The Finalists
Thursday March 25th Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London
VIP Computers is proud to be the Drinks Reception Sponsor at the 2010 PCR Awards ceremony. As the UK’s largest independent distributor of PC components, peripherals and associated products, VIP Computers has an extensive vendor portfolio including world renowned brands such as:
To view the full VIP Vendor portfolio, please visit www.vip-computers.com/uk.
Good luck to the finalists We look forward to seeing you on the night!
Sales: 0871 622 7500 www.vip-computers.com/uk Š Copyright VIP Computer Centre Limited. 2010. Information correct at time of publication E&OE
FINALISTS
CONTENTS The lowdown on the companies battling it out for a PCR Award this year...
The PCR Awards are an important part of our industry’s calendar, recognising and rewarding the hard work by all of us over a very difficult twelve months. All of the nominees should feel very proud to be recognised by industry peers, and we look forward to celebrating with the winners on the night. It’s great to see such diversity among the nominations, with excellent work from newer players in the market and larger brands being recognised for continued commitment to the industry. Symantec is delighted to be the Platinum Sponsor of the Awards, continuing our long-term relationship with PCR. We would like to extend our congratulations in particular to all of our nominated channel and retail partners. We are very hopeful of taking home a gong this year, but we also wish the nominees all the best! Farhana Rafi UK Marketing Manager, Symantec
FRONTLINE AWARDS Independent Retailer ......................................Page 7 Retail Chain.......................................................Page 7 Store Manager..................................................Page 8 Online Retailer .................................................Page 8 Value Added Reseller......................................Page 9 Service and Support........................................Page 9
DISTRIBUTION AWARDS Sales Team ......................................................Page 12 Marketing And PR ..........................................Page 12 Specialist Distributor .....................................Page 13 Distributor Of The Year ................................Page 13
VENDOR AWARDS Software Publisher ........................................Page 16 Hardware Manufacturer...............................Page 16 Gadget Of The Year.......................................Page 17
PCR AWARDS 2010 Thursday March 25th The Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London
Campaign Of The Year .................................Page 17 Specialist Vendor...........................................Page 20
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD Grand Prix.......................................................Page 20
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NEED TO KNOW
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A Word From Our Sponsors........................Page 22
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PCR AWARDS 2010 | 03
FRONTLINE SPONSOR Best of luck to all the finalists
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FRONTLINE FINALISTS
Frontline Category Sponsor
INDEPENDENT RETAILER RETAIL CHAIN STORE MANAGER ONLINE RETAILER VALUE ADDED RESELLER SERVICE AND SUPPORT
FRONTLINE The Frontline Awards will once again recognise excellence in customer-facing organisations, be they on the High Street, the internet or dealing with businesses. The winners of these awards will be those organisations that have best represented the UK technology industry to the outside world. LAST YEAR’S FRONTLINE WINNERS WERE: HIGH STREET INDEPENDENT NOVATECH HIGH STREET MULTIPLE JOHN LEWIS ONLINE RETAILER AMAZON VALUE ADDED RESELLER BEAR IT BEST TECHNICAL SUPPORT GEEKS-ON-WHEELS
www.pcr-online.biz
PCR AWARDS 2010 | 05
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FRONTLINE FINALISTS
Frontline Category Sponsor
INDEPENDENT RETAILER RETAIL CHAIN STORE MANAGER ONLINE RETAILER VALUE ADDED RESELLER SERVICE AND SUPPORT
INDEPENDENT RETAILER
RETAIL CHAIN
ANGLIAN INTERNET
TESCO
Anglian Internet has been in business for over ten years and has three retail operations in Norwich, its main 5,000 square foot warehouse, and shops in Diss and Sheringham. Anglian Internet claims it keeps its prices as keen as Norfolk mustard, and gets most of its new business through the personal recommendation of customers.
It was another bumper year for the grocery behemoth in 2009, with the super competitive supermarket chain also continuing to make great strides in the PC/IT sector – much to specialists’ chagrin. And that looks set to continue in 2010, with Tesco having kicked off the year with a move into in-house software services via a new deal with Tribeka.
UTOPIA COMPUTERS
JOHN LEWIS
Now one of Scotland’s best known computer retailers, Utopia has built an unsurpassed reputation for offering free lifetime technical support on all products. Utopia also works very closely with the community, offering local schools and colleges products and IT support, as well as work placements for students. A family run business, the original founder’s son Craig Hume continues to improve the business 16 years after its creation, maintaning the loyal customer base that has developed in that time and seen the rise and fall of potential rival stores.
