Gartner’s System Builder Summit and Var Vision is a perennial occasion for the white box world to convene and exchange great ideas. This year, System Builder Summit/Var Vision had a little something extra to offer: the RAM Awards. For the last two months, we polled the channel to vote on our seven award categories in an effort to identify and recognize the best partners, programs, and products in the field.

Of course, this wasn’t like the Academy Awards. No one thanked their producer and digressed into political rants. But we feel the RAM Awards offers something better than red carpet eye candy. The RAM Awards let you take in the channel’s best opportunities at a glance. Are these the things and people you’re currently doing business with? If so, great. If not, this may be a fortuitous chance meeting knocking at your door.

Best Distributor

Some distributors have the best pricing. Others have the best service or selection or inside sales. We’re talking about the whole enchilada. Which national or multi-regional distributor offers the best of all worlds?

Winner: D&H Distributing


The stronger the system builder community becomes and the more convergence comes into the PC limelight, the more it seems like all roads lead to D&H. We at RAM don’t go out of our way to draw attention to this. The phenomenon just seems to happen on its own as channel word of mouth and aggressive, effective programs from the family-run business continues to gain market share.

“At D&H,” says Dan Schwab, D&H’s vice president of marketing, “we always focus on the small- to mid-sized system builder and reseller. We serve this market better than any other disti because we offer personalized service for every account, regardless of size. Also, we work with manufacturers to create programs that help system builders increase margins and gain business.”

One good example of this effort is D&H’s Rite2U program. Rite2U is a back-end Web service that creates an online sales catalog for reseller customers to visit. You could, for instance, direct customers to your site at www.yoursite.com. The pages contain your shop’s branding and pricing, but all order processing and fulfillment flow through D&H.There is zero effort for the reseller, yet you remain the sole point of customer contact and can make up to 20% on the transactions.

D&H has also done the best job of spearheading the convergence movement among non-specialized PC distributors. The company’s flexibility with credit terms and outstanding sales force are also nearly legendary within the channel. Perhaps no one put it to us more clearly or succinctly than Don McKay, vice president of Alden Associates, who broke down why he voted for D&H into several key points.

“D&H does not turn-over their people. With the other distributors, we are always having to ‘break in’ someone new. D&H has local reps that know us and our business model don’t waste our time trying to sell us stuff we would not care about. The only person we ever see from other distributors is the credit manager, and that is strange because in 20 years we have never paid a bill late. All minor mistakes are corrected quickly and easily after our first contact regarding the problem.

Runner-up: Avus

With five warehouse locations around the U.S., Avus operates like a large national disti but feels like a regional. The company sells over 2,000 products to its reseller base and offers competitive custom system building services. Avus is particularly strong in AMD and Microsoft OEM products. From toll-free tech support to training classes to truck delivery within its geographic reach, Avus works to go the extra mile and add value for system builders. If you happen to be near one of the six cities that host the Avus System Builder Expo, be sure not to miss these eye-opening events.


Runner-up: ASI

The largest woman-owned company in the San Francisco Bay area, ASI turns over nearly one billion dollars in PC product annually to over 10,000 resellers. ASI runs 14 branch operations in major markets across the U.S. and Canada, all of which provide tech support and system integration. The company keeps a keen eye on PC trends and works hard to bring attractive, cutting edge offerings to resellers conveniently and affordably. In particular, ASI is very strong in white books and enthusiast-level PC modding. If you want to grab a piece of the enthusiast market but not exhaust your techs with modding labor, check out ASI’s Modshop and NSpire sites.

Best Reseller Program

A good reseller program is characterized by dedicated, effective tech support, a Web site stocked with everything from downloadable product updates to customizable marketing collateral, and marketing funds to help promote the vendor and reseller together. But what about incentive contests, education programs, and other less obvious benefits? Which channel program is the best?

Winner: Samsung

Samsung’s Power Partner Program is no stranger to our pages. We’ve said since the program’s inception that the prize-laden and comprehensive “P3” is one of the most innovative and motivating programs to ever appear in this industry. But we didn’t know if we were preaching to the choir or to deaf ears. Apparently, plenty of resellers share our opinion.

