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Channel Middle East Awards 2014 [ITP.net (United Arab Emirates)](ITP.net (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The seventh annual Channel Middle East Awards brought together channel leaders of the IT industry in the MENA region, to recognise the stellar performances and accomplishments of regional channel players in 2013. The MENA channel has faced challenges over the past five years. Hardware margins have continued to decline, while sluggish sales and commoditisation of many IT products, prolonged sales cycles and increased competition in the regional channel are some of the difficulties that reseller partners have had to deal with. For most of last year, the storyline of the global PC industry had been on the verge of becoming a disaster for the whole IT industry. But the bleeding finally slowed towards the end of last 2013, with PC shipments in EMEA improving somewhat. Indeed PC sales have been declining, but the regional channel has been reaping the benefits of a surge in mobile devices and other IT solutions that integrate with smartphones and tablets. It is against this background that the seventh Channel Middle East Awards held at Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort and Spa on 24th March, 2014, saw more than 360 channel leaders from around the region gather to honour the excellent achievements of the MENA channel in 2013. The awards ceremony also accorded attendees the chance to network with IT industry peers. The ongoing success especially in the IT retail sector, can be attributed to the strength of alliances between vendors, distributors and resellers, and the continuing investments made by all in growing the Middle East's IT capabilities. Recognition must go to all channel stakeholders in MENA for contributing to the growth and maturity of the channel. The 2014 awards recognised the companies, individuals and partner programmes that have helped reseller partners to drive their businesses forward. Channel Middle East would like to extend its gratitude to this year's judging panel for dedicating their time and effort to go through all the many nominations. In addition, the magazine would also like to extend its sincere appreciation to all the sponsors of this year's awards namely Presenting Partner du, Strategic Partner; Dell, Platinum Sponsors; TP-Link, BDL and Quantum and Unatrac IT Distribution, Gold Sponsors; Eset, Prestigio, EMT Distribution, Metra Computer, Comguard, Mindware, Spectrum Group and Dell SonicWall, Silver Sponsors; Aptec, Cyberoam, AOC/Philips, WatchGuard, Data Science Technology and StorIT and Raffle Sponsor; Touchmate. The Judges Asem Galal, Managing Partner, Galal & Karawi (G&K) Consulting Galal is an entrepreneur, management consultant and regional authority on business and channel development in the IT sector in the Middle East. Galal has held regional general management and sales responsibilities in HP and McAfee from 2002 to 2008. Galal started his career in the IT industry as a lead developer at IDSC in 1992. He has received HP's 'President Outstanding Performance Award' in 2003 and collected McAfee's 'President Outstanding Performance Award' in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Galal co-founded Galal & Karawi (G&K) Consulting in Dubai. Since then, Galal has delievered multiple consulting and training engagements on business and channel development, retail business enablement, social media strategies and strategic market re-invention. Samer Karawi, Managing Partner, Galal & Karawi (G&K) Consulting Karawi is a business, marketing and communication expert with long and proven success in managing businesses and developing channel partners' network in Europe and Middle East. Karawi has held various technical, sales, marketing, corporate communications and management roles in Borland, Microsoft, Compaq and HP in France and Middle East. In 2008, Karawi co-founded Galal & Karawi (G&K) Consulting in Dubai, with the objective of assisting regional organisations and individuals to re-invent themselves and creatively compete in ever challenging business environments. Karawi has delivered multiple consulting and training engagements on business and channel development, retail business enablement, social media strategies, creativity and innovation, and strategic market re-invention. Shahood Khan. Managing Partner, Techmicro Khan has over 23 years in the IT sector and has worked with some of the top IT firms in India and Middle East including the world's second largest distributor Tech Data for over nine years and five years at regional distributor Empa. Khan's work experience includes IT solutions-selling, managing the distribution channel, vendor management, team management, margin management and responsibility of delivering gross profit and ROI. As a management consultant, Khan specialises on sales, price management, digital marketing, inventory planning and procurement management, business strategy, IT management, business execution, change management and, mergers and acquisitions. Khan has also delivered workshops and training for