2024 Annual Report Card Winners: Solution Providers Give Top Grades To Key Vendors
For the 39th year, solution providers scored vendors across 27 technology categories based on their performance in product innovation, support, partnership, and managed and cloud services. Here’s a roundup of the companies with the highest overall scores.
Making The Grade
For the 39th year, CRN offered solution providers in North America the opportunity to grade the performance of their IT vendor partners with the CRN Annual Report Card.
The CRN ARC provides a look at which IT vendors are doing the best jobs – and which ones have some work to do – in meeting their partners’ needs in product innovation, support, partner program resources, and managed and cloud services, all key elements of a successful vendor-solution provider relationship.
The winners of this year’s ARC project are being announced in conjunction with the XChange August 2024 conference being held this week in San Antonio, Texas, put on by The Channel Company, CRN’s parent company.
Solution providers scored vendors across 27 technology categories. These include longtime channel technology mainstays such as industry standard servers, laptops and mobile devices, enterprise network storage hardware, and enterprise and SMB network security. It also includes newer technology areas such as hybrid cloud infrastructure and consumption-based on-premises cloud services. And it also includes 10 categories of security technology including data security, managed detection and response, and security operations platforms.
Partners graded IT vendors on a total of 22 criteria spanning four subcategories: product innovation, support, partnership, and managed and cloud services. Companies received average scores for each subcategory and an overall score for the technology category. Details on the survey and methodology can be found on the following slide.
Which IT companies are at the top of their game in the eyes of their channel partners? Read on to find out which vendors earned the highest marks this year.
Annual Report Card Methodology And Scoring
Solution providers graded IT vendors according to 22 criteria across four subcategories:
Product innovation: Includes product quality and reliability, richness of product features and functionality, technical innovation, utilization of GenAI, product compatibility and ease of integration, product marketability, and services opportunity.
Support: Includes pre-sales support, post-sales support, training, quality of field management, and marketing support.
Partnership: Includes solution provider programs, communication, managing channel conflict, revenue and profit potential, and ease of doing business.
Managed and cloud services: Includes consumption-based and subscription pricing, integration with services management tools, cloud-readiness of channel program, field teaming and channel compensation alignment, and profit margins/profit potential.
In some technology areas a single vendor dominated the scoring, winning not just the top overall score, but also the average grades across all four subcategories and, in some cases, even sweeping all 22 criteria.
In most technology categories, however, two or more vendors split the results with different vendors earning the highest average scores for different subcategories – and in some cases even splitting the highest scores for specific criterion within the four subcategories.
In the highly competitive cloud computing – public cloud technology segment, for example, one vendor had the highest average scores for product innovation, partnership, and managed and cloud services, while another company had the highest average score for support.
Even within each of those subcategories in the above example, vendors that did not have the highest average did win one or more highest scores in specific criterion. While one company had the highest average score for product innovation, for example, another company had the highest score for richness of product features/functionality while a third had the highest score for product marketability.
The following slides provide a summary of this year’s ARC results. The complete scores will be published on CRN.com on Oct. 7 and in the October print issue of CRN.
Cloud Computing – Consumption-Based On-Premises Cloud Services: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Channel Executive: Phil Soper, North America Head of Channel Sales
Hewlett Packard Enterprise won this increasingly important technology category with an overall score of 79.5.
HPE had the highest average scores in three of the four subcategories, earning average scores of 77.1 for product innovation, 75.3 for partnership and 77.1 for managed and cloud services.
The company’s scores were especially strong in the product innovation subcategory. In specific criteria, the company scored 82.9 on richness of product features and functionality, 78.5 for technical innovation, 78.4 on compatibility and ease of integration, and 77.4 for services opportunity.
Cloud Computing – Public Cloud: Microsoft
Channel Executive: Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer and Corporate VP, Global Partner Sales
In a battle among the cloud platform giants, Microsoft came out on top in this technology category with an overall score of 80.2.
The company had the highest average scores in product innovation (80.3), partnership (76.8), and managed and cloud services (74.9).
As part of the partnership criteria, Microsoft scored 77.9 for solution provider program, 77.9 for communication, and 79.0 for revenue and profit potential.
Computing – CPUs: Intel
Channel Executive: Trevor Vickers, VP and General Manager of Global Partners & Support
Intel came out on top with an overall score of 81.5 in what proved to be a close battle in this all-important technology category.
The chipmaker outscored the competition in support (average score of 75.6) and partnership (average score of 79.1).