Enabling customers to buy great value computers without the fear factor has been a winner for John Lewis this year, with market share growing yet again. Honest, impartial advice is cited as helping a highly successful launch of Windows 7. The website ranges have been extended to broaden its customer base and the firm has added new interactive buying guides.
IMAGITEC Imagitec, the Forest of Dean‘s largest IT retailer/service provider for the past six years, has previously won awards titles including ‘Best Retail Outlet’ and ‘Outstanding Staff Members’. The business caters for IT sales, servicing, business support contracts and more. With degree qualified engineers, the firm says: “We strive to be one of the best.”
JENNINGS COMPUTER SERVICES Jennings was established by Mike Jennings in 1980, mainly supporting local pre-press and printing press production. Since then, Jennings has evolved into the ‘total solutions’ IT provider of today by recruiting and training specialists in all areas of the IT spectrum. As a result, it provides a wide range of services and products, catering for domestic, business and corporate customers throughout the north of England.
YOYOTECH A former award winner, YOYOTech has once again been shortlisted for the quality of its range and services. Since 2008, the company has made a number of improvements, including the addition of support forums to its sites such as Driver Heaven and the introduction of a Reserve and Collect scheme, guaranteeing online prices in stores for its customers. Situated just off Tottenham Court Road, YOYOTech is an oasis of high performance personal computing in an increasingly commoditised market. The firm is also strong in combining retail with online sales. www.pcr-online.biz
COMET From humble beginnings as a local battery service in 1993, Comet has spread beyond the boundaries of Hull and established itself across the nation with over 250 stores throughout the UK, plus a formidable online presence.
STAPLES Staples is the world’s largest office supply retail store chain, with over 2,000 branches worldwide in 27 countries. It sells supplies, office machines, technology and business services both in stores and online via Staples.com. The success story of Staples in Europe began in 1992 with the purchase of a 48 per cent share in Maxi-Papier in Germany and at the same time entering into a joint venture with Kingfisher in the UK. Staples International was born. In 1993, the chain opened its first site in Swansea. Since then, Staples has opened 135 stores in the UK. Today it’s growing at a rate of five stores per year and it’s now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Staples Incorporated. The headquarters of Staples UK Stores is based in High Wycombe.
PC WORLD No longer solely the domain of PCs and related products, PC World continues to provide customers with quality service and a wide range of consumer electronics, facing every challenge in an increasingly crowded market. Over the past year the retail chain has hugely grown its presence and awareness amongst consumers, thanks to its ‘Whatever Your World’ TV campaign – which is also a PCR Awards finalist this year. PCR AWARDS 2010 | 07
FRONTLINE FINALISTS INDEPENDENT RETAILER RETAIL CHAIN STORE MANAGER ONLINE RETAILER VALUE ADDED RESELLER SERVICE AND SUPPORT
STORE MANAGER
Frontline Category Sponsor
ONLINE RETAILER
GRAEME CLARKE
AMAZON
Kustom Graeme started Kustom while still at school, with the idea of creating the kind of store he would love to use himself. Kustom caters for the hobbyist market – offering all the information and products needed to create a PC setup for gaming, creativity or lifestyle applications. Through hard work promoting at LAN gaming events around the country, it’s built up a lot of loyalty on both local and national levels.
One of the world’s leading online retailers, Amazon continues to dominate the e-tail landscape, offering a wide range of consumer electronics and computing products, encompassing both hardware and software. Last year the retailer’s UK business saw the introduction of an MP3 music service and a new 800,000 square foot fulfilment centre.
MALCOLM DAVISON Jennings Computer Services Malcolm joined Jennings in 1999, and plays a major part in the continuing expansion and success of the business, and is fully responsible for ordering all Jennings stock and parts as well as managing most of the day to day aspects of the business. Jennings’ early years focused on providing support to the printing and graphics industry. Since then, it has evolved into a ‘total solutions’ IT provider by recruiting and training specialists accross the IT spectrum.
NEIL STEWART CCL Computers Neil joined CCL in 2003 as a sales assistant and worked his way up through the company to his current position. He has been at CCL Computers for just over six years and there have been many changes since he began, in both its business and in the IT hardware sector.
GEORGE NICOLA Tiptree Computers George claims that customer satisfaction is first and foremost. He ensures Tiptree Computers goes the extra mile to make sure all customers leave fully satisfied, from someone buying a mouse, to a top-end system, or even if they only pop in for advice. He implemented the fixed fee labour charge on all repairs, so that customers will always know what their maximum labour charge will be without having to worry about a huge repair bill.
