2023 Categories & Criteria

Already started your entries? Please click here to login

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

Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words (including any supporting material), and try to think about the judges when composing them. They must be UK RELEVANT. 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.

Reseller Categories

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, environmental credentials, and general company culture. The period the award covers is between Jan 2022 and Jan 2023, so please bear this in mind when talking about particular incentives offered to employees. Images can also be used if you like.
This category is now closed
  • 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 motivated during challenging times?
  • How has your workplace changed over the past year – what are you doing differently as a result of the pandemic? 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 diversity/the gender pay gap/skills gap in the industry? Are there any particular campaigns you are running in your company? Please explain.
  • Can you give examples of CSR or environmental activities? ie Charity fundraisers/carbon offsetting 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, environmental credentials, and general company culture. The period the award covers is between Jan 2022 and Jan 2023, so please bear this in mind when talking about particular incentives offered to employees. Images can also be used if you like.
This category is now closed
  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • What do you think makes it stand out from your peers?
  • How do you keep staff motivated during challenging times?
  • How has your workplace changed over the past year – what are you doing differently as a result of the pandemic? 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 diversity/the gender pay gap/skills gap in the industry? Are there any particular campaigns you are running? Please explain.
  • Can you give examples of CSR or environmental activities? ie Charity events/carbon offsetting 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 Customer Event - Reseller (NEW)

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. Since the onset of Covid, this category now covers all types of events, including physical events that have become online events, actual face-to-face events, or brand-new hybrid events launched over the past year. The period the award covers is between Jan 2022 and Jan 2023– 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.
This category is now closed
  • What was the event (please describe) and when/where/how did it run? 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 distributor) 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? How many attendees (physical/virtual or both) did you get? 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

Best Marketing Campaign (not event) - 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 2022 and Jan 2023– 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.
This category is now closed
  • What was the campaign (please describe) and when did it run? Was it social media based or another method? (please explain) • 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 SMBs, Enterprises, Public sector (or other specific sectors)
  • How successful was the campaign? Use facts and figures to back up claims. How many customers have 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, humour, did it go viral?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide at least one customer testimonial within the entry itself

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 2022 and Jan 2023 to qualify for entry.

This category is now closed
  • 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 go the extra mile to win the business? If so please share details.
  • Why was the business won? – ie track record of delivery (customer case studies), personal approach, vendor accreditations/certifications
  • What were some of the challenges you faced during the process?
  • How did your people help to win the business – make it personal.
  • What was the deal worth to your company and how did winning it help company development?
  • What has winning meant for team 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 2022 and Jan 2023– so please detail successes of sales teams during that period only to qualify for entry.

This category is now closed
  • 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 in the past year? Please include comparative YoY % sales growth for context.
  • Certifications/qualifications team has achieved during last year
  • Explain the value provided to vendor partners
  • Explain the 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).

Most Innovative Recruitment Scheme/Initiative – Reseller (NEW)

This award is open to any firm that falls under the Reseller category – whether an integrator, MSP, system builder, VAR or service provider The scheme/initiative must have been running from, or further developed since January 2022.

This category is now closed
  • The skills gap is a top challenge many channel firms are facing. How is your company working to bring new talent into the industry?
  • Tell us about your particular scheme/initiative and why you launched it/how long it has been running. For example, have you been working closely with local schools/colleges? Are you recruiting graduates through university schemes? Are you working with armed forces charities or local authorities to give people from different backgrounds a chance to build a new career?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage a more diverse range of candidates from different backgrounds to your company? Please elaborate.
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme/initiative?
  • 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 one of the successful recruits – either one that is still in training, or one that has gone on to success elsewhere in the company.

The ‘Over and Above’ Award - Reseller

This is an award aimed at highlighting the amazing work by an individual, the company as a whole, or a division/team over the past year. 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 the company as a whole, to an exceptional sales/marketing/support team; a particular manager or staff member within any team, the CEO or even a company cleaner that went the extra mile. Anyone you feel has definitely gone ‘over and above’ their normal duties to make peoples’ lives easier during difficult times. Below are some tips for constructing the entry but please make it as personal as you like.

This category is now closed
  • 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 made to either individuals, customers/partners/the company or their local community?
  • 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. Please do make sure these are personal entries as it is an emotive category. The timeframe this covers is Jan 2022 – Jan 2023.