Intel garnered some of its biggest criteria wins in the support subcategory, including 72.4 for pre-sales support, 78.9 for training, 76.7 for quality of field management and 74.4 for marketing support.
Computing – GPUs: Nvidia
Channel Executive: Craig Weinstein, VP, Americas Partner Organization
As with CPUs, this technology category was a close fight between the leading semiconductor producers, with Nvidia the winner with an overall score of 81.3.
The company outscored its competitors in the product innovation (average score 83.8) and partnership (average score 78.1) subcategories.
Solution providers gave Nvidia some of its biggest scores in product innovation criteria, including 90.8 for quality and reliability (one of the highest scores in this year’s ARC), 86.1 for richness of product features/functionality, 87.2 for technical innovation and 84.9 for utilization of GenAI.
Computing – Notebooks/Mobile Computers: HP Inc.
Channel Executive: Kobi Elbaz, Senior VP and General Manager, Global Channel, Sales Innovation & Operations
This technology category was a runaway win for HP Inc. with an overall score of 86.9.
HP had the highest average score in all four subcategories: 85.7 in product innovation, 84.1 in support, 82.9 in partnership and 77.9 in managed and cloud services.
HP, in fact, swept all criteria in product innovation and support. The company’s score of 92.2 for product quality and reliability within the product innovation subcategory was one of the highest scores in this year’s ARC.
Computing – Power Protection And Management: Eaton
Channel Executive: Steve Loeb, VP, Distributed Infrastructure Sales
Eaton won this technology category with a solid overall score of 83.4.
The company had the highest average scores in three of the subcategories: 78.5 in support, 82.8 in partnership and 76.8 in managed and cloud services.
Some of Eaton’s highest scores in criteria included 87.0 for ease of doing business and 84.8 in revenue and profit potential (both in the support subcategory), and 86.0 in profit margins/profit potential under the managed and cloud services subcategory.
Computing – Servers – Industry Standard Servers: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Channel Executive: Phil Soper, North America Head of Channel Sales
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, up against four competitors in this core IT technology category, was the clear winner with an overall score of 85.1.
The company garnered the highest average scores in all four subcategories, including 83.1 in product innovation, 81.7 in support, 80.1 in partnership and 79.5 for managed and cloud services.
Some of HPE’s top scores in criteria included 88.5 for technical innovation, 85 for quality of field management, and 85 for profit margins/profit potential for managed and cloud services.
Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure: Scale Computing
Channel Executive: Scott Mann, Global Channel Chief and VP of International Sales
Scale Computing dominated this increasingly important technology category with an overall score of 85.2.
The company received the highest average score across all four subcategories, including 80.6 in product innovation, 81.8 in support, 83.1 in partnership and 80.0 for managed and cloud services.
Among Scale Computing’s highest scores in criteria were 88.9 for product quality and reliability, 86.6 for technical innovation and 86.6 for ease of doing business.
Managed Services – MSP RMM Platforms: Barracuda Networks
Channel Executive: Jason Beal, VP, Worldwide Partner Ecosystems
Barracuda Networks came out on top in this technology category with an overall score of 82.7.
The company had the highest average scores in three subcategories: 79.5 in product innovation, 83.1 in partnership and 78.2 in managed and cloud services.
Barracuda Networks’ highest grades in specific criteria included 86.5 in richness of product features/functionality, 86.4 for solution provider program and 88.9 for ease of doing business.
Network Connectivity: Comcast Business
Channel Executive: Matthew Fassnacht, VP and Channel Chief
Comcast Business came out on top in this core channel service category with an overall score of 81.1.
The networking services provider had the highest average score for partnership with 81.2 and tied for the highest score in managed and cloud services at 74.5.
Among its top scores for specific criteria were 85.4 for richness of product features/functionality, 84.2 for pre-sales support and 84.2 for communication.
Networking Infrastructure – Enterprise: HPE Aruba Networking
Channel Executive: Jim Harold, VP of Channels
This technology category was a clean sweep for HPE Aruba with an overall score of 84.1, the highest average scores for all subcategories and highest scores for all 22 criteria.
The company received average scores of 81.5 for product innovation, 79.8 for support, 83.6 for partnership, and 75.6 for managed and cloud services.
In the product innovation subcategory, HPE Aruba received scores of 90 for product quality and reliability – one of the highest scores on this year’s ARC – and 85.3 for technical innovation. In the partnership subcategory, the company scored 86.4 on revenue and profit potential and 86.3 on ease of doing business.