“Being named as one of the top finalists for the Best Reseller Program is a ringing endorsement to Samsung’s pledge to offer our solution provides the best mix of technology and channel programs available today,” notes Rey Roque, vice president of marketing for Samsung’s Information Technology Division. “This is particularly rewarding as it comes directly from the solution providers and resellers who operate in this industry everyday. It’s always been our goal to provide outstanding channel programs and best-of-breed technologies and being named a top finalist is a true testament to Samsung’s complete dedication to channel partnership.”
We won’t rehash the P3 program here save only to save that it encompasses Samsung’s monitor, laser printer, multi-function MFP device, optical drive, hard drive, and plasma screen lines. Buy from any or all of these lines and get access to spiffs, rebates, co-op, buy one/get one deals, demo units, and more. Perhaps the highlight of the P3 show is the periodic points-based drawings for cool prizes that even newbie, low-volume resellers can win.

Samsung is also taking care not to let a good thing go stale. For example, the P3 program recently added the President’s Color Club, a sub-program running dedicated to spurring printer sales that runs on top of the regular P3. Qualify for the Color Club and you’ll automatically get a free CLP-550 color laser printer plus one free color cartridge set every quarter to keep it running. Demo units in the Color Club sell for an extra 30% off of the existing 20% discount already obtained through general P3 membership.

“There are so many parts to Samsung’s partner program,” says Noel Covarrubia, general manager of Complete Computer Service in St. Newnan, GA. “Like Samsung has this demo program for resellers. I can buy a 50” plasma screen at basically 50% of the list price. Nobody else has that deal. Profit-wise, we can buy Samsung monitors for a real low price and still make a decent chunk of money out of it. Plus whatever support we need, like posters and brochures and so on, it’s right there for us.”

The recently consolidated Microsoft Partner Program continues to win friends and influence resellers with its novel approach based around area competencies. Rather than pump rebate and spiff cash back at partners, the company instead rewards resellers with more far-reaching benefits. These include free Action Packs, free and/or discounted training, and inclusion in Microsoft’s resource directory so that end-user clients can find compatible resellers for their needs. Microsoft’s Partner Program lets resellers increase profits through increasing their knowledge. The success of this approach is what inspired voters to propel Microsoft into a very close second place for our award.

Runner-up: AMD

We like to think of AMD’s Market Builder as a “classic” reseller program, offering resellers targeted market information, marketing collateral, express RMA service, sales and technical documentation, news, and more. This is not unusual, but the reason why AMD was able to land in our three finalists for this category is that it executes this formula impeccably. Whereas some vendors promise these items but only deliver half-heartedly, AMD pours everything it can to the channel with some of the most devoted channel support staff in the industry.

AMD’s continuing success in the white box and server markets bear this out glowingly..

Best Margin Opportunity

Smart business is about getting maximum return for your sales efforts. Some VARs excel in creating high-margin custom solutions for their clients, but we’re looking for the best margin opportunity from a single off the shelf product applicable to a reasonably broad audience.

Winner: Computer Associates

Computer Associates is one of those companies that has product offerings that fit every reseller regardless of size, geography, or target clientele. From end-users to enterprises, CA offers everything from firewalls to information asset tracking. However, CA clinched our Best Margin Opportunity award based on the profit potential in its business products. Not only do they offer excellent front-side margins, but the residual income derived from ongoing license renewals makes CA’s offerings a must-have. “Channel partners, and systems builders in particular, are integral to CA’s long-term growth strategy,” says Adam Famularo, regional manager, OEM sales, at Computer Associates. “Our new system builder program is intended to drive sales through the system builder channel while increasing the profit margins of our partners. Our system builder partners have proven to be extraordinary adept at understanding their customers’ business and technology challenges, and leveraging CA solutions to address them.”

CA has done an incredible job of helping resellers in disparate niche fields or geographies pool their advantages on a common, mutually beneficial project. This can be particularly advantageous for small or medium-sized resellers that may lack the resources to master CA’s expansive education courses or tackle large jobs but still have the ability to close clients.

“CA is probably the highest margin opportunity we have, both in selling their product and selling the services after it,” says Jim Freeman, principal for Attain Technologies of Englewood, CO. “We do just about the full breadth of their stuff from antivirus to storage to centralized management. Most of the success has hinged on engagement with the field sales team in our area. Once they understood our capabilities, we’ve just gone to market well together.”

Naturally, CA’s products tend to cascade and multiply among clients, magnifying the profit potential. A customer might get hooked on eTrust Antivirus, adopt other products from the eTrust line, then branch out into storage and portal intelligence products as opportunity and growth dictate.

Runner-up: EPSON

One word: consumables. You might ask, “Doesn’t HP present the same margin opportunity as Epson?” Yes and no. Yes, the margins are rich across both brands. On the other hand, HP’s retail presence is gigantic, making it nearly impossible for resellers to attract printer business, much less make it profitable. Epson printers trail HP in popularity yet, based on reviews and our own in-house observations, surpass HP on quality. Furthermore, Epson does a better job at courting specialists ranging from pro photographers to stay-at-home scrapbookers, all of which require special papers, inks, and other supplies. The company’s consumables offer excellent margins while filling relatively little shelf space.

