bluecoat said he was extremely surprised and delighted to learn the vendor had been shortlisted for Security Vendor of the Year.

“We have only had a sales office out here [in Australia] for two years yet we are going up against some more established companies. We would love to win, but I think it is difficult to compare us with the likes of Symantec,” he said.

When asked the possible reasoning for making the shortlist, Neich said the channel is looking to offer a solution which delivers decent margin, has service value and ongoing business opportunities. He claimed that Bluecoat has concentrated its channel management around this ethos.

Michael Costigan, national marketing director at awards sponsor Avnet, said he found the firm’s entry on the Storage Distributor of the Year shortlist a “nice surprise and a recognition of the achievement of the Avnet team”.

“Being shortlisted validates the work of value-added distribution and underlines the efforts of our technical team and what the marketing team has achieved, too,” said Costigan. “We have a good relationship with CRN globally, with [Avnet chairman and CEO] Roy Vallee being part of the CRN Hall of Fame. The channel is our target market and awards such as this are a fantastic idea and there should be more of them.”

Costigan added that it is an honour just to be nominated at an event which will offer the opportunity to network with Avnet’s resellers, vendors and even competitors.

All those shortlisted will have to wait until the big night to find out if it is them or their rivals who take home the honours. Either way, the awards are a much- needed platform to reward the channel, network with peers and contribute to an exceedingly worthy
charity protection.

Royalties support the activities of the Cancer Councils.

Vendor Awards Nominees

Consumer Hardware Vendor of the Year
1. ASUSTeK
2. Toshiba
3. Hewlett-Packard

Networking Vendor of the Year
4. Cisco
5. Linksys
6. Avaya

Software Vendor of the Year
7. Microsoft
8. Adobe
9. CheckPoint

Storage Vendor of the Year
10. Network Appliance
11. Hewlett-Packard
12. IBM

Security Vendor of the Year
13. Bluecoat
14. Symantec
15. Trend Micro

Marketing Award
16. ASUSTeK
17. IBM
18. Hewlett-Packard
Distributor Awards Nominees

Consumer Hardware Distributor
of the Year
1. Ingram Micro
2. Dicker Data
3. Synnex

Networking Distributor of the Year
4. Express Data
5. LAN Systems
6. ITX

Software Distributor of the Year
7. Scholastic
8. Express Data
9. Ingram Micro

Security Distributor of the Year
10. ITX
11. Distribution Central (Firewall Systems)
12. LAN Systems

Storage Distributor of the Year
13. Ingram Micro
14. Express Data
15. Avnet