managers in assessing perfoance. Adriana Rangel, Research Director, Systems & Infrastructure Solutions, IDC MEA & Turkey Rangel is in charge of the Systems and Infrastructure Solutions at IDC Middle East, Africa (MEA) and Turkey, including all syndicated research, market intelligence projects and business development for this area throughout the region. Rangel has worked in the IT industry for over 19 years, having been involved in projects in areas as diverse as telecommunications, software, services and the entire landscape of IT infrastructure, from clients to storage, servers and networks. Prior to taking on the role at IDC, Rangel worked in EMEA and global positions running strategic and product marketing for a multinational IT corporation headquartered in North America. This role helped her to develop understanding of the region within a larger geographical context. Vasudevan, K.S, Director, Navo Informatica Vasudevan has been associated with the regional IT and consumer durable industry for nearly two decades contributing phenomenally to the region's growth in distribution and retail domains. Having spent the last six years as a consultant, he has served the region's leading retailers and global technology vendors in both IT and telecoms segment in their respective retail enablement initiatives. Vasudevan's pioneering contribution to the region's retail industry has centred on proven knowledge management solutions to vendors and retailers, unique and seamless real-time sales intelligence system – a cloud based application for vendors and radically different instant analytics solution to the distribution business segment addressing many of their unaddressed sales, receivables and inventory challenges. Amer Khreino, Founder And Managing Director, Avenue FZCO Khreino is the founder and managing director of Avenues FZCO, an IT consultancy firm based in Dubai Silicon Oasis. A senior executive, consultant and turnaround strategist with 20 years of professional experience in providing strategic, fiscal and operational leadership to distribution powerhouses in the Middle East and Africa region, Khreino has immense expertise in the IT channel and supply chain of products. With experience in strategic leadership and business development in the channel, he focuses his expertise on offering strategic insight and management consultancy to the distribution and channel businesses across the Middle East and Africa region. Khreino is an advisor to global value service providers that are expanding their service offerings in the Middle East geography. Components Vendor of the Year WD, Mohammed Owais, Director Sales The award goes to the vendor that has made a noteworthy contribution to the development of the regional components segment and channel, and demonstrated commitment to nurturing its channel partners. The Judging Panel's View WD has won this category having demonstrated tremendous commitment to channel development through region wide training, retail branding, channel enablement and themed campaigns. The company also assisted partners with new tech innovations. Mobile Solutions Vendor of the Year Prestigio, Manoj Mordani, Head of Retail Business This award goes to the vendor that has made a noteworthy commitment to channel growth and development by providing innovative mobile solutions offerings to help partners meet the growing demands of the mobile computing segment in the region. The Judging Panel's View Prestigio was the most successful mobile vendor in the MEA region boasting a complete mobile solutions array, which also reflected the company's solid investment in R&D. The judges were impressed with its strong presence in the Gulf and sub-Saharan Africa. Networking Vendor of the Year Huawei Enterprise, Shailendra Sainani, Sales Director This award goes to the networking vendor that has demonstrated noteworthy commitment to channel growth through their business development activities, product portfolio and partner enablement programmes. The Judging Panel's View Huawei saw its investments in R&D pay off during 2013, with the company launching a new networking solutions centre. The company has worked tirelessly in its pursuit to become one of the world's top networking solutions vendor. Printing and Consumables Vendor of the Year Xerox Corp, Ketan Rele, Head of Open Channel This award pays tribute to the printing and consumables vendor deemed to have made a remarkable contribution to the channel in terms of business and channel development, product array and channel initiatives. The Judging Panel's View Xerox was chosen for its continued effort to equate their brand with dependability in the enterprise segment. The judges were particularly impressed with the company's aggressive channel partner support initiatives, which offer greater value to partners. Security Vendor of the Year Fortinet, Antoine Hakim, Channel Account Manager The award honours the vendor that has shown a commitment to driving channel growth through their business development activities and includes security software solutions and hardware appliances. The Judging Panel's View Fortinet reported