DARREN FALKNER Falcon Computers Darren started Falcon Computers from his bedroom 14 years ago. The business has just opened a large-scale retail outlet (5,000 square foot), which used to be occupied by Comet. The business now employs ten people and owns one of the largest independent computer hardware shops in the whole of the North East of England. 08 | PCR AWARDS 2010
OVERCLOCKERS UK As the name implies, Overclockers UK has dedicated itself to servicing the high performance and enthusiast end of the market. It has built a reputation for consistently being one of the first to stock the latest components.
DABS.COM Dabs.com is part of the Dabs Group of companies, originally founded in 1987 by entrepreneur David Atherton in partnership with a writer called Bruce Smith (the name ‘Dabs’ comes from the combined initials of their two names). In April 2006, the Dabs Group was sold and dabs.com became a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Telecommunications (BT). It stocks a wide range of hardware and software covering a wide area of the industry.
NOVATECH Novatech not only boasts an impressive online presence within the UK, it also ships products to customers in various countries throughout Europe. Novatech is constantly improving its website, often being among the first to bring products to market. It also features a successful online order store collection service.
PLAY.COM Another strong player in the online retail market, Play.com lists over seven million products, including an impressive variety under its electronics and computing categories. As the company endeavours to further refine its customers’ shopping experience, the firm recently introduced a complete redesign of its website, improving the browsing process and shopping basket system.
FIREBOX Firebox.com began life in early 1998 as hotbox.co.uk. Now one of the leading UK internet stores for quirky gifts and gadgets, Firebox also boasts a good selection of technology products.
www.pcr-online.biz
FRONTLINE FINALISTS
Frontline Category Sponsor
VALUE ADDED RESELLER
INDEPENDENT RETAILER RETAIL CHAIN STORE MANAGER ONLINE RETAILER VALUE ADDED RESELLER SERVICE AND SUPPORT
SERVICE AND SUPPORT
BEAR IT
UTOPIA COMPUTERS
Bear IT supplies, installs and supports IT infrastructure (Microsoft and Apple Macintosh), for SMEs all over the UK. The company’s vision is to be the preferred local partner for complete outsourced IT solutions. In order to achieve this, Bear IT strives to build long-term relationships with both customers and suppliers. Its entire team – from technical support to finance – centres its work around its core values of innovation, value and service.
Utopia performs approximately 100 successful PC repairs every week. It claims its reputation for accurate advice and IT support is flawless, with customers travelling from all over Scotland to have their PC repaired by the firm. It has never needed to advertise locally, believing word of mouth to be the most powerful advertising.
AINDALE With its reputation for providing a strong individual IT service, Aindale’s wealth of business and consumer experience, coupled together with its first class IT and communications knowledge, IT products and services, Aindale provides any individual or organisation with outstanding IT value and service.
LONDON COMPUTER CENTRE London Computer Centre began trading in 1977 as a retailer and distributor of computer systems. In a world of rapid change where the reliability of systems used, the skill of the system operator and efficiency of relevant data access decides the longevity and success of a business, LCC has established itself as a leading service provider of IT Infrastructure.
KEEN COMPUTERS
PC PAL PC PAL provides on-site computer repairs for homes and small businesses. It prides itself on supplying a fast, friendly, affordable service, fixing 99 per cent of problems on the spot. All engineers are Microsoft and CompTIA qualified, experienced and insured. It is committed to providing all customers with big company reassurance and small company service.
BEAR IT Bear IT supplies, installs and supports IT infrastructure (Microsoft and Apple Macintosh), for SMEs all over the UK. Its diverse client base makes the firm well placed to offer fully rounded support, utilising the wide range of skills within the team. Its vision is to be the preferred local partner for complete outsourced IT solutions and Bear IT’s core values are centered around innovation, value and service.
GEEKS ON WHEELS
One of Keen Computers’ specialities is catering for any companies looking to improve their online presence, offering a friendly and thorough service by assisting companies in setting up their own websites. Everything from hosting to domain names is covered, with all sites and customers supported by Keen’s own servers.
With six years of trading under its belt, Geeks On Wheels claims it has consistently met and often exceeded its customers’ expectations. With the majority of its business earned through recommendations and a number of customer service awards already to its name, the company even attends to its clients at home, in addition to online correspondence.
FORM IT SOLUTIONS
JUST PC REPAIRS
A veteran of over 25 years, Form IT was formerly Premier Computer Supplies. Form IT provides a service to small to medium-sized businesses, as well as dealing with retailers and companies within a wide range of industries.
