Channel Awards 2020 - Reseller Criteria

All the information you need when compiling your Channel Awards entry for the Reseller categories

Below is the full set of entry criteria for all the Reseller categories in the 2020 Channel Awards. Please do read them before crafting your entry.

Award Name Rising Star Award

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the end user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Rising Star Award

This category is open any company that is seeing phenomenal growth in their field and has been in business for a MAXIMUM of five years and MINIMUM of 18 months in their current form. There is no specific business model that is more qualified than others to enter - so you could be an MSP, VAR, integrator or a specific vertical sector IT provider. If you can demonstrate strong growth over the past year, feel you are a disruptive force and can give some example of your potential growth in the future, then you are the ideal candidate for this award.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name MSSP/Security VAR of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the end user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

MSSP/Security VAR of the Year

With security being the number one concern of end user customers, this category is aimed at VARs/Service providers to highlight excellence in cybersecurity. This category is open to all VARs/MSPs/integrators that specialise in security solutions and services to customers of any size, whether this is SMB, mid-market or enterprise, or to those that have a strong security flavour to their portfolio of services.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name Corporate VAR of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the end user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Corporate VAR of the Year

This category is open to all VARs/MSPs/integrators that deal with either mid-market (loose definition: 250-1,000 seats) or enterprise (loose definition: 1,000+ seats) customers, or a mix of both - supplying products, managed services or a mix of both, preferably from a mix of vendors. These customers can be UK based, have multiple UK offices, or be multi-national companies with a significant base in the UK, in the private sector. At least 50 per cent of your business needs to fall under the ‘corporate' definition to be eligible to enter.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name Public Sector VAR/MSP of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Public Sector VAR/MSP of the Year

This category is open to VARs/MSPs that have a clear focus on doing business, providing products and solutions to public sector customers. These organisations can be in any part of the public sector from education to healthcare, from local government to government, and emergency services.

AT LEAST 40 per cent of your business must be public sector-based to qualify for entry.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant customer testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name SMB Reseller of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

SMB Reseller of the Year

The award is open to resellers that have a focus on the SMB market, whether this is on very small companies (1-9 employees) within a locality or region, or larger firms that fall within the ‘SMB' definition i.e. fewer than 250 employees. Firms that are fairly young and consider themselves an ‘up and coming' player in the SMB space, and have seen excellent growth since launch can also enter.

NOTE - More than 75 per cent of your business must be SMB to qualify for entry. Please make sure you address this point.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name MSP of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new service offerings will also be candidates for these awards.

MSP of the Year

This award is ONLY open to companies that can truly call themselves a managed service provider (MSP). Vendors or support companies DO NOT qualify for this award and will be removed from the category. Business has to consist primarily of managed services TO END USER CUSTOMERS, this can be any or as many of the ‘as-a-service' disciplines as you like - although bear in mind there is a separate cloud category, so non-cloud entries will be given priority and cloud entries could be moved by the judges. Entries can cover managed services to enterprise, mid-market or SMB level customers. We would ask that at least 75 per cent of your business is through managed services to qualify for entry.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000.

Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name Cloud Services Provider of the Year

Eligibility Is this the Award for you?

Reseller Awards

Reseller awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Cloud Services Provider of the Year

This category is open to channel players with a specific focus on providing cloud-based services to their end user customers. This can be in any vertical sector with any relevant cloud technology set, whether it is security, storage, infrastructure, datacentre services or a mix of the above and others.

NOTE: Resellers/MSPs entering this category should derive at least 40 per cent of their business from the provision of cloud products and services. Please address this point in your entry.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name: Best Covid-19-related project/initiative of the Year - Reseller - For 2020 ONLY

This has been a year like no other for all of us, and while there has been far too much sadness and tragic loss, the Coronavirus Pandemic has also brought out the best in so many people and companies.

Firms have been forced to innovate like never before, and channel firms have been at the very heart of this innovation - whether it is helping customers shift almost overnight to a full remote working strategy, or being involved in many initiatives that have helped vital organisations such the NHS keep going under immense pressure.

This award is to recognise that innovation and give some much-deserved recognition to those companies that have gone out of their way to help keep this country running during the most challenging conditions we have experienced in living memory. This award is to celebrate that innovation and raise awareness of some of the fantastic initiatives and projects that the channel was involved in during the heart of the crisis.

