2021 Categories & Criteria

Please click 'view criteria' button to view the full criteria.

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. Use plenty of spacing, bullet points and paragraphs to construct your entry to make them easier on the eye. PDF and other multimedia entries are encouraged, and you can add personality to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less. Videos longer than five minutes are likely not to be watched in full. 

The bullet points in the criteria are just guidelines and don’t have to be answered individually in order – use them as a basis to create your entry and as a GUIDE ONLY. But please read them carefully as they will help you craft an entry that meets all the judges’ criteria. Don’t just feel you have to submit blocks of text, feel free to submit a PDF or even video entry if you are feeling adventurous – make your entry stand out. 

But remember, word counts and time limits still apply to multimedia entries – judges will mark down if over word count or approved time.

Already started your entries? Please click here to login

Reseller Categories

Best New Business Win - Reseller

This award is open to any UK-based firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider. The business win – which can be in any vertical sector in any space, must have taken place between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021 to qualify for entry.

  • Describe the opportunity and what it involved on your part as the supplier – ie hours on tender, skills etc
  • How was the business won? Did you have to do anything extra because of government restrictions? If so please explain.
  • Why was the business won? – ie track record of delivery (customer case studies), personal approach, vendor accreditations/certifications
  • What was the deal worth to your company and how did winning it help company development?
  • What has winning meant for staff morale?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide a customer testimonial within the entry

Best Sales Team - Reseller

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider – that has a standalone sales team. The period the award covers is between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021– so please detail successes of sales teams during that period only to qualify for entry.

  • Brief background to the structure of the sales team(s), i.e experience and specialist skill sets and also personalities
  • Make it personal – introduce the team to the judges
  • How has the team coped with the challenges thrown at them due to the pandemic?
  • How has the sales team managed to grow the business and win new customers despite the Covid situation? Please include comparative YoY % sales growth for context.
  • Certifications/qualifications team has achieved during last year
  • Value provided to vendor partners
  • Value provided to customers
  • What is the team’s biggest achievement of the year?
  • Examples of innovation within the team which have led to success
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide a customer testimonial within the entry. (Vendor testimonials are optional).

Best Marketing Campaign - Reseller

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider – that has engaged in proactive marketing activities during the year. The period the award covers is between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021– so please detail an end user marketing campaign that successfully ran during that period only to qualify for entry. It can be a social media campaign or a more traditional campaign. Images can be used.
  • What was the campaign (please describe) and when did it run? Was it social media based or another method? (please explain)
  • Did the Covid pandemic change how you approached your marketing campaigns this year? Please explain further.
  • Why are you entering this particular campaign? What made it stand out for you? Why are you so proud of it?
  • Which vendor/vendors was it in conjunction with?
  • Who was it aimed at? ie SMEs, Enterprises, Public sector (or other specific sectors)
  • How successful was the campaign? Use facts and figures to back up claims.
  • Was there anything quirky or unusual about the campaign that really got it noticed?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide customer testimonials within the entry itself

Best Company to Work For – Sub £100m turnover - Reseller

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider - with a turnover of £100m or below. The company must pride itself on being a great place to work both in terms of results/growth, staff/employee satisfaction/motivation, CSR and general company culture. The period the award covers is between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021, so please bear this in mind when talking about particular incentives offered to employees. Images can also be used if you like.
  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • What do you think makes it stand out from your peers?
  • How did you keep staff morale up during lockdowns and all the restrictions?
  • How has your workplace changed as a result of Covid? Ie – are more people set up for homeworking than before? Will this continue? • How does company culture help generate results?
  • Has your company used internal social media campaigns to generate a fun working environment? How has this enhanced the staff morale? Give examples
  • How does your company empower staff to do their jobs better? Give examples.
  • How are you tackling the gender pay gap and skills shortage in the industry?
  • Can you give examples of CSR activities? ie Charity fundraisers etc
  • How do you motivate staff and engender loyalty? This can include outlines of bonus/commission schemes, extra leave, holidays, prizes etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide testimonials from your staff within the entry itself