Distributor Categories

Best Channel Finance Support Team/Initiative (NEW)

In difficult times and in good times, the finance team have to make split second decisions that can mean the difference between a customer winning or losing a contract, or even surviving as a business. New finance initiatives can make a real difference. In short, finance is the lifeblood of the channel, and distribution is at the heart of that.

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 2022 to Jan 2023, so please bear in mind when writing entries.
This category is now closed
  • Please provide a brief background to your finance support team. This can include skill sets, levels of experience and a bit about their characters. Introduce them to the judges – make it personal. Why do they deserve to win this award?
  • If you are entering a particular finance-related initiative - tell us about it. Why is it special? How has it helped your customers? What results has it generated for your own business? Has it helped recruit new customers? 
  • Share any particular team/initiative successes or achievements with the judges to make it stand out.
  • Have there been any examples where the finance support team has gone above and beyond to help out a customer? Please elaborate.
  • REQUIREMENT: Include a testimonial – either colleague or customer-related (or both) within the entry itself

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, employee satisfaction/motivation, mental health, DE&I, CSR, environmental credentials, 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 2022 to Jan 2023, so please bear in mind when talking about particular incentives offered to employees. Images can also be used if required.
This category is now closed
  • Why is your company such a great place to work and what makes it stand out from the competition?
  • How do you keep your teams motivated and happy?
  • How has your workplace changed over the past year – what are you doing differently? 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 team morale? Give examples.
  • How does your company empower staff to do their jobs better? Give examples.
  • How are you addressing DE&I (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) issues in your company? Are there any particular diversity and inclusion campaigns you are running in your company? Please share details.
  • Can you give examples of CSR or environmental activities? ie Charity events/carbon offsetting etc
  • How do you motivate your people and engender loyalty? This can include outlines of bonus/commission schemes, extra leave, holidays, prizes etc
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide testimonials from your people/teams within the entry

Best Marketing Campaign (not event) - 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 2022 to Jan 2023, 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.

This category is now closed
  • 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.
  • Why are you entering this particular campaign? What makes it stand out?
  • Which vendor partner/s 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, humour or go viral?
  • REQUIREMENT: Please provide a customer (reseller) testimonial within the entry

Best Partner Event (NEW)

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. Since the onset of Covid, this category now covers all types of events, including physical events that have become online events, actual face-to-face events, or brand-new hybrid events launched over the past year. The period the award covers is between Jan 2022 and Jan 2023– 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.
This category is now closed
  • What was the event (please describe) and when/where did it run? 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/attended remotely? 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

Best Warehouse Team (NEW)

The team in the warehouse is often the engine that keeps a distribution business running, working tirelessly to ensure orders are fulfilled at the back end. Quite often they are the unsung heroes of distribution.

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 2022 to Jan 2023, so please bear in mind when writing entries.
This category is now closed
  • Please provide a brief background to the team you are entering including their levels of experience and any specialist skill sets. Why do they deserve to win this award?
  • Describe the characters in your warehouse team and what makes them so special. Introduce them to the judges – make it personal. Also, any little quirks/personalities of the team would be interesting to hear about.
  • Share any particular team successes or achievements with the judges. How do they contribute to the smooth running of the business. Feel free to use colleague testimonials.
  • Have there been any examples where the warehouse team has gone above and beyond to ensure an order is fulfilled? Or do they do this every day? Please elaborate.
  • REQUIREMENT: Include a testimonial – either colleague or customer-related (or both) within the entry itself

Most Innovative Recruitment Scheme/Initiative (NEW)

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 scheme must have been running from, or further developed since January 2022.

This category is now closed
  • The skills gap is a top challenge many channel firms are facing. How is your company working to bring new talent into the industry?
  • Tell us about your particular scheme/initiative and why you launched it/how long it has been running. For example, have you been working closely with local schools/colleges? Are you recruiting graduates through university schemes? Are you working with armed forces charities or local authorities to give people from different backgrounds a chance to build a new career?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage a more diverse range of candidates from different backgrounds to your company? Please elaborate.
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme?
  • Describe any particular success stories – ie: A recruit 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 one of the successful recruits – either one that is still in training, or one that has gone on to success elsewhere in the company.

The ‘Over and Above’ Award - Distributor

This is an award aimed at highlighting the amazing work by an individual, the company as a whole, or a division/team over the past year. 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 the company as a whole, to an exceptional team within the company; a particular manager or staff member within any team, the CEO or even a company cleaner that went the extra mile. Anyone you feel has definitely gone ‘over and above’ their normal duties to make peoples’ lives easier, and deserves special recognition.

