Reseller Choice Award class of 2014
Earlier this month, I had the chance to once again attend (and partially emcee) the Canadian Reseller Choice Awards. An annual affair in its eighth year produced by TechnoPlanet Productions, the folks behind the ChannelNext series of events, the Reseller Choice Awards give VARs a chance to vote on their favorite vendor in some 91 categories across a variety of product, program, and technology classifications. This year, the awards saw 531 vendors and distributors nominated and some 14,000 individual votes cast by solution providers from coast to coast.
Here are some thoughts from the awards:
- There’s no doubt the night belonged to Lenovo this year, sweeping most computer-related categories, adding a win in the tablet category, and once again taking home Best Overall Vendor. It’s an impressive performance, especially given it was a year when Lenovo could be excused if it had taken its eye off the ball when it comes to execution, what with two major acquisitions, a move, and more.
- Rick Reid had cause to show his smile once again, as for the eight consecutive year, Tech Data Canada basically swept the distribution categories. Reid, always prepared for such an event, quipped that eight was great but that nine would be divine.
- HP Canada made progress in PC-related categories this year, but showed it’s still a powerhouse when it comes to printing, dominating print-related categories including the important Managed Print field.
- Cisco Canada continued to dominate many networking categories,
- The cloud category continues to grow massively, with 74 distinct vendors nominated in a variety of categories. Managed services also saw a massive collection of vendor names presented, some familiar, some not. The category-by-category lists of nominees could in many ways be used as an indicator of the maturity of a category. In some tried-and-true fields, the candidates were almost entirely “the usual suspects,” while in newer fields, an exciting mix of established entities and bold upstarts. And although those new-to-the-table players garnered significant support, Microsoft was a big winner in the cloud category.
- Bluestar took home Best Specialty Distributor and had an impressive showing in a variety of other distribution-related areas. Although the company’s footprint is not as broad as that of fellow distributors Avnet, Westcon, or Interwork, clearly Jacques Lapierre and his team are showing the power of doing one or two specialized things very well. It goes without saying that an afternoon distribution session with Lapierre and Tech Data Canada’s Reid was a highlight reel.
- ca had a poor showing in the awards, coming in fourth in the best channel news media category. eChannelNews came in first, while CDN and CRN tied for second, leaving us in fourth. Ooof. I can understand losing to the hosts of the events and the awards, and I have nothing but respect for the crew at CDN, but CRN Canada hasn’t been around for years now. I know because I was its last editor. I’ll definitely have to get out the vote better next year, I dare say.
As usual, I sat down with Julian Lee, president of TechnoPlanet, at the conclusion of the evening to discuss some of what we’d seen and heard on the day. Here’s the video of our conversation.
And finally, congratulations to all 39 winners of the CRCAs this year, as well as all of the runners-up and nominees. A full list of the winners and runners-up, courtest of TechnoPlanet, appears below.
Here are the winners of 2014…
| Best Of Category Name | First Place | Second Place | Third Place | ||
| Best 3D Printer | Hewlett-Packard | MakerBot | Stratasys | ||
| Best Anti-Spam | Intel Security | WatchGuard | Malwarebytes | ||
| Best Anti-Virus | ESET | Intel Security | Kaspersky Lab/TrendMicro | ||
| Best Availability/Delivery | Tech-Data | Bluestar | Synnex | ||
| Best Backup and Recovery | Acronis | Veeam | Symantec/FalconStor | ||
| Best Black & White Laser Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Lexmark | Brother | ||
| Best Broad-Based Distributor | Tech-Data | Synnex | Ingram Micro | ||
| Best Business Desktop | Lenovo | Dell | Hewlett-Packard | ||
| Best Business Intelligence/Analytics | IBM | Sage Software | Microsoft | ||
| Best Business Notebook | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | Dell | ||
| Best Business Projector | Epson | InFocus | Viewsonic | ||
| Best Business Router | Cisco | WatchGuard | D-Link | ||
| Best BYOD Device Management | Cisco | LabTech | Symantec | ||
| Best BYOD/Mobility Vendor | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | WatchGuard | ||
| Best Distributor Channel Event | Tech-Data | Synnex | ChannelNext | ||
| Best Channel Video News Media | CDN | ecntv | |||
| Best Cloud Application | Microsoft | VMWare | |||
| Best Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery | Datto | StorageCraft | FalconStor | ||
