CRN's 2014 Annual Report Card Winners

The Best Of The Best

Every year, the channel comes together to vote on which vendors they see as best-in-class in the industry. For more than 29 years, thousands of solution providers have cast their votes for the Annual Report Card awards, recognizing vendors in the categories of partnership, support and product innovation. The winners were revealed at an awards ceremony Tuesday at XChange 2014 in San Antonio.

Take a look at the vendors honored with ARC awards at this year's ceremony.

The Channel Company Anniversary

This year was an important one for The Channel Company, CRN's parent company, as well as the vendors being honored with Annual Report Card awards. The Channel Company CEO Robert Faletra kicked off the ARC ceremony by recognizing the company's one-year anniversary as a private company and thanked the audience for their support.

"In a few weeks we will celebrate our first year as The Channel Company thanks to the commitment of a loyal audience and our trusted customers," Faletra said at the ceremony.

VMware

Kicking off the night in style, VMware took home the ARC award for product innovation in the category of Desktop and Server Virtualization. The company is no stranger to recognition for its product innovation in virtualization, as it was recognized the year before with an award in this category.

Accepting the award for VMware was Frank Rauch, vice president of VMware's Americas Partner Organization. He accepted the award from The Channel Company CEO Robert Faletra and CRN Editor, News Steve Burke.

IBM

Winning the category of product innovation, IBM proved it was a strong player for the channel in the category of Data and Information Management. With the rising relevance of big data in technology and the channel, this award recognized the importance of IBM to partners in this space.

IBM Vice President of Global Business Partners Tami Duncan accepted the award from Robert Faletra and Steve Burke.

ViewSonic

ViewSonic was the overall winner in the category of Flat-Panel Displays, 19 to 30 inches, recognized by partners for its excellent performance in product innovation, support and partnership.

Accepting the award for ViewSonic was Colleen Browne, director of North American Sales Channel and Enterprise. She accepted the award from Robert Faletra and Steve Burke.

Kaspersky Lab

An important category for the industry right now with security threats on the rise, Kaspersky Lab distinguished itself with partners and was the overall winner in the category of Network Security Software. With the win, partners praised Kaspersky Lab's innovation, support and partnership qualities.

Accepting the award for Kaspersky were a number of Kaspersky executives, including John Murdock, vice president of Channel Sales; Jim Sullivan, director of VAR Channel Sales; Leslie Bois, director of LAR Channel Sales; and Jon Whitlock, director of Channel Marketing. They accepted the award from CRN Executive Editor Jennifer Follett and CRN Editor, News Steve Burke.

Ruckus Wireless

Although it is relatively new to the industry, the ARC scores demonstrate how far Ruckus Wireless has come with the channel. The company has made huge strides in the Networking Hardware space for SMBs, partners said, winning in that category for product innovation and support.

Ruckus Wireless executives were on stage to celebrate the win, among them Vice President of Marketing Wendy Cartee, who accepted the award from Jennifer Follett and Steve Burke.

N-Able

As solution providers include more managed services as part of their business offerings, the technology they use to facilitate that becomes even more important. For its efforts with its remote network monitoring and managed services automation platform, N-Able swept the category of Managed Services Software.

The award was accepted by JP Jauvin, vice president and general manager of the N-Able MSP Business Group.

Intel

A frequent ARC winner, Intel was recognized yet again this year for its contributions to the channel. This year, the company took the prize for overall winner in the Processors category.

Accepting the award for Intel was Todd Garrigues, director of North American Reseller Channel Programs. He accepted the award from Jennifer Follett and Steve Burke.

Dell

After a year strengthening its commitment to the channel, partners rewarded Dell by voting it the winner in multiple categories. The newly private company was named the overall winner in the category of Converged Infrastructure Systems as well as the product innovation winner for Network Security Software.

Accepting the award for Dell was Frank Vitagliano, vice president of North American Channel Sales; and Mary Catherine Wilson, director of North America Channel Marketing and Programs. They accepted the award from Jennifer Follett and Steve Burke.

Lenovo

With the rising importance of BYOD to companies, the company voted best-in-class by the channel for tablets and mobile computers is an important one. Lenovo was the overall winner, with recognition in product innovation and partnerships for Tablets, and was the partnership winner for Notebooks and Mobile Computers. Lenovo was also recognized as the support and partnership winner in the category of Volume Servers.

Ashley Rodrigue, Lenovo brand ambassador, accepted the award from CRN Senior Editor Kristin Bent and CRN Video Editor Meghan Ottolini.

Xerox

A long-standing stalwart in printing, Xerox was recognized yet again by partners for its commitment to the channel in multiple categories. The company swept the categories of Multifunction Printers and Workgroup Color Printers.

Accepting the awards for Xerox was Annalisa Mena, vice president of U.S. Sales Operations, and Tom Gall, director of Channel Marketing. They accepted the awards from Kristin Bent and Meghan Ottolini.

Sophos

As security becomes top of mind for both clients and solution providers, a key player in the IT security industry such as Sophos will become even more important. Sophos was recognized for its successes this year with security wins in multiple categories. The company swept the Client Security Software category as well as the Network Security Appliances category.

Kendra Krause, vice president of Channel Sales for the Americas; John Keenan, regional vice president of Sales for the Americas; and Mike Valentine, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, accepted the awards from Steve Burke, Kristin Bent and Meghan Ottolini.

Hewlett-Packard

With a focus on what it calls the "new style of IT," Hewlett-Packard has a long history of innovation in multiple categories. This year, HP took home multiple awards, including the overall winner, with wins in product innovation and support for Notebooks and Mobile Computers, product innovation winner for Volume Servers, and support winner for Tablets.

Accepting the awards for HP was Dan Smith, director of Enterprise Group Americas Channel Programs. He accepted the awards from Kristin Bent and Meghan Ottolini.

Cisco Systems

A networking channel powerhouse, Cisco has also been pushing into new technologies. Partners applauded Cisco's efforts, as the company swept the categories of Enterprise Networking Infrastructure and Unified Communications. Cisco also was the partnership winner for Network Hardware (SMB).

With a number of Cisco executives on hand to celebrate the awards, Cisco Vice President, Worldwide Partner Organization Faisal Hanafi accepted the honors for the company from Robert Faletra and Steve Burke.

EMC

With a series of sweeps, EMC was a big winner this year in the ARC awards. The company swept the categories of Backup and Recovery Software, Enterprise Network Storage and Network Storage (SMB).

Accepting the awards for EMC were Jim Quercetti, director of Strategic Programs and Productivity, Americas Channel; Kristin Cornwall, senior manager, Enterprise and Midrange Storage and Product Marketing; and Brian Henderson, VNXe senior marketing manager. They accepted the awards from Robert Faletra and Steve Burke.

Microsoft

Microsoft closed it out in style as the biggest winner of the night. The software giant swept the categories of Business Analytics and Collaboration Software. Microsoft also was the overall winner for Data and Information Management, with wins in support and partnership, as well as Desktop and Server Virtualization, with wins in support and partnership.

Eric Martorano, general manager of U.S. Partner Sales, accepted the awards for Microsoft from Robert Faletra and Steve Burke.