Runner-up: BenQ

Honestly, we were surprised that resellers had voted BenQ into our Best Margin Opportunity award finalists. After all, BenQ devotes its channel efforts into digital displays and optical drives—not exactly margin-rich luxury items. Then we realized that’s the point. DVD burners, projectors, and LCD panels have nearly become PC commodities. What BenQ does is maintain near-commodity channel pricing but inject added value into the products, whether that be component quality, cosmetic flare, or some other factors. This allows resellers to command greater unit ASPs and obtain better margins in common hardware categories. If your going to sell a monitor, you might as well make more money and happier customers doing it.

The David vs. Goliath Award

Which vendor who does the best overall job of helping system builders and VARs go head-to-head against mass merchants and e-tailers? Which vendor best helps a little David partner go out and beat a mighty Goliath retailer?

The Winner: Antec

White box builders must overcome the credibility and quality assumptions many customers bring through the door, and it’s true that many customers do judge a PC by its cover. You can be small, but don’t let your product look or feel small, if you take our meaning. A piano black finish case such as Antec’s Minuet may be compact, but it exudes refined quality. Hard to please enthusiasts will drool over Antec’s Super LANBOY. The company makes cases, power supplies, and cooling solutions for every PC audience and budget and always keeps the needs of channel partners foremost in mind.

“We really appreciate and are honored that the system builder community selected us to win this award,” says Scott Richards, Antec worldwide vice president of sales and marketing. “I think it reflects a relationship we’ve had with the channel since even before building PCs went mainstream.

“Antec helps the small guy by delivering a quality product that resellers can use to help differentiate from the big guys’ bland, me-too offerings. We have products now and coming that are focused on the system builder channel, and the overwhelming majority of their sales go into that channel. The products are priced well, and you can count on their quality, because we know that support is a real issue for resellers. You don’t want to have to take trips down to the school house to replace power supplies every six months.”

Every vendor spouts on and on about the quality of their products—so much so that we tend to ignore such claims. However, we’ve reviewed a lot of chassis equipment, and Antec has earned the right to boast. Apparently, the channel agrees.
“The reason we voted for Antec is because they stand behind their products,” says Kevin McClung, co-owner of KPM Computer Solutions in Winfield, KS. “For a computer reseller like we are, we need that level of quality to compete with the big boys. Time and care are taken in each design, and it shows. Yes, I would like to be able to shave another $30 to $40 off by going with a cheaper brand, but it’s not worth it to me, and it’s definitely not worth it to the customer in the end. They may want to pay less, but it’ll come back to haunt them two or three years down the line. And because we put a three-year warranty on our systems, it would come back to haunt us!”

Runner-up: 3Dlabs

In a business where ATI and NVIDIA tend to garner all of the video headlines, it’s encouraging to see that the channel is well aware of alternatives. 3Dlabs not only takes on its two larger rivals in the workstation arena, but, according to our voters, does a better job of helping them win sales from mainstream sales outlets.
“3Dlabs recently revamped its channel program to reflect our commitment to the success of our partners,” says Dane Moorefield, channel marketing manager at 3Dlabs. “Strong relationships combined with outstanding products result in a win-win for resellers. Ongoing communication, exceptional customer service, and face-to-face account management support our reputation for being easy to work with.”

Runner-up: Hitachi GST

All hard drives are not created equal. Hitachi acquired its storage line from IBM, and the changing of ownership has done nothing but good things for the product line. All of the other drive players are stuck with juggling their retail and channel efforts, and many times this can hurt margins. Hitachi is not a common retail drive brand, but it continues to push the boundaries of storage technology and deliver exceptional value in both consumer and corporate segments. The message from resellers in our award votes seems clear: Sell the bigger drive vendors and you’re likely to get beat up on price. Sell Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and you can take on these titans with better overall value.

Best Channel Product

Some vendors let resellers slug it out with mass merchants and e-tailers. Good vendors take steps to protect their channel partners with products specific to VARs and system builders. Which of these products is best, though? Which channel product not only presents a great up-front opportunity but also long-term returns?

