Winner wonderland

Channel Awards winners 2011

The UK channel partied on once again at Battersea and then at nightclub Pacha for the 2011 CRN Awards. Fleur Doidge reports on a top night

We came, we saw, and some of us even conquered. Yes, the champagne glasses and tinsel have been cleared away from Battersea Park arena, but few of us will forget the 2011 Channel Awards in a hurry.

We said it last year but we may as well say it again: What a night. This year really was bigger than ever, with more than 1,750 representatives from the UK channel attending.

It was a night of much celebration, and there appeared to be less than the usual amount of commiseration. Once again, resellers, distributors and vendors proved they are all in it - and up for it - together, while host Jack Dee managed to get some great gags into his set.

Avnet Technology Solutions may have been one of the happiest firms on the night, taking home an impressive three gongs, including Distributor of the Year, in which it just managed to hold off Westcoast. It also took the top storage distributor prize, and the software distributor gong, in the latter fending off Interactive Ideas, which itself netted the prize for Specialist Distributor of the Year.

The company also appeared to do its best to see if it could fit even more people into the photos than Softcat. Linda Patterson, marketing director at Avnet, said the company is thrilled with the result and wanted to make it a night to remember. “We wanted to get the people out there who were involved and had helped us win. It was about the people who helped us, and made the customers happy,” she said.

Attending the Awards is also an unparalleled networking opportunity, she added, as well as giving channel companies the chance to show their strengths to their peers.

Jacqui Davey, vice president of the UK and Ireland Business Partner Organisation and mid-market at headline sponsor IBM, said the night was a true success. “It gives so much public recognition for the channel about the value that we add,” she added.

Softcat wins again

Softcat was crowned Reseller of the Year for the second year in a row and its founder, Peter Kelly, also took home the special Editor’s Choice prize for Channel Personality of the Year. Kelly founded Software Catalogue Ltd in 1993 - the name was later shortened to Softcat - and has always said he is “determined to do things differently”. He makes no secret of the fact that he makes staff satisfaction, for one thing, a top priority, while still striving constantly for better customer service.

Anthony Young, director of Demuto, was on the early-stage judging panel. He said all the winners are extremely deserving. “However, there are still lots of people who really could win, but they did not put in the effort,” he added.

Carl West, business group director at GfK, was a judge for the first round. “It is bigger and better every year,” said West. “And it is a room full of opportunity. Where else do you get resellers, distributors and vendors all in the one room?”

Emerging Company of the Year was Hampshire’s Peach Telecom, which has a stated aim of making communications simple for its customers. This means keeping bills simple as well as having high customer service standards. And it has been growing fast, doubling its turnover and making a third acquisition in November to take on Vantage Communications.

The new Channel Services Provider of the Year gong was taken home by dealer group Synaxon, with hard-working financier Syscap the runner-up.

Joel Chimoindes, director of unified comms at TDAzlan, whose parent company C2000 also won three awards, agreed that the networking is one of the top reasons for attending the Awards. However, he was excited about Azlan winning the networking distributor gong. “It is a phenomenal result,” he said. “We put in a lot of hard work.”

Wayne Hunt, distribution account manager at Cisco, said the event had a great atmosphere and the food - sea bass with lemon and mascarpone risotto, then roast chicken followed by tiramisu cheesecake with honey-roasted plums - was delicious.

“A few new names won prizes, but it is good to see that a lot are still doing well,” said Hunt.

Brian Allsopp, managing director of Riverview Channel Services, agreed, although his company did not take home an award this year: “It has been a fantastic night, and it is incredible to see the number of resellers and the whole channel here together.”

Last year’s Channel Awards winners

Photos from the night are available for viewing and purchase here