| Best Cloud Server Platform | Microsoft | Sherweb | Amazon Web Services | ||
| Best Cloud Services Vendor | Microsoft | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | ||
| Best Cloud Storage/Solution | Dropbox | Datto | Hewlett-Packard | ||
| Best Colour Laser Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Xerox | Lexmark | ||
| Best Consumer Desktop | Lenovo | Dell | Asus | ||
| Best Consumer Notebook | Lenovo | Asus | Dell | ||
| Best CPU | Intel | AMD | |||
| Best CRM | Salesforce.com | Microsoft | Sage Software | ||
| Best Customer Service | Tech-Data | Bluestar | Interwork | ||
| Best Database | Microsoft | MySQL | Oracle | ||
| Best Desktop Storage | Western Digital | Seagate | Lenovo | ||
| Best Digital Signage | ELO Touch | Samsung | Viewsonic | ||
| Best E-Commerce Solution for VARs | iBiz10 | SynnexLeadGen | CNET | ||
| Best Endpoint Security | Intel Security | ESET | Kaspersky Lab | ||
| Best Enterprise Switch | Cisco | Hewlett-Packard | Dell | ||
| Best Enterprise Telephony | Cisco | Avaya | Mitel | ||
| Best Financial Software | Sage Software | Intuit | ACOMBA | ||
| Best Firewall | WatchGuard | Cisco | Fortinet | ||
| Best Graphic Card | nVidia | Asus | AMD/PNY | ||
| Best Graphic Design | Adobe | Corel | Apple | ||
| Best Hard Drive | Western Digital | Seagate | Lenovo | ||
| Best Home Theater Projector | Epson/InFocus | BenQ | Viewsonic | ||
| Best Home/Consumer Router | D-Link | Cisco | Asus | ||
| Best Infrastructure as a Service | IBM | Hewlett-Packard/Cisco | Dell | ||
| Best Ink-Jet Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Epson | Canon/Brother | ||
| Best IT Assessment Tool | RISC Networks | RapidFire | FuseExpertise | ||
| Best Label Printer | Zebra | Dymo | Brother | ||
| Best Memory | Kingston | Crucial | Axiom | ||
| Best Messaging/Collaboration | Microsoft | Open Text | |||
| Best Mobile Scanner | Fujitsu | Epson | Brother | ||
| Best Multi-Function Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Brother | Lexmark | ||
| Best Multi-Purpose Display | Viewsonic | Lenovo | Asus | ||
| Best NAS | Lenovo | QNAP | Synology | ||
| Best Networking Vendor | Cisco | Hewlett-Packard | WatchGuard | ||
| Best New Vendor | F-Secure | SolidFire | Digital Guardian/Amer Networks | ||
| Best Online Channel News Media | E-Channelnews | CDN/CRN | Channelbuzz | ||
| Best Overall Vendor | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | Dell | ||
| Best Personal Laser Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Brother | Lexmark | ||
| Best Platform as a Service | Microsoft | Red Hat | Dell | ||
| Best Portable Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Epson | Zebra | ||
| Best Portable Projector | InFocus | Epson | BenQ | ||
| Best Portable Storage | Western Digital | Seagate | Lenovo | ||
| Best POS Vendor | ELO Touch | Toshiba | Posiflex | ||
| Best Print Managed Services | Hewlett-Packard | Xerox | Brother | ||
| Best Product Support | Tech-Data | Bluestar | Interwork | ||
| Best Productivity Software | Microsoft | Adobe | |||
| Best Professional Display | Samsung | Viewsonic | Lenovo | ||
| Best Publishing | Adobe | Microsoft | Corel | ||
| Best Rack or Server Cabinet | Schneider Electric | Startech.com/Tripp Lite | Hammond | ||
| Best Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) | LabTech | LogMeIn | N-Able/Maxfocus | ||
| Best SAN | IBM | EMC | Hewlett-Packard | ||
| Best Scanner | Fujitsu | Canon/Epson | Hewlett-Packard | ||
| Best Security Vendor | Intel Security | WatchGuard | Kaspersky/ESET | ||
| Best Server | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | Dell | ||
| Best Service Automation (PSA) | LogMeIn | Connectwise | Autotask | ||
| Best SMB Network Switch | Cisco | Hewlett-Packard | D-Link | ||
| Best SMB Telephony | Cisco | Avaya | Fortinet | ||
| Best Software as a Service | Citrix | Symantec | |||
| Best Software Vendor | Microsoft | TrendMicro | VMWare | ||
| Best Specialty Distributor | Bluestar | Interwork | Arrow | ||
| Best SSD | Kingston | Intel | Samsung | ||
| Best Storage Vendor | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | EMC Corp. | ||
| Best Computer Systems Vendor | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | Dell | ||
| Best Tablet | Lenovo | Apple | Samsung | ||
| Best Terms/Conditions | Tech-Data | Bluestar | Synnex | ||
| Best UPS Battery Backup | Schneider Electric | Eaton | Tripp Lite | ||
| Best Utility | Malwarebytes | Microsoft | VMWare | ||
| Best Vendor Channel Program | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | Cisco | ||
| Best Virtualization Software | VMWare | Microsoft | FalconStor | ||
| Best Wide Format Printer | Hewlett-Packard | Epson | Canon | ||
| Best Wireless Access Point | Cisco | Meraki | Ubiquiti | ||
| Best Wireless Router | Cisco | TP-Link | D-Link | ||
| Best Workstation | Lenovo | Hewlett-Packard | Dell | ||