Winner: Microsoft Action Pack

The Action Pack represents everything that has gone right with Microsoft’s reseller program efforts in the last 10 years. Any company with a product line as broad as Microsoft’s must find it difficult simply to inform resellers about all of its products much less have them fluent enough with those products to sell them effectively. The best weapon in Microsoft’s arsenal on this front is the Action Pack, a broad assembly of Microsoft software best suited to VARs and system builders, compiled with a wealth of marketing and tutorial information for the almost criminally low price of $299.
“We are excited to learn that Action Pack is a finalist for the RAM Awards Best Product category,” says Bob Crissman, Microsoft’s general manager, U.S. partner team. “Action Pack provides Registered Member Partners with the tools and resources they need to be successful with their customers. Partners have the benefit of using the software included in the Action Pack subscription for internal business needs as well as evaluation, demonstration, testing and education. Microsoft will continue to look for ways to provide unique offers, technical training, and business development opportunities to help partners remain competitive.”

Talk about long-term returns. Imagine if you’d spent years selling Outlook and were comfortable with just offering customers MS Office with their builds because that’s all you’re familiar with. Now imagine if a copy of Exchange Server dropped into your lap and you tried out the software on your own outside sales staff. Not only does it help improve the effectiveness of your own operation, now you feel ready to start crafting Exchange solutions for applicable clients, opening up tens or hundreds of future revenue opportunities.

“I voted for the Action Pack because of value for the money,” says Steve Torbick, partner with TESS Associates in Blairstown, NJ. “As a reseller, we’re constantly evaluating different products before we put them out in our client base. I never sell anything that we haven’t installed and used ourselves in-house. I basically get to evaluate and use the software for a fraction of the cost. We most heavily use the 2000/2003 server products, the Office products, and the virtual machine product, Virtual PC. Sometimes you get five licenses for a title, sometimes ten, depending on the product. But for evaluation or NFR purposes, it’s more than enough. The Action Pack is definitely a money maker, but it’s something that we make money off of indirectly. ”

Runner-up: AMD

Much like Epson, it’s not that you can’t buy AMD through retail and e-tail. The fact of the matter is that the Athlon and especially Opteron product lines lend themselves to the technology expertise and one-on-one sales environment of channel salespeople. Since Intel has the overall largest processor market share and nearly all of the public advertising dollars, end-users need someone to explain to them all of the value, feature, and performance benefits inherent in AMD’s latest CPUs. This is why the reseller channel has consistently been the bedrock of AMD’s market presence. And once customers experience the advantages of AMD processors, repeat purchases are almost a given.

Runner-up: Seagate

Perhaps it was Seagate’s new five-year warranty that landed Seagate among our Best Channel Product finalists. Or perhaps it was that Seagate often undercuts its more retail-prominent competitors, offering resellers a better value product for aggressively priced systems. Perhaps it was Seagate’s continuing dominance on the SCSI platform. Or just maybe it was the vendor’s bundling of Linspire’s popular Linux distro with select Seagate hard drives to enable full-function yet unbelievable affordable PCs. Our guess is it was all of these put together. Tack on back-end programs from a very channel-friendly manufacturer and you’ve got a product line almost custom-built for channel success.

Best Sales Force

Some vendors are better about providing sales help to their partners than others. Which vendor has an exceptional inside sales staff that always gives you exactly what you need to close the deal? How about the outside sales rep who not only educates you in your showroom but goes to bat for you with your clients? Got a vendor that can even offer you both?

Winner: Nvidia

How do you push the boundaries of what is technically possible with a graphics card yet keep technical glitches down to a bare minimum and, most importantly, educate all of your resellers about the latest innovations in your product line, most of which are fairly technical in nature? The fact that NVIDIA continually manages this juggling act clearly indicates why voters propelled the company to winning our Best Sales Force award.

“When it comes to serving the channel, the NVIDIA Channel Sales Team is one of the most passionate and dedicated sales force you will come across in this industry,” says Richard Salazar, NVIDIA’s manager of channel sales. “We like our customers, and we truly care about their business. We strive to listen and fully understand our partner’s business models and help them deliver the right NVIDIA-based solutions to their customers. Constant direct communication, feedback, and response to our channel partners when they need us—I am confident that these things helped us win a finalist vote of confidence from our beloved channel customers!”

Nothing rankles more than hearing “let me get back to you with an answer on that” while a sale or customer satisfaction hangs in the balance. The depth of experience and knowledge in NVIDIA’s sales team, not to mention the imagination they show in delivering persuasive marketing tools to the channel, is what truly sets the company apart with resellers.