As the name suggests, Just PC Repairs is a Berkshire-based outfit which provides a variety of services for desktops, laptops and Macs. A Microsoft Partner, the company boasts of qualified staff, a fast turnaround and guaranteed work.
STONE COMPUTERS As long-established UK hardware manufacturers, the Stone Group has built up an enviable reputation for its superior after-sales service as well as the stability and reliability of its desktops, laptops and servers, earning the confidence of its customers. Since May 2008, with the acquisition of Rock Computers, the Stone Group has offered high-end business and gaming notebooks to all sectors. www.pcr-online.biz
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DISTRIBUTION FINALISTS Distribution Category Sponsor
SALES TEAM MARKETING AND PR SPECIALIST DISTRIBUTOR DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
DISTRIBUTION Distributors are a vital cog in the technology channel machine – linking vendors with the people at the frontline: retailers and resellers. The distribution awards are designed to acknowledge the hard work put in by these unsung heroes of the channel. The sales and marketing teams at distributors are a key link between vendors and retailers, without whom the channel would grind to a halt. LAST YEAR’S DISTRIBUTION WINNERS WERE: SALES TEAM: HOME VIP COMPUTERS SALES TEAM: BUSINESS ENTATECH SALES INNOVATION ENTATECH MARKETING & PR TEAM GEM CREATIVE SPECIALIST DISTRIBUTOR TARGET COMPONENTS
www.pcr-online.biz
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DISTRIBUTION FINALISTS SALES TEAM MARKETING AND PR SPECIALIST DISTRIBUTOR DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
Distribution Category Sponsor
SALES TEAM
MARKETING AND PR
ENTATECH
GEM CREATIVE
EntaTech’s award-winning sales team provides resellers with dedicated account management, allowing relationships to be built and staff to get to know the specific requirements of their customers. Product specialists offer expert knowledge so that product requirements are met with suitable recommendations. On-going staff training is an integral part of EntaTech’s ethos.
Gem Creative further enhances the Gem partnership proposition and features a unique in-house design team, producing innovative retail solutions to maximise product sell-through in-store.
REALTIME DISTRIBUTION Realtime Distribution claims to have the leading UK sales team for enthusiast gaming PC components and peripherals. It has been able to achieve this through excellent product knowledge and a superbly tailored service that is unique to each and every customer, all built on the back of solid relationships with manufacturers.
VIP COMPUTERS VIP’s sales team has almost 20 years’ experience in the business and believes that no one understands PC components like it does. The sales team provides a flexible and reliable service to its customers, which range from independent retailers and etailers to major High Street chains.
GEM Gem’s sales team supplies products to a wide customer base including High Street retailers, online e-tailers, mass merchants, catalogues, IT resellers and independents. A key element of the company’s success is the structure of its sales department. Each sales team is focussed on a specific type of customer. This ensures its sales staff possess invaluable product and market knowledge.
AVNET As a leading distributor of enterprise computing products, software and services, Avnet Technology Solutions connects its Business Partners to more customers and more solutions. Its customers include independent software vendors (ISVs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), system builders, system integrators, and value-added resellers.
INGRAM MICRO Ingram Micro believes that people buy from people. With this in mind it has increased staff resources over the last 12 months to guarantee that important personal touch. The sales teams form part of a whole range of sales support from knowledgeable specialists to e-comms solutions, enhanced credit facilities and competitive pricing across its portfolio. 12 | PCR AWARDS 2010
COMPUTER 2000 Computer 2000 is a large broadliner, but has risen to the challenge of keeping its service relevant and its relationships personal. It has invested heavily in adding value through services such as logistics and prides itself on staying on top of latest product developments.
ENTATECH EntaTech provides tailored support to vendors, customers and internal staff. In 2009, it launched the Resource Centre, organised reseller roadshows and training events, held its annual teambuilding event for staff and implemented innovative campaigns to launch new vendors and provide ongoing support for product lines.
KOCH MEDIA Koch Media has been working in the software category for over 15 years, servicing the retail, reseller and independent sectors. PC Indie was Koch’s investment into the independent sector and a back-end investment into vendors and customers.
INGRAM MICRO From tried and tested vehicles to cutting edge campaigns – the marketing and PR team at Ingram Micro ensures its resellers get the best support to help grow their business. AIM is just one of the latest innovations, allowing resellers unrivalled access to bespoke branded end-user marketing – all for free.