Best Company to Work For – £101m+ turnover - Reseller

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider - with a turnover of £101m or above. The company must pride itself on being a great place to work both in terms of results/growth, staff/employee satisfaction/motivation, CSR and general company culture. The period the award covers is between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021, so please bear this in mind when talking about particular incentives offered to employees. Images can also be used if you like.
  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • What do you think makes it stand out from your peers?
  • How did you keep staff morale up during lockdowns and all the restrictions?
  • How has your workplace changed as a result of Covid? Ie – are more people set up for homeworking than before? Will this continue?
  • How does company culture help generate results?
  • Has your company used internal social media campaigns to generate a fun working environment? How has this enhanced the staff morale? Give examples
  • How does your company empower staff to do their jobs better? Give examples.
  • How are you addressing the gender pay gap and skills shortage that are evident in our industry?
  • Can you give examples of CSR activities? ie Charity events etc
  • How do you motivate staff and engender loyalty? This can include outlines of bonus/commission schemes, extra leave, holidays, prizes etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide testimonials from your staff within the entry itself : Please provide testimonials from your staff within the entry itself

Best Graduate and/or Apprenticeship Scheme - Reseller

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider. The Graduate or Apprenticeship scheme must have been running from or further developed since January 2020.

  • The skills gap is the number one problem many channel firms are facing. Describe how your company is looking to plug that gap with a dedicated Graduate and/or Apprenticeship scheme.
  • Tell us about your particular programme and why you launched it/how long it has been running. Where do you get your Graduates/Apprentices from – how do they apply and how do you select them?
  • How many Graduates/Apprentices have you trained so far and are you planning on increasing this?
  • How did the pandemic affect your scheme and how did you overcome the challenges to keep new graduates motivated?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage more female graduates into your schemes?
  • How long is the process and what do they do once it is finished?
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme?
  • Describe any particular success stories – ie, someone who has gone on to become a senior manager within your own company or has been headhunted somewhere and has done really well for themselves.
  • REQUIREMENT: A testimonial from a graduate/apprentice within the entry itself – either a current one, or one that has flourished after completing their training with your company.

Best Online/Hybrid event - Reseller – NEW for 2021

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider – that has engaged in proactive marketing activities during the year. The period the award covers is between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021– so please detail an event that you created for your customers that successfully ran during that period only to qualify for entry. Due to Covid restrictions this category covers physical events that were forced to become online events, or brand-new online events launched over the past year. Images can be used.
  • What was the event (please describe) and when did it run? explain if appropriate how you had to adapt the event from a physical one to an online/hybrid event as a result of restrictions, and why you are entering it for this award. How did you encourage customers to sign up/attend? (please explain)
  • Why are you entering this particular event? What made it stand out for you? Why are you so proud of it?
  • Which partners (vendor or distie) was it in conjunction with?
  • Who was it aimed at? ie all customers, SMEs, Enterprises, Public sector (or any other specific sectors)
  • How successful was the event? What results did you achieve? Use facts and figures to back up claims.
  • Was there anything quirky or unusual about the event that really got it noticed?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide customer testimonials within the entry itself

Distributor Categories

Best Sales and Marketing Support Team - Distributor

This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021, so please bear in mind when writing entries.

  • Please provide a brief background to the team you are entering including their levels of experience and any specialist skill sets. What is the team called? Why are you entering this particular team?
  • Describe the characters in your team and how this helps with their success. Introduce them to the judges – make it personal. Also any little quirks of the team would be interesting to hear about.
  • Outline the success of the team in terms of partner results. Please use partner/vendor feedback to illustrate this
  • Highlight examples where your team has effectively worked with reseller or vendor partners to develop a successful marketing campaign resulting in strong channel sales
  • Highlight an example where your team has worked with a partner sales team to win a key piece of business
  • REQUIREMENT: Include a testimonial - either vendor or reseller (or both) within the entry itself

Best Marketing Campaign - Distributor

This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021, so please bear in mind when writing entries and referring to particular campaigns. It can cover a social media/viral campaign or a more ‘traditionally’ executed campaign.