“I’ve had a lot of issues with other video brands in the past, and I’ve always been able to rely on NVIDIA for my needs,” notes Daniel Flint, owner of Axis Computer Services in El Paso, TX. “Normally, I’ll contact a sales rep when I have an issue. For instance, I’ve had issues with some video cards adapting to integrated chipsets, and in the old days, sometimes I’d have to go through several obscure steps to get two products working correctly together. NVIDIA’s sales reps are quite knowledgeable about their products. So I’ll call the sales rep and say, hey, I’ve got this board I want to use with this card, and here are my end-user’s needs—how can you help me? With NVIDIA, right away I’ve got an answer.

Runner-up: Microsoft

You need all the help you can get in understanding a company’s product line and how to integrate it with a client’s needs. The human help Microsoft provides in the way of inside and outside sales staff is exceptional, but equally noteworthy are the company’s online tools. These can be things like the IOE Assessment tool for helping customers to prioritize their IT spending and guiding them through upgrade processes. Or it could involve Microsoft’s Go-to-market campaigns, which helps resellers synchronize their marketing around upcoming Microsoft launches. Whatever the sales need, Microsoft has demonstrated a keen willingness to give resellers whatever help they need to close sales and boost margins.

Runner-up: Intel

One might call Intel’s sales force exhaustive. No matter what your operation’s size or clientele, Intel has teams designed to help. Intel offers telesales, contract sales reps, and a channel support info desk for pre-sales or program info. All representatives are thoroughly versed in Intel’s product families and technologies as well as how to craft these into value-rich customer solutions. For suitable opportunities, Intel staff are more than ready to roll up their sleeves and call on clients alongside resellers, and these outside teams are even segmented according to channel category and vertical target market. This level of sales assistance precision is critical and part of why Intel remains a favorite among VARs and system builders.

Best Marketing Buddy

You’re a PC reseller, not an advertising agency. Marketing is another area where resellers can benefit immensely from a vendor that gives them the tools they need to lure in new business with maximum efficiency and lowest cost. A little online archive of product JPEGs just doesn’t cut it. Think customized mailings, must-see collateral, and drop-in Web designs that will drive business back to your showroom. Who’s your best marketing buddy?

Winner: Intel

You don’t grow to achieve higher than 80% market share without helping out those who help you. Intel has the unenviable job of spreading education about technologies ranging from Hyper-Threading to the differences between EM64T and IA-64 then helping you, its real sales force, to market these technologies in engaging, useful ways. Moreover, many of the channel marketing tools Intel has devised serve to help smaller resellers look like larger ones, thus helping to level the sales field.
“Over the last several years, Intel has spent a tremendous amount of time and resources to develop best in class program benefits and tools that have helped solution providers to deliver better products and solutions for their customers,” says Intel strategic channel alliances manager Frank Raimondi. “By partnering with Intel, Intel Product Dealers and Premier Providers have been able to utilize the Intel brand in their communications and access tools such as AdBuilder and EventBuilder to enable marketing activities. Intel continues to work with the channel to provide new enhancements to their programs that will have value and benefit for solution providers today and in the future.”

One of the key ingredients of Intel’s complete marketing thrust starts with the Intel Developer Forum, which helps create marketing pull through the press and public, and proceeds through the range of Intel Channel Conference road shows around the country.

“I’ve attended all of Intel’s Channel Conferences, and they’ve all been fantastic,” says Joseph Canzonieri, president of Crescent Computer Technologies in East Hanover, NJ. “They give you lots of literature and keep you up to date through weekly emails. Intel marketing also gives us the technical information to be aware of what trends are coming down the pipe and steer our customers in the right direction.”

Runner-up: Seagate

Seagate excels at understanding the channel and its needs. This is why the company creates smart marketing tools such as the Storage Application Model (www.storageanswers.com), a simple, GUI-based program that helps customers pick the right drive technology for their needs. Our bet on why Seagate emerged as a runner up here is the company’s exceptional channel training, which spans from webinars to cooperating with Intel at showcase conferences on sessions such as “Transitioning from Parallel SCSI to SAS.” After all, marketing a product is pointless if you’re not properly trained on it. Seagate even helps provide collateral and MDF assistance for things like advertising and customized email blasts to clients.

Runner-up: LG Electronics

LG is striving to become the next Sony or Samsung in the U.S. To that end, the company is spending millions upon millions of dollars to help build a strong, loyal channel presence. Part of this entails a very aggressive demo program for helping to get these high-value screens in front of your customers. LG also provides marketing funds for reseller support at trade shows, free units for use in large accounts, and the marketing and sales assistance of outside regional managers who will help close deals and continue account contact—not only with the reseller but also with other complementary manufacturers who can assist in a total solution installation. LG will even custom tailor ad hoc marketing programs for individual resellers with sufficient volume.