CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Insert in the fourth paragraph under the "Award Recipient Quotes" section (after the Ryan Williams quote):
"Digital Direction is honored to receive this award for the largest UCaaS deal in the channel. We have an incredible partnership with AVANT, whom we regard as the most forward thinking company in the vendor relationship space. Our business model provides professional services and consulting to larger clients across the globe which demands we are always in the know. AVANT’s research and pulse on the market gives us that competitive advantage to bring to our clients." Bart Zimmerman, CEO and Founder, Digital Direction
The corrected release reads:
AVANT COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES FIRST ANNUAL SPECIAL FORCES SUMMIT AWARDS
Award winners celebrated for commitment to sales results, innovation and disruption in the channel
AVANT Communications today announced winners of the first annual Special Forces Summit Awards. Recipients were recognized across twenty categories for their sales achievements and sales resourcefulness.
“Honoring our partners’ tremendous achievements is a highlight of the Special Forces Summit event,” said Ian Kieninger, chief executive officer, AVANT. “We’re inspired to continuously help improve our partners sales abilities through sales enablement tools, resources and training events such as the Special Forces Summit. We are thrilled to honor these top performers who truly represent the best of the best in the channel.”
Channel Sales winners were chosen based on performance. Vendors were elected by AVANT’s channel partners. The AVANT Special Forces Partner Excellence Award categories and winners are:
Top Channel Performance - Based on AVANT 2018 Fiscal Year ending March 31, 2018
Top Sales Performance (> $500M in annual sales): CDW
Top Sales Performance (< $500M in annual sales): Pro Strategy Solutions
Rookie of the Year: Myriad Supply
Top Deal in UCaaS: Digital Direction
Top Deal in IaaS: CDW
Top Deal in SD-WAN: CDW
Top Deal in Security: FCS
Top Deal in WAN: Pro Strategy Solutions
Top Deal in Colocation: ePlus, Inc.
Best use of Sales Resources
Best Use of AVANT BattleLab: MNJ Technologies
Best Use of IQAs: Myriad Supply
Best Social Media Presence: Kyle Burt, Catch Solutions
Best CIO Event: Nuvalo
Top Vendor Awards: Criteria based on key attributes for success from AVANT Cloud Channel Survey
Most Revenue Potential in 2018: 8x8, Inc.
Best New Vendor: CloudGenix
Best Sales Engineers: Masergy Communications
Easiest to do Business With: 8x8, Inc.
Most Responsive Vendor: RingCentral
Most Responsive Vendor: RapidScale, Inc.
Award Recipient Quotes:
“Master Agent Partners like AVANT are critical as we continue to grow our channel business – it’s impossible to have the kind of YoY growth we’re targeting without the sales velocity a partner like AVANT provides. 8x8 and AVANT were both born in the cloud, and their commitment to it has been unwavering. They’re focused on enabling their Sub-Agents to sell cloud services like 8x8, which has produced a very strong partnership, and their differentiation in our market as an advisor who truly understands next-gen, best-of-breed technologies, is a unique strength we hope to build off of to continue to do a lot of business with them and their partners in the future.” Christopher Peters, Global Channel Chief, 8x8, Inc.
“The resources and the knowledge that AVANT brings to the CDW AIM team is second to none. They operate at the highest level of efficiency and their team continues to help us drive forward to achieve our highest goals together. We consider them not only an extension of our team, but we also consider them friends. We truly thank AVANT for their unwavering support.” Andrew Ballema, Senior Manager, AIM Services, CDW
“Our partnership with AVANT is a critical component to the success of the AIM team at CDW. AVANT continues to go above and beyond for us, and we’re so grateful for their constant support and guidance through today’s intricate Cloud marketplace.” Marcia Dempster, Cloud Platform Executive, AIM Services, CDW
“AVANT and their channel partners represent the best of our industry. At this year’s AVANT Special Forces Summit, that community chose CloudGenix as their Best New Vendor. We’re humbled and honored by the recognition and very thankful for the partnership.” Ryan Williams, Director of Channel Sales - Agent Community, CloudGenix
"Digital Direction is honored to receive this award for the largest UCaaS deal in the channel. We have an incredible partnership with AVANT, whom we regard as the most forward thinking company in the vendor relationship space. Our business model provides professional services and consulting to larger clients across the globe which demands we are always in the know. AVANT’s research and pulse on the market gives us that competitive advantage to bring to our clients." Bart Zimmerman, CEO and Founder, Digital Direction
“Big thank you to AVANT for all of the support and resources extended to ePlus thus far. Through the Avant team and vendor ecosystem we’ve been able to continue driving value to our customers by delivering new technologies and services with minimal time to market. Looking forward to another explosive year.” Jake Jansen, National Practice Director, Cloud Enablement Services, ePlus, Inc.
