The nomination game

The number of days to the 2010 Channel Middle East Awards - which will be held in Dubai on Monday 22nd March - is fading fast. And that means there are even fewer days remaining for you to submit your nominations!

If you haven't yet visited our official awards website, or simply need a gentle reminder about how much time you've left to play with, the deadline for entering the 2010 Awards is Thursday 18th February 2010. (And as anybody who has entered previous Channel Awards will know, the deadline won't be extended so make sure you hit it!).

Entering the 2010 Channel Middle East Awards is incredibly straightforward. If you are an IT company of any sort in the Middle East then you are free to nominate yourself by visiting the awards website - www.itp.net/events/channelmeawards - and submitting an entry form containing at least 500 words on your achievements during the past year.

The awards seek to honour the entire channel community, which means there are categories for vendors, distributors, retailers and resellers. (Note that solution providers and systems integrators also fall under the ‘reseller' category).

"So what exactly am I meant to put in my nomination?" is the question I'm most asked by aspiring Channel Awards winners in search of inspiration. The answer is that it is entirely up to you and all depends on what your company has done in the past year.

Read on below for some words of advice about the type of information you really need to be thinking about when compiling your nomination:

Distributors, resellers and retailers

If you fit anywhere into the above descriptions (so VADs, integrators and solution providers that includes you) then we simply want you to tell us, or rather our judging panel, why you deserve to win the category(s) that you are entering.

You therefore need to think about outlining the specific company achievements that took place in 2009 and provide examples of how you developed your business and succeeded in your market place.

You may also want to consider including information about any of the following if it is applicable:

- Successful expansion activities in the Middle East

- How you have provided an exceptional level of service to customers

- Specialised products, services and solutions developed for customers

- How you have innovated in the market place

- Initiatives or strategies that you have implemented to improve the business

Vendors

If you're a vendor entering any of our ‘Vendor of the Year' categories (components, networking, peripherals, printing & consumables, software, systems & hardware) then bear in mind that our judging panel will only be interested in one thing: what you've been doing to drive and support your channel partners.

The panel won't look favourably on nominations filled with your corporate history or latest product launches because that's not what the Channel Awards are about.

Therefore, you need to document the initiatives that you have introduced in the past year to support your Middle East partners and outline the investments that you have made in the channel.

If you are still a little unsure of what to write then you may want to think about the following areas:

- Successful channel expansion activities in the Middle East

- Steps you have taken to develop the Middle East channel

- Actions taken to improve the technical/marketing/sales capabilities of partners

- New partnerships and alliances that you have signed

- New services or tools that you have rolled out to the Middle East channel

So, now you have an idea of what sort of information to include, all you have to do now is fill in the nomination form and e-mail it across by Thursday 18th February. Good luck!

If you have any questions about the 2010 Channel Middle East Awards feel free to e-mail me at andrew.seymour@itp.com or call +971 4 210 8320