Networking – Enterprise Wireless LANs: HPE Aruba Networking
Channel Executive: Jim Harold, VP of Channels
HPE Aruba won this technology category with an overall score of 85.9, the highest average scores for all subcategories, and the highest scores for all criteria but one.
The company received average scores of 82.8 for product innovation, 80.3 for support, 84.1 for partnership, and 80.6 for managed and cloud services.
Solution providers gave HPE Aruba the highest scores in 21 of the ARC’s 22 criteria, including 90.4 for product quality and reliability, 89.2 for product compatibility and ease of integration, and 86.9 for richness of product features/functionality.
Networking – SD-WAN: HPE Aruba Networking
Channel Executive: Jim Harold, VP of Channels
HPE Aruba came out on top in a close match in this fast-growing technology category with an overall score of 84.5.
The company had the highest average scores in three subcategories: 83.7 in product innovation, 79.1 in support and 83.6 in partnership.
Only a point or two separated HPE Aruba and the competition in many of the criteria. But HPE Aruba stood out in technical innovation (89.2), revenue and profit potential (91.5), and services opportunity (85.7).
Networking – SMB Networking: HPE Aruba Networking
Channel Executive: Jim Harold, VP of Channels
HPE Aruba completed its run of four overall category trophies with a closely fought battle in this technology category, where the company received an overall score of 83.4.
The company had the highest average scores in product innovation (84.9) and managed and cloud services (75.5).
HPE Aruba received a score of 96.8 for product quality and reliability – the highest single score for all of the 2024 ARC – while its 94.4 for product compatibility and ease of integration was the second highest score. Other scores included 88.4 for richness of product features/functionality and 87.3 for product marketability.
Security – Cloud and Application: Tenable
Channel Executive: Jeff Brooks, Senior VP, Global Channels and Business Development
Tenable had the highest overall score, 84.0, in a close battle in this key security technology category.
The company had the highest average scores in support (79.7) and managed and cloud services (79.5).
Tenable received impressive scores in the product innovation criteria, including 89.0 in product quality and reliability and 87.8 in technical innovation.
Security – Data Security: Sophos
Channel Executive: Kendra Krause, Senior VP, Global Channels and Small Business Sales
Sophos received an overall score of 87.3 in this uncontested technology category. The company received average scores of 83.4 in product innovation, 81.5 in support, 85.9 in partnership and 82.3 in managed and cloud services.
Notable scores given to Sophos by channel partners included 88.5 for product quality and reliability, and 87.3 for richness of product features/functionality, technical innovation, product compatibility and ease of integration, and revenue and profit potential.
Security – Email and Web Security: Mimecast
Channel Executive: Stan de Boisset, Senior VP, Worldwide Partners
Mimecast was a near-runaway winner in this cybersecurity technology category with an overall score of 84.8.
The company had the highest average scores across all four subcategories: 81.7 in product innovation, 81.0 in support, 81.9 in partnership and 78.9 in managed and cloud services.
It also earned the top score in all criteria but one. Particularly notable was Mimecast’s grade of 90.1 for product quality and reliability.
Security – Endpoint Security: Huntress
Channel Executive: Jordan Redd, VP, Channel and Customer Account Management
Huntress was the clear winner in this crowded technology category with an overall score of 85.1.
The company had the highest average scores across all four subcategories: 83.2 in product innovation, 78.9 in support, 83.3 in partnership and 78.8 in managed and cloud services.
Huntress received the highest scores in many of the criteria, including 88.4 in product compatibility and ease of integration, 87.2 in post-sales support, and 89.6 in ease of doing business.
Security – Identity: SailPoint
Channel Executive: Dave Schwartz, Senior VP, Global Partners
SailPoint was the winner of this technology category with an overall score of 81.4.
The company had the highest average scores in three of the four subcategories: 80.2 in product innovation, 75.9 in support and 75.5 in managed and cloud services.
SailPoint’s highest score across all criteria was 89.7 for product quality and reliability.
Security – Managed Detection and Response: Sophos
Channel Executive: Kendra Krause, Senior VP, Global Channels and Small Business Sales
Sophos came out on top in this competitive, all-important security technology category with an overall score of 86.4.
The company had the highest average scores in all four subcategories, including 83.2 in product innovation, 79.5 in support, 84.5 in partnership, and 82.2 in managed and cloud services.