VIP COMPUTERS The VIP marketing team offers a wide range of specialist services, from design and advertising, to PR and web management. The team can tailor individual vendor marketing communications and PR campaigns. The PR team provides support such as copy writing, press releases, media relations and crisis management.
INTERACTIVE IDEAS Interactive Ideas is a leading value-added distributor of software and technology products. In the past two years Interactive Ideas has doubled in size, achieving record revenue of £16.2 million in the last financial year, and it has recently purchased new £1 million premises. www.pcr-online.biz
DISTRIBUTION FINALISTS Distribution Category Sponsor
SPECIALIST DISTRIBUTOR
SALES TEAM MARKETING AND PR SPECIALIST DISTRIBUTOR DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR
INTERACTIVE IDEAS
COMPUTER 2000
Interactive Ideas is a leading value-added distributor of software and technology products. In the past two years Interactive Ideas has doubled in size, achieving record revenue of £16.2 million in the last financial year, and it has recently purchased new £1 million premises.
Computer 2000 is a large broadliner, but has risen to the challenge of keeping its service relevant and its relationships personal. It has invested heavily in adding value through services such as logistics and prides itself on staying on top of latest product developments. For all of this to be implemented requires a sales team operating at the peak of its abilities.
MERONCOURT Meroncourt prides itself on the ‘unique and innovative way’ it meets customer demands and expectations, and has celebrated its sales team, “who have handled the current difficult trading conditions with an outstandingly positive attitude”.
CCI DISTRIBUTION Building on its highly successful consumer storage operations, CCI launched its Professional Storage Division in 2009 to provide customised, pre-integrated SMB and enterprise value-added IT solutions for organisations seeking new means of optimising their IT infrastructure in the midst of the UK’s economic downturn.
M2M DIRECT M2M is a focused distributor and reseller of core IT products that have been carefully selected from best-in-class manufacturers to offer best-in-class IT solutions to its customers. M2M is an ethical, established, and reliable partner that delivers on its promises and will work with partners on their immediate requirements and also on long-term project cycles and roll-outs.
VARLINK
MIDWICH Midwich is now the UK’s leading trade-only distributor of audio visual products, printers, barcode solutions and consumables. With over 30 years’ experience, Midwich offers outstanding customer service, access to skilled product specialists, dedicated account management and over 50 brands.
INGRAM MICRO With 30 years in the business, Ingram Micro is the world’s largest technology distributor. As a vital link in the technology value chain, it creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programmes, logistics services, technical support, product aggregation and distribution.
VIP COMPUTERS VIP specialises in providing components and software that system integrators need to build PCs. The VIP Group has seen strong and continued growth since 1990 and was ranked for the third consecutive year in the The Sunday Times Top Track 250 league table, 2008. VIP has over 18 years’ experience of providing a flexible and reliable distribution service to customers.
Varlink distributes a range of products which enable resellers to meet the evolving needs of end users for reliable, flexible and cost effective Mobile Computing and Data Capture systems. It has partnered with manufacturers who have demonstrated not only the ability to bring to market products that meet the operational needs of end users, but who clearly understand the role and requirements of resellers.
ENTATECH
TARGET COMPONENTS
WESTCOAST
Target Components deals direct with the world’s leading IT manufacturers to give its customers an extensive range of quality products and pass on economies of scale through competitive trade pricing. The company’s portfolio covers hardware, peripherals, software, audio visual, consumables, storage devices and more.
Established in 1984, Westcoast has become a leading national wholesale distributor within the UK. Westcoast has built a product portfolio spanning the whole computing spectrum, ranging from desktop PC and notebook products through to high end server solutions, network products, printers, peripherals and related accessories and consumables.
www.pcr-online.biz
Celebrating over 20 years in business, EntaTech has come a long way since its beginning in 1990. It now distributes over 6,500 products from over 60 vendors. In 2009 EntaTech partnered with new vendors, welcomed new product specialists and introduced even more promotions and free sales tools so that customers can maximise opportunities.
PCR AWARDS 2010 | 13
Ingram Micro are proud to have been nominated for
‘Distributor Sales Team’ ‘Distributor Marketing and PR Team’ ‘Distributor of the Year’
We wish everyone the best of luck and look forward to a great evening!
