Distributors nominated vendors based on the quality of their channel engagement and overall EMEA performance in 2011. The winners will be decided by a live electronic vote at the 'EMEA Channel Academy: 2012 Awards' Gala Dinner, which takes place in Monaco on February 9th in conjunction with DISTREE EMEA.
"This year's list of official nominations demonstrates the continued diversity of the IT and consumer electronics (CE) vendor landscape in EMEA," commented Farouk Hemraj, CEO at DISTREE Events. "We are delighted that the Gala Dinner for the 'EMEA Channel Academy: 2012 Awards' is once again being held as part of the DISTREE EMEA conference programme. We look forward to welcoming representatives from all nominated vendors to this prestigious occasion."
The official vendor nominations for the 'EMEA Channel Academy: 2012 Awards', presented in alphabetical order in each category, are as follows:
Storage Vendor of the Year - A-Data, Kingston, Seagate, Transcend, WD
Software Vendor of the Year - Adobe, Kaspersky, Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec
Accessories Vendor of the Year - Belkin, Genius, Logitech, Port, Targus
Audio Vendor of the Year - Bose, Logitech, Philips, Samsung, Sony
Home Networking Vendor of the Year - D-Link, Intellinet, Linksys, TP-Link, ZyXEL
Components Vendor of the Year - AMD, Asus, Intel, Seagate, WD
Gaming Vendor of the Year - Logitech, Microsoft, Nintendo, Razer, Sony
Imaging Vendor of the Year - Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony
Printing Vendor of the Year - Canon, Epson, HP, Samsung, Xerox
Monitors/TVs Vendor of the Year - BenQ, LG, Philips, Samsung, Sony
Mobile Device Vendor of the Year - Blackberry, HTC, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Mobile (formerly Sony Ericsson)
Notebook/Netbook/Desktop Vendor of the Year - Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo
Hundreds of senior distribution executives from across the region will attend the 'EMEA Channel Academy: 2012 Awards' Gala Dinner. During the event, which takes place in the glittering Salle des Etoiles in Monaco, distributors and channel partners participate in a live electronic voting session to determine the overall winner in each product category.
"Receiving an official nomination is a huge achievement in itself," explained Hemraj. "This recognises a vendor as a top five player in a specific product category. We would like to congratulate each and every vendor that has received a nomination. The Gala Dinner is a celebration of this achievement and an opportunity for vendors to interact with the distributors and channel partners that help drive their business success in the EMEA region."
During the nomination process, distribution executives across EMEA were canvassed to name their preferred five vendors in each product category based on the following criteria: channel strategy, partner engagement, pricing, stock management, product evolution, margin potential, channel management, retail engagement, marketing and channel programmes.
"It is important to emphasise the fact that these awards are focused on recognising channel excellence, not just overall sellout achieved in EMEA," added Hemraj. "Distributors have nominated and will vote for the vendors that they believe excel at supporting channel partners and creating a positive win-win relationship."