  • What was the campaign and when did it run? How did it work? Please describe the campaign itself, what mediums you used to run it on (ie social media/online/print etc) and its title.
  • Did the Covid pandemic change how you approached your marketing campaigns this year? Please explain further.
  • Why are you entering this particular campaign? What makes it stand out?
  • Which partner was it in conjunction with?
  • Who was it aimed at? ie SMBs, Enterprises, Public sector (or other specific sectors)
  • How successful was the campaign – use facts and figures to back up claims. How many customers benefitted from the campaign?
  • Was there anything quirky or unusual about the campaign that really got it noticed? i.e. did it use cutting edge technology, or go viral?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide a customer (reseller) testimonial within the entry

Best Company to Work For - Distributor

This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value-added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The company must pride itself on being a great place to work both in terms of results/growth, staff/employee satisfaction/motivation, CSR and general company culture. This award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021, so please bear in mind when talking about particular incentives offered to staff. Images can also be used if required.

  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • What do you think makes it stand out from your peers?
  • How did you keep staff morale up during lockdowns and all the restrictions?
  • How has your workplace changed as a result of Covid? Ie – are more people set up for homeworking than before? Will this continue?
  • How does company culture help generate results?
  • Has your company used internal social media campaigns to generate a fun working environment? How has this enhanced the staff morale? Give examples.
  • How does your company empower staff to do their jobs better? Give examples.
  • How are you addressing the gender pay gap/skills gap in the industry? Any particular campaigns you are running in your company?
  • Can you give examples of CSR activities? ie Charity events etc
  • How do you motivate staff and engender loyalty? This can include outlines of bonus/commission schemes, extra leave, holidays, prizes etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide testimonials from your staff within the entry

Best Graduate and/or Apprenticeship Scheme - Distributor

This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. The Graduate or Apprenticeship scheme must have been running from, or further developed since January 2020.

  • The skills gap is a top challenge many channel firms are facing. Describe how your company is looking to plug that gap with a dedicated Graduate and/or Apprenticeship scheme.
  • Tell us about your particular programme and why you launched it/how long it has been running. Where do you get your Graduates/Apprentices from – how do they apply and how do you select them?
  • How many Graduates/Apprentices have you trained so far and are you planning on increasing this?
  • How did the pandemic affect your scheme and how did you overcome the challenges to keep new graduates motivated?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage more female graduates into your schemes?
  • How long is the process and what do they do once it is finished?
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme?
  • Describe any particular success stories – ie, someone who has gone on to become a senior manager within your own company or has been headhunted somewhere and has done really well for themselves.
  • REQUIREMENT: A testimonial from a graduate/apprentice within the entry – either a current one, or one that has flourished after completing their training with your company.

Best Online/Hybrid event - Distributor – New for 2021

This award is open to any company that falls under the distribution category, whether a volume player or value added specialist working in particular vertical markets. The award is not limited to a certain size of company, so if you have thousands of customers or a few hundred, your entry will be given the same treatment. Due to Covid restrictions this category covers both physical events that were forced to become online events, or brand-new online events launched over the past year. The period the award covers is between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021– so please detail an event that you created for your customers/partners that successfully ran during that period only to qualify for entry. Images can be used.
  • What was the event (please describe) and when/where did it run? explain if appropriate how you had to adapt the event from a physical one to an online/hybrid event as a result of restrictions, and why you are entering it for this award. How did you get customers to sign up/attend? (please explain)
  • Why are you entering this particular event? What made it stand out for you? Why are you so proud of it?
  • Which partners (vendors) was it in conjunction with?
  • Who was it aimed at? Ie – was it a specific sector, or open to all your customers?
  • How successful was the event? How many came along? What results did you achieve? Use facts and figures to back up claims.
  • Was there anything quirky or unusual about the event that really got it noticed?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide customer testimonials within the entry itself

The ‘Over and Above’ Award - Distributor – NEW for 2021

This is a new award for 2021 aimed at highlighting the amazing work by an individual, the company as a whole, or a division/team during the ongoing challenges of the global pandemic. It is a chance to give those individuals or teams some credit for going ‘over and above’ their duties to ensure a customer was served, or a project was completed, or they managed to keep everybody’s spirits up by being an exceptional manager or supportive colleague or even a community-minded individual/team.

Anyone can receive this award, from an exceptional sales/marketing/support team, a particular manager or staff member within any team, the CEO or a company cleaner that went the extra mile to keep the office safe during the pandemic. Anyone you feel has definitely gone ‘over and above’ their normal duties to make peoples’ lives easier during difficult times and has done something to deserve special recognition.

Below are some tips for constructing the entry but please make it as personal as you like.

