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Judging the Best
The IT channels are finally coming off age. The sustained high-growth of the past half-a-decade has necessitated channel companies to employ new strategies and adopt best business practices to stay ahead of the curve. Paradigm shift in business models led by changing customer expectations have been the order of the day for IT channels. In such a scenario, more than ever, our industry requires role models who can inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to grow and excel. The core objective behind our annual Xcellence Awards has been exactly that—to recognize companies and individuals who have excelled in their businesses by adopting best practices and applying sound business acumen, and thus create role models that inspire a whole new generation of business leaders.
Awards Parameters
What sets CRN Channel Xcellence Awards apart from the several other channel awards, is the fact that they lay focus not just on the size of the company, but also aspects that are integral to making a company a true leader:
- Quality of turnover growth and profitability
- Product and solutions mix
- Quality of HR
- Business systems
- Marketing & sales innovations
- Customer responsiveness
- Future growth strategies
Awards Categories
Another unique aspect of the CRN Xcellence Awards is the categorization of various awards. To provide a level-playing field to channel companies from smaller cities we have categorized the awards into two main sub-categories, namely 'Advance' (Metro & Class A cities) and 'Emerging' (for smaller cities). Again, each of the Emerging category awards will be given away regionally, thus giving due weightage to the regional dynamics of the IT channel industry.
Generation of entries
In this phase applications were invited using a combination of tools—sending electronic direct mailers to channels on our database inviting them to fill the application online. We also invited several channel associations to encourage their members to participate by filling up the awards nomination form. Additionally, we wrote to a few vendors to recommend their leading partners to send applications. Overall we received 225 applications from around 25 cities.
The CRN editorial team screened all the application forms and weeded out those where certain critical information areas were not filled. At the end of phase I, we had 185 valid entries.
Selection process
This is where our awards stand out from several others that exist in the market today. We have made this phase as rigorous as possible. Wherever a website was available, we cross-checked information about the company online, checked articles made available on magazine web sites, did editorial back-checking on information provided in the form, and called up applicants to get more details about certain aspects of their business.
After the verification process, we arrived at mean averages in each awards category, using which we devised a benchmark to rate each applicant on a set of parameters and arrived at a composite score to reveal the top three finalists. In some categories, where the scores were close, we chose more than three finalists. All finalists were sent an email requesting them to send any bit of information about their achievements that would boost their chances for winning the award.
Jury process
After almost two months of work, we thought it was time for neutral experts to take charge, so we invited a jury panel consisting of eminent people with diverse experience in IT Channels. The Jury included K Jaishankar, MD, Ingram Micro; Suresh Pansari, MD, Rashi Peripherals; Kandarp Jhala, AVP, Channels, D-Link India; and Sudhir Nayar, Director, Channels, Sun Microsystems.
The Jury meet was held at the CRN office in Mumbai on May 3, 2008 and each member of the Jury was given scoring sheets where they had to religiously fill up scores for each parameter on a scale of 10. The Jury was also asked to assign weights to the awards criteria for different categories. For instance, in case of solution providers, Jury gave maximum weight to product and solutions mix and business systems; where as for sub-distributors, highest weight was given to growth performance and systems and processes.
For each category the weighted scores were added up and a final score was arrived. Thus, we chose the champs among the channels.
They are India's best. Read on. |