0871 973 3000 www.ingrammicro.co.uk
VENDOR FINALISTS Vendor Category Sponsor
SOFTWARE PUBLISHER HARDWARE MANUFACTURER GADGET OF THE YEAR CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR SPECIALIST VENDOR
VENDOR
No technology industry awards event would be complete without rewarding the companies who actually make the kit. While acknowledging the importance and hard work of retailers, resellers and distributors, the PCR Awards continue to reward the channel-facing arms of the vendor community. LAST YEAR’S VENDOR WINNERS WERE: SALES TEAM: HOME BULLGUARD SALES TEAM: BUSINESS ACER MARKETING & PR TEAM: HOME TOMTOM MARKETING & PR TEAM: BUSINESS MICROSOFT SPECIALIST VENDOR KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY
www.pcr-online.biz
PCR AWARDS 2010 | 15
VENDOR FINALISTS SOFTWARE PUBLISHER HARDWARE MANUFACTURER GADGET OF THE YEAR CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR SPECIALIST VENDOR
SOFTWARE PUBLISHER
Vendor Category Sponsor
HARDWARE MANUFACTURER
SYMANTEC
AMD
2010 Norton products use a new model of security, founded on reputation-based technology, to attain what Symantec believes is unmatched detection of new malware, advancing far beyond traditional signature and behaviour-based detection. This reputationbased security takes the greatest weapon cyber criminals have and turns it against them.
Microprocessor giant Advanced Micro Devices is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play.
ACCOUNTZ Accountz started its life in 1985 as a Cambridge-based company called Apricote Studios, a specialist in creating music and business software for the, at the time dominant, Acorn computer market, and has grown to become one of the foremost developers of accounting software today.
BULLGUARD BullGuard is one of the fastest growing security brands in the UK market. It supplies its products to over 800 resellers, all of which enjoy BullGuard’s industry leading revenue share scheme offering customers a 25 per cent rebate. In 2009, BullGuard launched the Reseller Lounge, a unique transparent online revenue tracking system and support centre.
MICROSOFT Having launched Windows 7 late last year, Microsoft is in the midst of one of the busiest periods of its history, with a host of further product launches on the way. Having stepped up its ‘I’m a PC’ ad campaigns this year, the firm has capitalised on its position as the world’s largest software vendor by keeping its name on the lips of consumers and the trade.
ESET ESET develops software delivering instant, comprehensive protection against evolving security threats. The company claims to have pioneered and continues to lead the industry in proactive threat detection. ESET NOD32 Antivirus, consistently achieves the highest accolades in all types of comparative testing.
KASPERSKY In 2009 Kaspersky Lab celebrated its 12th anniversary, though MD Eugene Kaspersky’s group of experts claim to have been developing anti-virus software for nearly twice as long. The company says its most valuable asset is the wealth of experience and knowledge it has gained in those years of combating viruses and other IT threats, enabling it to pre-empt trends in malware development. 16 | PCR AWARDS 2010
SANDISK SanDisk, a global leader in flash memory cards, launched a number of innovative products in 2009. SanDisk also works closely with its partners and launched its Channel Portal, providing a one-stop shop for marketing and product information.
ACER Acer has successfully grown to become the second largest PC brand in the world, with the fastest growth among the top-five players. Today, Acer Group employs over 7,000 people worldwide working in 70 countries, and has some of the best-selling systems under its belt
SAMSUNG Samsung is proud to be nominated for this award. Over the past year Samsung has enjoyed a strong 12 months, in which it has strengthened relationships with retail partners and distributors, and has grown market share in both the notebook and netbook segments.
ASUS ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era, with an extensive product portfolio that includes notebooks, netbooks, motherboards, graphics cards, displays, and numerous others. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, Asus designs and manufactures products that it says perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home and office.
DELL Dell says a key part of its strategy is to listen to customers’ feedback on its products. Whatever the requirements, Dell prides itself on providing reliable, easy-to-use products that meets those needs – whether it’s a netbook or the ultimate gaming systems.
PANASONIC One of Panasonic Computer Products Europe’s biggest recent successes has been its Toughbook range. Aimed at businesses that need mobile computers that ‘offer a unique formula of connectivity, reliability and mobility’, the firm says the range helps drive down total cost of ownership and equipment downtime. www.pcr-online.biz
VENDOR FINALISTS Vendor Category Sponsor
GADGET OF THE YEAR
SOFTWARE PUBLISHER HARDWARE MANUFACTURER GADGET OF THE YEAR CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR SPECIALIST VENDOR
CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR
LIVESCRIBE PULSE PEN
SYMANTEC – EVERY CLICK MATTERS
Livescribe is fundamentally changing the way people capture, access and share information with pen and paper. Since its UK launch in 2009, the unique Pulse ‘smartpen’ has already received widespread critical endorsement, winning many awards. It works by recording and syncing audio to your notes, meaning you’ll never miss a word again. Additional features include an innovative application store and online community.