  • Describe the individual or team that you are entering for this award – why do they deserve special recognition?
  • What have they done that you feel is ‘over and above’ their usual duties? Please explain.
  • What kind of a difference has their actions during the pandemic made to either individuals, customers/partners or the company as a whole?
  • What would winning this award mean to them/the company?

Entries can be up to 1,000 words on why the particular individual or team deserves recognition– but shorter entries will not be penalised – if individuals want to nominate their colleagues, we will accept between 250-500 words as long as the above points are covered to some extent. Please do make sure these are personal entries as it is an emotive category. The timeframe this covers is Jan 2020 – Jan 2021.

Vendor Categories

Best Partner Programme - Vendor

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and software in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify and obviously a channel programme that has been in place for more than a year. This can be a single or two-tier channel programme. The period covered for the awards is Jan 2020 to Jan 2021 so bear in mind when talking about additions/changes to programmes and the entry MUST be UK centric.
  • Briefly describe your partner programme – ie length of time in operation, how it works, size of partner base, how rebates work, how partners get involved, what it offers partners?
  • Do you have a partner portal? If so can you give some details of the benefits it provides partners?
  • How user friendly is it? Why do partners want to work with you?
  • How much time/money do you invest in your partner programme each year? Has the Covid situation forced you to alter your programme in any way? If so how?
  • Why does it stand out from the competition/why have you entered?
  • How does it help your UK partners? Do they enjoy working with you? Why?
  • What have been the main benefits to you as a vendor with your partner programme?
  • REQUIREMENT: Provide a UK partner testimonial within the entry

Best Online/Hybrid Partner Event - Vendor

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and software in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify. Due to Covid restrictions this category covers physical events that were forced to become online events, or brand-new online events launched over the past year. It MUST be a CHANNEL focussed event and not one aimed at end users. It must be relevant to UK partners. These awards cover the period Jan 2020 to Jan 2021 so the event must fall in that timeframe.
  • Please describe the event, explain if appropriate how you had to adapt the event from a physical one to an online/hybrid event as a result of restrictions, and why you are entering it for this award
  • Please reference any outstanding results in terms of attendance
  • What benefits did it offer your reseller/distribution partners?
  • What fun/social elements did the event have? Was it tweeted about? What sort of buzz did it create?
  • Why did partners sign up? How many attended?
  • What did they take away with them after the event? Have there been any significant business wins as a result?
  • What do you get out of it as the organiser?
  • REQUIREMENT: Include testimonials from UK partners that joined the event within the entry itself, not as an attachment

Best Company to Work For - Vendor

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and software in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify. The company must pride itself on being a great place to work both in terms of results/growth, staff/employee satisfaction/motivation, CSR and general company culture. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021, so please bear in mind when talking about particular activities, trips or incentives offered to staff. Images can also be used if required.

  • How many staff do you employ in the UK?
  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • How did you keep staff morale up during lockdowns and all the ensuing restrictions?
  • How has your workplace changed as a result of Covid? Ie – are more people set up for homeworking than before? Will this continue?
  • What do you think makes it stand out from your peers?
  • How are you addressing the gender pay/skills gap in the industry?
  • How does company culture help generate results?
  • Has your company used internal social media campaigns to generate a fun working environment? How has this enhanced the staff morale? Give examples.
  • How does your company empower staff to do their jobs better? Give examples.
  • Can you give examples of CSR activities? ie Charity fundraisers etc
  • How do you motivate staff and engender loyalty? This can include outlines of bonus/commission schemes, extra leave, holidays, prizes etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide testimonials from your staff in the entry

Technology Innovation Award - Vendor

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and software and related services in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify. This award is aimed at a particular technology or technology set that has revolutionised business for channel partners and their respective customers over the past 12 months. PLEASE NOTE: This is not an opportunity to market or sell a particular product or descend into techie speak, the award is aimed at describing how a product has actually helped make YOUR CHANNEL PARTNERS money. Bear in mind the awards cover the period Jan 2020 to Jan 2021.