a 20% year-on-year business growth in the ME in 2013. The vendor also made new channel investments in six countries across the region to grow its channel base and improve overall customer service to partners. Software Vendor of the Year Red Hat, Ali Al-Shami, Sales Account Representative The award is given to the vendor that has demonstrated a clear focus to empower its channel partners and introduce effective programmes to drive growth within the regional software channel. The Judging Panel's View Red Hat has been steadily building its software credentials in the region. Given the type of software apps it provides, the company has done an outstanding job at streamlining its online partner enablement initiatives to help resellers develop cloud expertise. Systems & Hardware Vendor of the Year Dell Middle East, John Coulston, Director, Commercial Channel The award honours the vendor that has demonstrated a commitment to driving channel growth through their business development activities, partner initiatives, product range and support. This category includes all types of systems hardware not included in any other category (e.g. PCs, notebooks, servers, display panels and security/storage appliances). The Judging Panel's View Dell has continued to make investments in both the commercial and consumer sectors of the market. In 2013, it witnessed remarkable growth resulting in the company moving to new premises. The company has one of the most well-developed partner programmes in the Middle East region. IT Distributor of the Year - Broadline Products Redington Gulf, Ashish Bharti, President - Volume Division The award acknowledges a volume distribution company that has shown commendable success in terms of sales volume, logistical ability, reseller recruitment and support, market expansion or any other action deserved of recognition by a broadline distributor. The Judging Panel's View Redington has established a track record as one of the biggest volume distributors in MEA. In 2013, the company strengthened its operations and channel support by investing in various channel development activities, database marketing and support to reseller partners. Peripherals Distributor of the Year Trigon LLC, Arun Chawla, CEO The accolade honours the strategic moves that the distributor has made to support its partners, shown a strong commitment to growing their business and encourage profitability. The Judging Panel's View Trigon has won this category after it successfully executed loyalty programmes for its partners, where mega prizes were given away. In addition, the company used 2013 to invest in a new warehouse facility and implemented an ERP system to improve business efficiency and partner profitability in the region. Retail Distributor of the Year Asbis Middle East, Ammar Towir, Sales Director The award is aimed at recognising a distributor that has made a significant contribution to the retail channel. The award takes into account the distributor's achievements in advancing, supporting and growing the retail sector in the Middle East region. The Judging Panel's View Asbis Middle East has boosted its retail network and reinforced its internal retail business unit to enhance partner support. In 2013, the company added new products to its retail business and extended its reach to consumer electronics retailers. Value-added Distributor of the Year Westcon ME, Christopher Green, Divisional Manager This award pays homage to the company that has achieved excellence in providing and delivering value-added services, and has made an immense contribution to the regional channel through a range of game changing initiatives and innovation. The Judging Panel's View Westcon continued to invest in e-business tools to enable partners to streamline their stock management and price lists. The company also showed an all round channel focus with several channel development schemes covering pre-sales, marketing support, services, credit support, lead generation and training programmes. Power Retailer of the Year Emax, Zafar Islam, GM Operations The award is presented to the IT and consumer electronics retailer that has done the most to build the quality of retail experiences and customer relations consumers expect in the region. The Judging Panel's View Emax has won this category for the second consecutive year after it made great strides in this sector by increasing its footprint across the UAE and Middle East. The retailer showed exemplary performance in every sphere including increased geographical coverage, educating customers to make the right choices, through aggressive and connected marketing programmes. SMB Reseller of the Year PRO Technology, Jamal H. Maraqa, Managing Director This award recognises excellence in the delivery of IT solutions and services targeted at SMB and SoHo clients. In addition, the award acknowledges initiatives to win medium-sized enterprises. The Judging Panel's View PRO Technology pioneered and brought innovative solutions to the region that included 3D printing and health lifestyle solutions in 2013. This reseller focused on providing quality services, increased