Along with its 2010 products, Symantec launched a new, stand-out marketing campaign called ‘Every Click Matters’. Until now, security vendors had suggested that the world was a safe, bright, clean place once you had security software installed. Symantec wanted to reveal the depths of cybercrime and permit end-users to stand up to the threats from cybercriminals. The microsite created for the campaign contains amusing videos, a quiz where end-users can calculate their digital risk, and hard facts on how prevalent cybercrime is.
ELONEX IGAME Designed in the UK, iGame is a convergence product that takes the best functionality from an iPod dock and combines it with the best abilities of a wireless games console to create a home entertainment system that is fun for all the family.
NVIDIA GEFORCE 3D VISION What the firm describes as the foundation for a new consumer stereoscopic 3D ecosystem for consumer gaming and home entertainment PCs, NVIDIA 3D Vision is a combination of high-tech wireless glasses, a high-power infrared (IR) emitter and advanced software that automatically transforms hundreds of PC games into full stereoscopic 3D experiences.
APPLE IPHONE 3G S Apple’s trailblazing device has paved the way for waves of touchscreen smartphones in recent times, and is one of the most popular and iconic consumer electronic products of recent times. Access to thousands of applications, internet connectivity and well implemented touch technology make the iPhone the product to beat in the consumer smartphone sector.
SAMSUNG MP3 YP-P3 The Samsung MP3 YP-P3 is a widescreen portable multimedia player. It has an evolutionary EmoTure interface with true haptic feedback and stylish design. The P3 was selected as a CES Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award honoree.
IRIVER STORY Representing a powerful rival to e-reader leaders such as Sony and Amazon, the Story boasts a revolutionary E-Ink display, which takes no power to present a page – only using energy when a page is turned. A host of other features make this as a key contender in the category.
www.pcr-online.biz
MICROSOFT – WINDOWS 7 LAUNCH CAMPAIGN For its latest operating system, Windows 7, Microsoft was quick to implement a high profile, cross-format campaign to maximise the impact of the launch. The TV ads were based on the long-running ‘I’m a PC’ campaigns, in order to educate and win over consumers to the new software.
PC WORLD – WHATEVER YOUR WORLD DSGi’s recent advertising strategy across the board has been to ask customers to re-evaluate the brand, breaking away from the image of price promotions, and instead presenting itself as offering a more holistic service. PC World’s latest campaign is very much of this mould and has taken some very prominent TV spots recently.
DELL – TREAT YOURSELF Dell’s ‘Treat Yourself’ campaign addressed consumers’ motivation for purchasing technology, positioning it as affordable, accessible, and fun. It comprised of TV, print, online and outdoor, inviting people to ‘treat themselves’ to one of Dell’s colourful Inspiron laptops. The aim was to showcase Dell’s ability to deliver PCs that reflect the personalities, attitudes and desires of its consumers.
APPLE – GET A MAC Apple’s ‘Get A Mac’ campaign has the mission statement of winning over consumers by pushing the idea of a more holistic computing experience – one that is built on the firm’s proprietary hardware and software. It has been a much talked about issue in the technology industry over the last year, and a key factor in forming Apple’s image to the wider consumer base.
PCR AWARDS 2010 | 17
Could it be yours? We’ll see you on the night when everyone finds out Congratulations to all nominees and good luck to all finalists for the 2010 awards from Symantec
October 2009 NortonTM Internet Security 2010
October 2009 NortonTM Internet Security 2010
FINALIST
VENDOR FINALISTS SOFTWARE PUBLISHER HARDWARE MANUFACTURER GADGET OF THE YEAR CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR SPECIALIST VENDOR
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GRAND PRIX AWARD
BILLION Billion is a leading manufacturer of highperformance quality xDSL modem/routers, wireless networking devices and security gateways for the home, SOHO and office user. The Billion portfolio is full of feature-rich products offering ease-of-use and great value for money, including the UK’s most extensive range of 3G routers for home and business, as well as expertise in Firewall, SSL/IPSec VPN, VoIP, Powerline and much more.
KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY Founded in 1987 with a single product offering, Kingston now offers more than 2,000 memory products that support nearly every device that uses memory, from computers, servers and printers to MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones.
ENTANET Entanet is a leading voice and data communications provider operating via a network of channel partners to provide wholesale and resale ADSL and ADSL2+ broadband, leased lines, hosting and colocation, IP telephony, traditional telecoms and bespoke solutions such as IP VPNs, all of which are delivered via the company’s own national next generation network.
