Previous Next

About the Reseller Choice Awards

The Reseller Choice Awards aim to provide recognition for vendors and distributors in the IT channel. The awards are judged by the channel community, rather than by independent third-party judges, in order to eliminate subjectivity and bias. To win an award, vendors and distributors must receive the most votes from the channel community. Sponsoring the awards can raise a company's profile, but does not guarantee a win. The winners are announced at a gala event and are given the opportunity to speak. The awards are independent and transparent, and the data collected through the survey is used to improve the industry.

If you're a member of the IT channel community, supporting the Reseller Choice Awards is a great way to recognize the companies that have done a good job and to make your voice heard. By becoming a sponsor, you can show your support for the independent and transparent nature of the awards, and you can raise your company's profile within the industry. Additionally, participating in the awards can provide valuable insights through the data collected by the survey, and it can be a great opportunity for networking and socializing with other members of the community. So, if you want to support the IT channel and recognize the companies that are doing a great job, consider becoming a sponsor of the Reseller Choice Awards. To sponsor the Reseller Choice Awards, please contact [email protected].

The awards are organized by e-channelnews.com (published by technoplanet.com).

Do Awards in the Channel Really Matter?

Everyone enjoys receiving awards. According to studies, when people are recognized with any kind of award, it can be more powerful than receiving money.

We don’t want to convince anyone that winning awards is a good thing (some skeptics may disagree), so you can do your own research or simply ask yourself if you like to receive awards. We believe that receiving praise for a job well done is priceless, especially when you have earned it.

Money has the ability to sway some award givers. Others are motivated by self-interest. Some you have to work for. I would only caution that the awards arena is not for everyone and not every award has merit.

In general, getting any award is not a bad thing. It's also not good if there are too many awards and everyone wins. Participation awards should not count! An award should be given for a genuine accomplishment, not for some hidden, unfair, or subjective decision.

When we decided to enter the award arena, we decided to remove ourselves from the equation and instead appoint independent third-party judges. We quickly discovered that there was no way to eliminate all biases because the judges also had a history with certain companies in the race.

As a result, we decided to remove all subjective judging criteria and place the decision entirely in the hands of the channel community. After all, they are the ones who deal with these companies on a daily basis and have the most in-depth knowledge.

If you win a Reseller Choice Award as a vendor or distributor, it means you received the most votes from the channel community. Period. We believe that if it is good enough to elect a country's leader, it is good enough for us in the IT Channel.

The only thing vendors and distributors can do is promote and encourage their partners to vote for them. This, we believe, is fair game. Everyone should do it.

Vendors and distributors can support the Reseller Choice Awards by becoming sponsors. This raises their profile, but it does not guarantee that they will win an award. After 16 years, it's clear that the award’s integrity is intact and cannot be influenced by anything other than the votes by partners. We have worked very hard to get here and we expect to continue for the next 16 years. We thank our sponsors for supporting this important program in the channel because this is important for the industry to always have an independent voice. It is how we all get better!

If you win, the ROI is a legitimate recognition for a job well done by the votes of the channel partners. What you do to leverage the award as channel PR is up to you. There are many more benefits to winning. This eventually should translate into sales, but that is not want this is about. In reality, win the award or not, if you are the list, it says the channel is voting for you! Something that you can build on...

Please contact us if you would like to be a sponsor to support this important independent channel survey.

Any channel partner may nominate any vendor or distributor. So even the list of "candidates" is beyond our control. Channel partners simply register and vote for their preferred vendor or distributor in the appropriate categories and we do have special checks and balances in place to ensure a fair contest. Everyone who votes is automatically entered to win one of our thank-you-for-voting prizes. That is the only incentive we are providing and it is fully transparent.

Channel partners know that we have demonstrated over the past 16 years that this is their voice, and their vote counts. We have also earned their trust over the last two decades through our channel publication www.e-channelnews.com.

The winners and runners-up are notified and invited to the Awards Gala at no cost. It is a fantastic social networking evening with a special dinner. The awards ceremony takes place, and the winners are given the opportunity to say a few words. We also use our news media to spread the word.

One last note about the Reseller Choice Awards survey: The data we get to see is quite interesting. We see the voting pattern of the channel over many years and by region. It helps us to better understand how well and where each vendor and distributor is performing. This may help them to improve their services to the channel.

Another important reason to attend the Awards gala is that we ALSO honor the top 50 channel partners in the country for best business practices. This is another difficult award and recognition to obtain. They must pass the 200-question test and place in the top 50. We also award 3 women with the Women In tech Award for outstanding contribution to elevating women in the industry.

We give awards in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom based on the same principles, but not the same amount of award categories in every country. We will eventually, but we are not in a hurry and want to do it correctly.

We believe the Reseller Choice and the 50 Best Managed IT Companies Awards do matter.