This category is now closed

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 made to either individuals, customers/partners/the company or their local community?
  • 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 2022 – Jan 2023.

Vendor Categories

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, environmental responsibility and general company culture. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2022 to Jan 2023, so please bear in mind when talking about particular activities, trips or incentives offered to staff. Images can also be used if required.

This category is now closed
  • How many staff do you employ in the UK?
  • Why is your company such a great place to work?
  • How have you kept staff morale buoyant during the challenges of the past year
  • How has your workplace changed over the past year – what are you doing differently as a result of the pandemic? Will this continue?
  • What do you think makes your company stand out from your competitors?
  • How are you addressing diversity/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 or environmental activities? ie Charity fundraisers, carbon offsetting 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

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 2022 to Jan 2023, so please bear in mind when writing entries and referring to particular campaigns.

This category is now closed
  • 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 you overcome any challenges arising during the campaign?
  • 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 UK 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

Best Partner Event - Vendor (NEW)

Any firm that is defined as a vendor and operates a UK channel strategy. These can be vendors of hardware, networking and/or software and all related services in all vertical markets, but the business must have a significant channel presence in the UK to qualify. Since the onset of Covid, this category now covers all types of events, including physical events that have become online events, actual face-to-face events, or brand-new hybrid 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 2022 to Jan 2023 so the event must fall in that timeframe.
This category is now closed
  • Please describe the event - ie was it online/face-to-face or a mix of both? Also outline why you are entering it for this award
  • Please reference any outstanding results or stats in terms of attendance/engagement
  • 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 Partner Programme (Vendor)

Who can enter? 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 2022 to Jan 2023 so bear in mind when talking about additions/changes to programmes and the entry MUST be UK centric.
This category is now closed
  • 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? What have been some of the most recent changes/additions you have made in the past year? Can you share some UK stats?
  • 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? Why are partners so important to you?

REQUIREMENT: Provide a UK partner testimonial within the entry Written entries must be no more than 1,000 words, and try to think about the judges when composing them. They must be UK RELEVANT ONLY. 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 and humour to your entry too to make it stand out. If you are submitting a video, please keep it to FIVE minutes or less. Videos over five minutes will not be watched in full by the judges.

Most Innovative Recruitment Scheme/Initiative – Vendor (NEW)

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. The period covered by the awards runs from Jan 2022 to Jan 2023, so please bear in mind when writing entries and referring to particular campaigns.

This category is now closed
  • The skills gap is a top challenge many channel firms are facing. How is your company working to bring new talent into the industry?
  • Tell us about your particular scheme/initiative and why you launched it/how long it has been running. For example, have you been working closely with local schools/colleges? Are you recruiting graduates through university schemes? Are you working with armed forces charities or local authorities to give people from different backgrounds a chance to build a new career?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage a more diverse range of candidates from different backgrounds to your company? Please elaborate.
  • What have been the biggest challenges in running your scheme/initiative?
  • 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 one or more of the successful recruits – either one that is still in training, or one that has gone on to success elsewhere in the company.

Technology Innovation Award - Vendor

This award is aimed at describing how your product/solution has actually helped make YOUR CHANNEL PARTNERS money by helping their customers through innovation, not a promotion of the product itself. Any entries that talk solely about the product or read like a cut-and-paste promotion piece will not be considered for the shortlist.

This category is now closed
  • Briefly describe the solution you are entering and why it is being entered for this award. Why is it innovative? What effect is this innovation having on your partners and their customers?
  • 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? i.e. 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.

The ‘Over and Above’ Award - Vendor

This is an award aimed at highlighting the amazing work by an individual, the company as a whole, or a division/team over the past year. It can be because of challenges caused by the ongoing pandemic, or just to recognise the brilliant work these people have achieved during the last 12 months. 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 always goes the extra mile to keep the office running smoothly. 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.
This category is now closed

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 made to either individuals, customers/partners/the company or their local community?
  • 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 2022 – Jan 2023.

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 2022 to Jan 2023. Images and screenshots can be included in this entry to illustrate points.
This category is now closed
  • 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?
  • Have you run any quirky or viral campaigns 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 2022 to Jan 2023.
This category is now closed
  • 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.
  • 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 organise or participate in any particular initiatives/recruitment events to attract people from outside the industry?
  • Are you doing anything in particular to encourage a more diverse range of 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.