Now set for Thursday 9 December, Innovation Awards will run as an in-person black tie event to bring the industry back together under the ARN roof at ICC Sydney — aligned to COVID-safe conditions of entry to in-person event formats.

ARN is proud to announce the finalists of an enhanced Innovation Awards in 2021, housing a record-breaking number of submissions in what will be the largest celebration of ecosystem excellence in delivering transformative customer solutions across Australia.

Now set for Thursday 9 December, Innovation Awards will run as an in-person black tie event to bring the industry back together under the ARN roof at ICC Sydney — aligned to COVID-safe conditions of entry to in-person event formats.

Representing the entire Australian ecosystem, 315 finalists (including 85+ individuals) make the shortlist from a pool of over 195 organisations and more than 470 nominations, spanning partner, start-up, telco, vendor and distributor businesses.

This marks a significant expansion in reach, support and market appeal, outpacing a best effort of over 200 finalists in 2020 to position Innovation Awards as the leading technology awards program for customer innovation and ecosystem excellence in the Australian channel.

Partner Innovation

Partner Innovation recognises customer innovation and excellence across the key market segments of Enterprise, Mid-Market and SMB, in addition to pioneering technology specialists and collaborative providers.

Barhead Solutions – Thinking Differently Award

Partner Innovation recognises customer innovation and excellence across the key market segments of Enterprise, Mid-Market and SMB, in addition to pioneering technology specialists and collaborative providers. This award recognises partners operating beyond transactional engagement to deploy creative and unique solutions in the pursuit of customer transformation, thinking differently to enhance innovation levels. This partner is an outside-of-the-box specialist which thrives in challenging end-user environments, sparking new ideas and outcomes through an unconventional approach to technology consulting and implementation.

Personal Innovation

Personal Innovation recognises standout individuals who contribute to customer, company and channel success through a transformative approach to management, channel, sales, technical and marketing positions.

Alvin Paronda – Marketing Excellence

This award recognises a creative-thinking candidate who is a standout in maximising the potential of marketing through an outside-of-the-box approach to brand building. This individual is a market-leader in increasing industry awareness and perfecting corporate messaging, spearheading strategic campaigns to deliver leads and heighten exposure while maximising return on investment. This individual contributes to the totality of the business’ communications (PR), success stories, marketing campaigns, events and collaborates well with vendor partner(Microsoft).

Lisa Crosbie – Technical Excellence

Personal Innovation recognises standout individuals who contribute to customer, company and channel success through a transformative approach to management, channel, sales, technical and marketing positions. This award recognises excellence in the form of technical and engineering expertise, recognising deep domain knowledge in relation to technology products and solutions. This candidate has provided business value through the delivery of specialised skills and projects, spanning technical, pre-sales and support roles. Your nomination should not exceed the word limit of each criterion. You can self-nominate or nominate a colleague.

Mike Medves – Channel (Sales) Excellence

This award recognises a champion of the channel who is a standout in bringing partner innovation to life through a blend of consistency, creativity and credibility. This individual is unrivalled at converting big picture ideas into tangible market results, demonstrating excellence in partner revenue growth, recruitment and enablement activities.