EMC awards top-performing A/NZ partners

Software and services vendor EMC last night held its second annual channel awards celebrating its top achieving partners across Australia and New Zealand.

The Museum of Contemporary Arts in Sydney’s The Rocks played host to 35 of EMC’s signature and premier partners yesterday, eight of whom were awarded for their success throughout 2011.

The awards are split into 10 categories, predominantly based on geography. A winner is awarded from each of Australia’s six states and New Zealand. Two categories recognise a specialist partner of the year, for both unified/ mid-tier storage and backup & recovery. 

Another two awards celebrate EMC’s overall distributor and reseller of the year.

The awards are measured by overall revenue and performance as well as growth, goal achievement, investment in EMC and commitment. 

Solutions provider Infront Systems blitzed the awards this year, taking out top achiever for the ACT for the second time as well as both the specialist categories. 

Dimension Data was named EMC’s overall reseller partner of the year for the second year running, while long-time EMC distributor Westcon NZ, formerly Datastor, beat Ingram Micro to take out the prize for distie of the year. 

Two-time winners included solution provider Thomas Duryea for Victoria and Tasmania, Corpnet in Queensland and the Northern Territory, and L7 Solutions in Western Australia and South Australia.

Fujitsu Australia beat out competitors to take NSW,  and Datacom NZ won out in New Zealand.

EMC’s general manager for channel ANZ Brett Harris told CRN  the awards originated from the channel’s desire for greater industry recognition.

“They came to us a few years ago and thought it would be appropriate to recognise those that had excelled,” he said. “The key point of the event is to recognise our partners, particularly the ones who have invested heavily in EMC, and enable them to use these awards as a tool to market their business.”

The awards centre on EMC’s top-tier signature and second-level premier partners. The company is currently looking at creating a similar ceremony for its third-level affiliate partners.

EMC’s channel strategy across Australia and New Zealand involves a multi-pronged attack where its channel is separated into four categories: velocity partners - traditional reseller partners; service providers; global alliance partners such as outsourcers; and influence partners, which EMC identifies as those not interested in selling EMC technology, but who still generate business from selling solutions that ultimately interact with EMC technology. 

Harris said EMC is aiming to grow its channel to account for 80 percent of overall revenue across A/NZ. Its channel currently contributes 60 percent, made of a 40 percent contribution from velocity partners, 10 percent by service providers, and the remaining 10 percent from outsourcers and influence partners.

It plans to achieve that by continuing to cut back partner numbers as part of a “more is less” strategy.

“Between 2011 and 2012 we reduced the number of premier partners we work with in Australia and New Zealand, and that’s due to partner feedback,” Harris said. “If we focus on a smaller number of partners we can do more business with less channel conflict.”