customer reach and managed to distinguish its offerings to meet the growing demands of SMB clients. Systems Integrator of the Year Alrowad IT Solutions, Mohammad Khaled Al Hassan, GM Office The award goes out to the systems integrator that has demonstrated both business and technology acumen in implementing IT solutions in the marketplace. The award pays attention to the company that has delivered solutions and services, tailor made offerings to the ever changing IT landscape. The Judging Panel's View Alrowad's rapid expansion in the last three years coupled with large scale successful smart governance implementations show that the company has strong fundamentals in innovation. The SI has continued to show tremendous growth with remarkable capabilities in diverse enterprise IT areas. Reader's Choice Vendor Channel Partner Programme of the Year VMware, Reeman Ansari, Regional Channel Manager The award honours a vendor channel programme that has shown growth, initiative and innovation in helping reseller partners achieve their business targets and growth in the past year through training, certification, specialisations and development of domain expertise. The Judging Panel's View Voted for by the readers of Channel magazine and ITP.net, VMware won out in a close run process for its 'VMware Partner Network'. The winning programme is one that helps partners increase their business revenue by leveraging a host of training, marketing and support services and benefits from the vendor. Reader's Choice Distributor Channel Partner Programme of the Year EMT Distribution, Mohammad Mobasseri, CEO The award honours a distributor channel programme that has shown growth, initiative and innovation in helping partners achieve their sales targets and growth in the past year through training, certification, loyalty programmes, rebates and incentive schemes. The Judging Panel's View The second reader-voted award was another close contest, won in the end by EMT Distribution's EMT Magnitude programme. The programme offers a wide range of channel-driven programmes such as loyalty schemes, incentive programmes, customer retention (renewal) incentives, end user road shows and joint partner marketing initiatives. Outstanding Contribution to the KSA Channel Al Jammaz Distribution, Waleed M. Bakkar, Cisco Product Manager The award, selected by the editor's of Channel Middle East and Channel Arabic, goes to the company that has shown the greatest commitment to developing overal channel best practice and development of the KSA channel. The Judging Panel's View The first of the prestigious Editor's Choice Awards, Al Jammaz Distribution was selected for its efforts to raise overall awareness and service standards for the benefit of the KSA channel community. The distributor has shown dedication to building a solid channel business with a strong focus on value-add services. The company is a genuine support of the channel in KSA. Outstanding Contribution to the Africa Channel Mistumi Distribution, Jagat Shah, Chairman & CEO The award, selected by the editor's of Channel Middle East and Channel Arabic, goes to the channel company that has shown commitment to growing its business and that of partners across the African continent in the past twelve months. The Judging Panel's View Mitsumi Distribution was selected for its contribution to develop its business across Africa by working with various IT vendors across 22 countries on the continent. Last year, the company focused on creating in-country support centres to help partners with after-sales support. Outstanding Contribution to the Middle East Channel Mario Gay, General Manager, Mindware The award goes to the individual who has made an oustanding contribution to the local and regional market, and to have given exceptional service and dedication to their company and professional. The Judging Panel's View As head of Mindware's business in the region, Mario Gay has guided the company's operations during difficult times in the IT industry. Under his leadership, he has outlined the company's strategy to get into the value business. He has overseen the transition of of the company into the value space and increased its brands and pre-sales engineers to better serve its reseller partners and bring renewed focus to the regional channel. Channel Executive of the Year Mohammad Mobasseri, CEO, EMT Distribution This award pays tribute to the individual deemed to have shown excellence in their profession, to have contributed to the success of their company, channel and the overall Middle East IT industry. The Judging Panel's View Mohammad Mobasseri of EMT Distribution was chosen as the winner of this award, for his efforts in his company's commitment to advancing the value-added distribution model and promoting partner training initiatives in the broader channel and IT sector. His interest in empowering partners has seen his company being acknowledged as one of the top authorised training providers in the Middle East region. (c) 2014 ITP Business Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 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