“We are proud to partner with AVANT Communications and sincerely appreciate the recognition to receive Top Deal in Security. It was an honor to be included in the Special Forces Summit and among the best of the best in the channel. We look forward to continuing our partnership with AVANT Communications to serve our mutual customers.” Robert Ford, CEO and Founder, FCS
“AVANT understands that a one-size-fits-all approach to technology is not strategic. We make a great team because they listen to their customers and work closely with our solution engineers to customize the perfect design to solve customer challenges. Our entire sales engineering team is grateful to receive the recognition.” Chris Werpy, Senior Vice President, Solutions and Services, Masergy Communications
“When you partner with an organization that invests an immense amount of resources into creating a state-of-the-art demo center like the BattleLab, it would be silly not to utilize it. As an organization, we have been blown away by AVANT’s continual efforts to help us grow our business. Whenever we’ve utilized the BattleLab for customer meetings we not only set ourselves apart from everyone else out there, we win the business...every time!” Elizabeth Schneider, Channel Sales Manager, MNJ Technologies
“Since partnering with AVANT, Myriad has seen a dramatic increase in cloud, colo, and connectivity-related recurring revenue. Leveraging AVANT’s extensive resources and expertise, Myriad has successfully engaged in and closed more complex and sizable client projects. This has put us on pace to triple our billing MRR in under 24 months. Simply put, AVANT has reinvented the blueprint for integrating cloud, colocation and connectivity into the technology discussion.” Andrew Fisher, CEO and Founder, Myriad Supply
“We’re excited to join forces with AVANT, who powers our market intelligence and allows us to laser focus on enterprise cloud enablement. AVANT shares our passion for educating, elevating, and sharing insights that help the enterprise make well-informed decisions. Our event earlier this year showcased some of the most promising companies in infrastructure, SD-WAN and UCaaS, and we’re honored to receive this recognition.” Manon Buettner, Founder and CEO, Nuvalo
“Being recognized by two visionary entrepreneurs who have built a market-leading master agency is an honor. We are proud to be the first recipient of the Most Responsive Vendor award. This is a big deal for RapidScale and something myself and Co-founder William Hiatt are unbelievably proud of. At RapidScale, we always strive to provide our partners with the best experience and we believe winning this award speaks to that.” Randy Jeter, CEO and Co-Founder, RapidScale, Inc.
“At RingCentral, we’re focused on supporting and enabling our partners in unique ways. Through our pure Channel Harmony program, we provide access to subject-matter experts, so our partners can drive successful outcomes for their business customers, with 100% commissions paid to all involved for the lifetime of the customer. This recognition by AVANT and their sub-agents reinforces how much we value our partners in working together to bring our industry-leading cloud communications and collaboration solutions to enterprises around the world.” Zane Long, Senior Vice President, Global Channel Sales, RingCentral
About AVANT
AVANT is a channel sales enablement company and the nation’s premiere distributor for next-generation technologies. AVANT adds unique value with its focus and expertise in channel sales assistance, sales training, sales guidance, and sales tools to fuel IT services business growth. From complex cloud designs to global wide-area network deployments, AVANT sets the industry standard in enabling its partners and clients to make intelligent decisions about services, technology and cost-effective communications. For more information, visit www.goavant.net. Follow us on https://www.linkedin.com/company/avant-communications_2 and https://twitter.com/@avant_CCC
