IDG publication Reseller News and IBM have initiated an awards programme for resellers, the IBM business partner awards.
“The idea behind it all is to recognise the work that resellers do,” says Bill Bennett, editor of Reseller News. “The resellers sit at the sharp end of the industry, and while they might be rewarded financially for the work they do, they have never had the chance to benchmark themselves before.”
The awards will take place on November 17, and the deadline for submissions is on September 29.
Bennett says that this is the first reseller awards of many to come. This first time will be focused on IBM’s business partners, but there is one category for non-IBM resellers, he says.
“We are hoping that Computerworld’s readers will nominate resellers for the awards,” he says. “The input from end-users is important.”
The main prize is $5,000 to be spent on marketing, team-building, training or merchandise.
Additional prizes will be $1,500 each, earmarked for travel, team building and merchandise. The prize for the best non-IBM business partner is an IDG advertising and promotion package, worth $1,000.
The categories are:
• Infrastructure simplification
• Information security
• Best small business deals
• Information management
• Service-oriented architecture
• Workspace collaboration
• Best solution — ISV and SI
• Best non-IBM reseller.