STARTECH Since 1985, StarTech.com has provided a complete range of IT and A/V products for a diverse customer base that spans many channels, including government, education and industrial facilities.
HANNSPREE HANNspree took bold steps in 2009 to expand its well known TV and monitor product portfolio and enter new unchartered markets. Products such as digital photo frames, novelty gadgets and the acclaimed HANNSnote Netbook series have contributed to HANNspree becoming a consumer electronics giant across Europe in 2009.
SOTHIN The SoThin suite provides current solutions such as repurpose/reuse of PCs and also brings centralised management and reduced support costs while reducing power consumption and improving green credentials, scalable to any organisation running standard, cloud based, virtual or Thin Microsoft networks. SoThin saves time, money, improves security and reduces carbon footprints. 20 | PCR AWARDS 2010
Adam Westley, Acer's EMEA trade marketing manager picks up the Grand Prix award on behalf of the vendor at 2009's event Nothing will be revealed about the Grand Prix until the big night itself. It takes an overall view, choosing the company considered to have contributed most to the marketplace over the last 12 months, not only in terms of commercial success, but also in terms of innovation and energy. The Grand Prix award is is decided upon by the PCR team, with the winner coming from from any of the award categories. It means that the smallest UK independent retailer or reseller has the same opportunity to win as one of the world’s leading vendor brands. www.pcr-online.biz
NEED TO KNOW
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS “The consumer team is really looking forward to celebrating the successes of the retailers, distributors and manufacturers in our industry on the night.”
“Gem is very pleased to show support for the PCR Awards, which have become an important event for the IT channel. We wish all the award finalists the very best of luck.”
Farhana Rafi, Symantec
Neil Handa, Gem
“After the success of last year’s awards, the past year has been tremendous for us. I’d like to wish all the other companies the best of luck, and look forward to another good evening.”
"Ingram Micro is delighted to be sponsoring the vendor category at this year's PCR awards. We look forward to seeing our reseller and vendor partners on the night."
Michael Breeze, Interactive Ideas
Apay Obangoyway, Ingram Micro
“The PCR Awards have become an important event in EntaTech’s calendar as an opportunity to highlight the hard work and achievements by all within the IT industry”
"Our strategies are all based on our relationships and commitment to our partners. We are looking forward to seeing old friends and associates and wish everyone the best of luck."
Jon Atherton, EntaTech
Paul Leaman, Kingston Technology
“We thoroughly look forward to celebrating our successful year together with all the other key industry manufacturers and customers at the PCR Awards 2010.”
“The evening offers the perfect opportunity to show solidarity within the channel and pull together to celebrate our achievements and those of our peers.”
Neil Spicer, Sapphire
WHEN: Thursday March 25th WHERE: Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington
Joanne Meredith, VIP
DRESS CODE: Smart casual, not black tie
“It’s wonderful to see so many new names on the shortlist. The Oscars for the UK IT industry, the PCR Awards always prove to be a fun evening and a great celebration of our industry.”
COST OF TICKETS: £185 plus VAT for seats. £1,750 plus VAT for a table of ten TICKET AND TABLE INFORMATION: Hannah.Short@intentmedia.co.uk SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Katie.Rawlings@intentmedia.co.uk
“From Integra's perspective, these awards are a good indicator of the movers and shakers within the channel. We are looking forward to a thoroughly entertaining evening.”
Andrew Buxton, AMD
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22 | PCR AWARDS 2010
David Wellington, Integra
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Battlefield. Your PC. Same thing.
Immerse yourself in the action with the new ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics cards. ™
Expand your view of the battle zone across up to three displays with ATI Eyefinity technology.1 Accelerate your performance on and off the battlefield using ATI Stream technology. 2 Dominate Your Games like Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2, enjoying the eye-popping visuals and fast frame rates only full DirectX® 11 support provides. War may be hell, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Join the battle at www.amd.com/radeonHD5670 www.sapphiretech.com 1 ATI Eyefinity technology works with games that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for panning across three displays, and to enable a third display you require one panel with a DisplayPort connector. 2
Requires application support for ATI Stream technology.
© 2009 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD arrow logo, ATI, the ATI logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof, are trademarksof Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Game image © 2009 Digital Illusions CE AB. All rights reserved. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a trademark of EA DigitalIllusions CE AB. EA and the EA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarksare the property of their respective owners. Microsoft Windows and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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