  • Briefly describe the product you are entering and why it is being entered for this award. Why do you consider it to be innovative? What effect is this innovation having on partners and customers?
  • Did your product specifically help partners and their customers become more efficient during the pandemic/lockdown – please explain how.
  • How does it differ/standout from the other similar products that are on the market in terms of innovation – again keep it brief and focus on the business benefits, not the complexity of the technology.
  • What benefits has this product or product set you are entering provided for your channel partners in the past year – facts and figures are a must.
  • Demonstrate how sales of this product have increased through the channel in the past year and why (facts and figures needed)
  • Why does this particular technology innovation deserve this award? ie because it has made a huge difference to partners’ business, customer take up has been phenomenal etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Back up your claims with testimonials from actual channel partners in the entry, and how this technology has helped their business in the past year. Get them to explain why they think this particular technology should win.

Best Graduate and/or Apprenticeship Scheme - Vendor

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and software in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify and the graduate/apprenticeship scheme needs to have been running or further developed since at least January 2020.
  • The skills gap is the number one problem many tech firms are facing. Describe how your company is looking to plug that gap with a dedicated Graduate and/or Apprenticeship scheme.
  • Tell us about your particular scheme and why you launched it/how long it has been running. Where do you recruit your Graduates/Apprentices from – how do they apply and how do you select them?
  • How many Graduates/Apprentices have you trained so far and are you planning on increasing this?
  • How did the pandemic affect your scheme and how did you overcome the challenges to keep new graduates motivated?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage more female graduates into your schemes?
  • How long is the process and what do they do once it is finished?
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme?
  • Describe any particular success stories – ie, someone who has gone on to become a senior manager within your own company or has been headhunted somewhere and has done really well for themselves.
  • REQUIREMENT: A testimonial from a graduate/apprentice within the entry itself – either a current one, or one that has flourished after completing their training with your company.

Best Marketing Campaign - Vendor

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and software in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021, so please bear in mind when writing entries and referring to particular campaigns.

  • What was the campaign and when did it run? How did it work? Please describe the campaign itself and its title. NOTE: This can be a social media-based campaign, email campaign, print campaign or any other form of campaign.
  • Why are you entering this particular campaign? Why does it stand out?
  • How did the pandemic affect how you ran the campaign and how did you overcome the challenges?
  • Were any distribution partners involved? Please elaborate if so.
  • Who was it aimed at? ie SMBs, Enterprises, Public sector (or other specific sectors)
  • How successful was the campaign – use facts and figures to back up claims. How many resellers benefitted from the campaign?
  • Was there anything quirky or unusual about the campaign that really got it noticed?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide partner testimonials within the entry itself

General Categories

Best Channel Marketing/PR Agency

This category is open to all firms that class themselves as independent channel marketing agencies. This can be specific marketing teams, or specialist channel marketing/PR firms. Any projects/successes discussed in the entry must have taken place between Jan 2020 to Jan 2021. Images and screenshots can be included in this entry to illustrate points.
  • Please illustrate your size, set up and no. of channel customers
  • Please provide a case study of how you have worked with a vendor/channel partner to deliver a successful marketing project (MUST be channel related)
  • What do you think makes you stand out from the other agencies out there and why you should win this award?
  • Has the Covid pandemic changed how you work with channel customers? Please explain how if applicable.
  • Have you done anything quirky to help your channel customers achieve success? If so please explain
  • Can you provide stats and figures to prove the success of the campaign?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide a testimonial/testimonials from channel-relevant partners within the entry itself

Best Sales/Marketing Recruitment Specialist

Any firm that is defined as a recruitment specialist and works specifically with the UK channel. This can be a channel-focused division of a larger recruitment company, or a dedicated channel recruitment firm. Any projects/successes discussed in the entry must have taken place between Jan 2020 to Jan 2021.
  • The skills gap is the number one problem many tech firms are facing. Describe how your company is helping the channel plug that gap and which areas you are concentrating on – ie sales/marketing, vertical sectors or across the board.
  • How has the pandemic affected the recruitment process? Please explain how you dealt with the challenges.
  • Tell us about your company, its people and how long you have worked within the channel. Give the judges an idea of how your staff work with the channel – what is your company ethos and character? Who are your star employees and how do you motivate them? Where do you recruit your people from?
  • How do you go about attracting new blood to the channel given that the industry is so short on skills? Do you have any particular initiatives/recruitment events (obviously online due to Covid) to attract people from outside the industry?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage more female sales and marketing job applicants?
  • What have been the biggest challenges of running a channel recruitment firm?
  • REQUIREMENT: A testimonial from a channel company – this can be a reseller or distributor, or from a channel team at a technology vendor.