Entry Criteria: Please use these criteria as a rough guide to shaping your entry - but feel free to make it as personal as possible, including photographs

Entries can be anything between 400 and 1,000 words - please include as much relevant information as possible and make it as personal as you like.

Award Name: Hero/Heroes of the Year - Reseller - For 2020 ONLY

2020 has been a year like no other for all of us, and while there has been far too much sadness and tragic loss, the Coronavirus Pandemic has brought many stories of human compassion and joy.

The channel has always been a caring environment with people right at the very heart of it, and there are many unsung heroes that just keep giving. Now is the time to recognise them.

This award is aimed at giving some much deserved recognition to those individuals or teams that have gone out of their way to help others during this crisis - this could be in a business capacity - such as a company owner/director/team leader helping vulnerable staff put food on the table, working with partners to provide an essential service, or a team working together to provide PPE to local NHS organisations or businesses, or individuals and teams helping their local community in other ways.

While they may be embarrassed - it is crucial that these unsung heroes get the recognition they deserve for their efforts.

Entry Criteria: Please use these criteria as a rough guide to shaping your entry - but feel free to make it as personal as possible, including photographs

Entries can be anything between 400 and 1,000 words - please include as much relevant information as possible and make it as personal as you like.

RESELLER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

IMPORTANT: If you make the shortlist in one of the below categories, you will be required to produce further material to show to the judges on or before the official judging day. Normally this is a face-to-face presentation, but depending on how the Covid-19 situation progresses, this could be a five-minute video presentation instead. We will keep you informed as this develops.

Award Name: Reseller of the Year (£101m+ turnover)

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Reseller of the Year (£101m+ turnover)

This category is open to all VARs/MSPs/Integrators with a turnover above £101m, that feel they have done a particularly outstanding job over the past 12 months that deserves a top reseller accolade at the CRN awards. Any IT supplier, regardless of specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award, but to be in with a chance of winning you have to have done something spectacular to impress the judges and be prepared to shout about it. Plus your turnover threshold must qualify to enter.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

Award Name: Reseller of the Year (sub £100m turnover)

Reseller Awards

Reseller Awards will recognise excellence in the delivery of solutions, service and support to end user customers, taking into consideration the reseller's ability to deliver real benefits to the user organisation, and to meet customer objectives in terms of improved efficiency, ROI and investment protection, and cost reduction. Companies that demonstrate innovation in developing and bringing-to-market new concepts and solutions will also be candidates for these awards.

Reseller of the Year (sub £100m turnover)

This category has been launched to give the smaller players in the market a chance to compete on a more even playing field against their peers. The award is open to all VARs/MSPs/Integrators with a turnover up to £100m, that feel they have done a particularly outstanding job over the past 12 months that deserves a top reseller accolade at the CRN awards. Any IT supplier, regardless of specialisation or focus is eligible to enter this award, but to be in with a chance of winning you have to have done something spectacular to impress the judges and be prepared to shout about it. Plus your turnover threshold must qualify to enter.

Entry Criteria: Your entry should be based around the following criteria, which is what the judges will be using as a basis to score each entry. Please do not address each point separately and just base the entry on these points alone -try to add some colour/personality and just incorporate them into your entry as you see fit. Also bear in mind that the judges are accepting PDF or multi-media entries, but at the very least please make sure your entries that are easy to read and digest if in plain text format.

Entries are actively encouraged to include hard facts and figures - all of which will be kept strictly confidential and used for judging purposes only. All campaigns and initiatives must have been new or further developed in 2020 to qualify. Resellers are actively encouraged to enter for more than one award if they so wish, and if the category is relevant to their business. But every entry MUST be different.

NOTE: The Coronavirus Pandemic has had an impact globally on companies' performances - please do feel free to mention how the crisis has affected your strategy/goals in the UK and how you have innovated around that, but bear in mind we also have special Covid-19 related categories this year ONLY.

Maximum word count: 1,000. Please read the criteria before submitting your entry. Relevant partner testimonials and supporting materials are welcome but must not exceed the 1,000 maximum word count.

To submit your entry for the 2020 Channel Awards, please click here. Deadline is 10 August 2020.