Some of Sophos’ highest scores came in the product innovation criteria, including 88.8 for both product quality and reliability and richness of product features/functionality, and 87.7 for both technical innovation and product compatibility and ease of integration.
Security – Security Operations Platform: Cribl
Channel Executive: Zac Kilpatrick, VP, Global Channels and Alliances
Upstart Cribl scored a significant victory over some established vendors in this critical cybersecurity technology category with an overall score of 85.3.
Cribl, in fact, swept the competition with the highest scores across all criteria. Across the four subcategories Cribl had average scores of 83.3 for product innovation, 78.7 for support, 82.1 for partnership, and 80.9 for managed and cloud services.
Specifically within the product innovation criteria, Cribl’s impressive scores included 90.6 for richness of product features/functionality and 88.3 for technical innovation.
Security – Security Service Edge: Cisco
Channel Executive: Rodney Clark, Senior VP, Partnerships and Small & Medium Business
Cisco Systems came out on top in a close match in this key security technology category with an overall score of 80.2.
Cisco had the highest average scores across three of the four ARC subcategories including 77.8 for product innovation, 75.9 for support and 76.2 for managed and cloud services.
The company’s high scores in criteria included 88.2 in product quality and reliability, 85.8 in technical innovation and 83.1 for cloud-readiness of channel program.
Security – Network Security – Enterprise: WatchGuard Technologies
Channel Executive: Michelle Welch, Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Business Strategy
WatchGuard faced a lot of competition in this key security technology category but came out on top with an overall score of 86.5.
The company had the highest average scores in three of the four subcategories including 85.2 in product innovation, 81.7 in support, and 82.1 in managed and cloud services.
Among the criteria, WatchGuard scored an impressive 90.6 for product quality and reliability and 89.4 for technical innovation. Partners also gave the company a high grade (87.0) for post-sales support.
Security – Network Security – SMB: (Tie) Sophos
Channel Executive: Kendra Krause, Senior VP, Global Channels and Small Business Sales
With each garnering an overall score of 84.8 Sophos and WatchGuard ended up in a tie in this SMB security technology category that’s of great importance to the channel.
Sophos had the highest average scores in the product innovation (81.3) and managed and cloud services (80.3) subcategories.
Sophos’ win in product innovation was due to its impressive scores for product quality and reliability (88.7) and richness of product features/functionality (88.8).
Security – Network Security – SMB: (Tie) WatchGuard Technologies
Channel Executive: Michelle Welch, Chief Marketing Officer and SVP of Business Strategy
With each garnering an overall score of 84.8 Sophos and WatchGuard ended up in a tie in this SMB security technology category that’s key to the channel.
WatchGuard had the highest average scores in the support (80.7) and partnership (84.2) subcategories.
WatchGuard’s win in support was helped by high scores for pre-sales and post-sales support (85.3 and 84.2, respectively) while its partnership was driven by high scores for revenue and profit potential (87.6) and ease of doing business (88.8).
Storage – Data Protection: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Channel Executive: Phil Soper, North America Head of Channel Sales
HPE was the winner in a close match in this technology category with an overall score of 84.0.
The company had the highest average scores across three of the four ARC subcategories, including 81.2 for product innovation, 78.9 for support and 82.0 for partnership.
HPE’s winning criteria scores included 83.5 for product marketability, 83.6 for solution provider program and 84.7 for integration with services management tools.
Storage – Enterprise Network Storage Hardware: Pure Storage
Channel Executive: Wendy Stusrud, VP, Global Partner Sales
Pure Storage beat out some big competitors in this channel mainstay technology category with an overall score of 84.5.
The company’s highest average scores across all four subcategories included 82.7 for product innovation, 80.5 for support, 81.8 for partnership, and 76.9 for managed and cloud services.
Among its highest criteria scores were 87.1 for richness of product features/functionality, 86.0 for technical innovation, 84.8 for product marketability and 84.8 for ease of doing business.
Storage – SMB External Storage Hardware: Buffalo Technology
Channel Executive: Bill Rhodes, Director of Channel Sales
In yet another close match Buffalo Technology narrowly won this technology category with an overall score of 85.9.
The company had the highest average scores in two subcategories: 82.4 in support and 86.0 in partnership.
Partners gave Buffalo high marks in a number of criteria including 88.5 and 89.7 for pre-sales and post-sales support, respectively; 89.7 for ease of doing business; and an impressive 90.9 on revenue and profit potential – one of the highest scores on this year’s Annual Report Card.