South Africa’s resellers have once again made their voices heard, voting for their favourite vendors in the 2020 Channelwise Awards.
Over the years, the Channelwise Awards have tracked the progress of the South African IT industry, reflecting each year how technology and the various players have grown, matured and changed.
2021 marked the second year of a world grappling with Covid-19 and various lockdowns. For South African companies, global stock shortages and supply chain issues were exacerbated by civil unrest, depressed business confidence, currency fluctuation and local elections.
Despite all the challenges, the IT industry has risen to the occasion, with resellers continuing to service their customers with the support of vendors and distributors.
For the Channelwise Awards, reseller partners chose their favourite vendors and distributors in the following categories: Infrastructure, Networking; End User Devices; Printers and Peripherals; Security; and Components and Accessories.
The categories and sub-categories reflect the changing industry and highlight the technology directions that partners and their end user customers are taking.
Well over 1 000 reseller partners took part in this year’s Channelwise Awards survey, sending clear messages to their vendors and distributors and helping to drive more positive changes in the years to come.
The top vendors in 2020, as voted by the reseller channel, are as follows:
Infrastructure
Servers
Finalists: Dell; HPE; Lenovo
Winner: Dell
IaaS/PaaS providers
Finalists: Microsoft Azure; AWS; Teraco
Winner: Microsoft Azure
Virtualisation
Finalists: VMware; Microsoft; Nutanix
Winner: VMware
Hyperconverged Infrastructure
Finalists: VMware; Nutanix; Dell
Winner: VMware
Storage subsystems
Finalists: Dell; HPE; Lenovo
Winner: Dell
Backup systems
Finalists: Veeam; Dell; Commvault
Winner: Veeam
Cloud Storage
Finalists: Microsoft; VMware, AWS
Winner: Microsoft
UPS
Finalists: Eaton; APC; Mecer
Winner: APC
Inverters
Finalists: Mecer; Apex; RCT
Winner: Mecer
Networking
Networking devices (switches, routers etc)
Finalists: HPE; Cisco; Dell
Winner: Cisco
SD-WAN
Finalists: VMware; Fortinet; Cisco
Winner: VMware
Cabling
Finalists: Zone by DataNet; Molex; Netgear
Winner: Molex
Edge Computing (IoT Gateways etc)
Finalists: HPE; Dell; Huawei
Winner: Dell
Cabinets and Racks
Finalists: HPE; APC; Huawei
Winner: APC
Network Management
Finalists: Cisco; HPE; Dell
Winner: Dell
Printers and peripherals
Laser printers and MFPs
Finalists: HP Inc; Brother; Canon
Winner: HP Inc
Inkjet printers and MFPs
Finalists: HP Inc; Canon; Epson
Winner: HP Inc
Projectors
Finalists: Epson; Acer; Dell
Winner: Epson
Scanners and ECM
Finalists: HPE; Fujitsu; Ricoh
Winner: HPE
Monitors
Finalists: Dell; Samsung; HP Inc
Winner: Dell
End user devices
Personal Computers
Finalists: Dell; Lenovo; HP Inc
Winner: Dell
Workstations
Finalists: Dell; Lenovo; HP Inc
Winner: Dell
Thin Clients
Finalists: HP Inc; Dell; Lenovo
Winner: Dell
Gaming PCs
Finalists: Dell; Asus; MSI
Winner: Dell
Notebooks
Finalists: Dell; HP Inc; Lenovo
Winner: Dell
Gaming Notebooks
Finalists: Dell; Asus; MSI
Winner: Dell
Tablets
Finalists: Samsung; Lenovo; Apple
Winner: Samsung
Security
Endpoint software
Finalists: Kaspersky; Microsoft; Sophos
Winner: Kaspersky
Hardware (appliances)
Finalists: Fortinet; Cisco; SonicWall
Winner: Cisco
Network/cloud security
Finalists: Fortinet; Symantec; McAfee
Winner: Fortinet
Security management
Finalists: Fortinet; Cisco; Solarwinds
Winner: Fortinet
Cameras
Finalists: HikVision; Axis; Dahua
Winner: HikVision
Components and accessories
Bags and sleeves
Finalists: Targus; Dell; Port
Winner: Targus
Headphones
Finalists: Logitech; Redragon; Jabra
Winner: Logitech
Keyboards, mouses, joysticks, VR headsets
Finalists: Logitech; Microsoft; Redragon
Winner: Logitech
CPUs and GPUs
Finalists: Intel; AMD; Nvidia
Winner: Intel
Graphic Cards
Finalists: Nvidia; MSI; Asus
Winner: Nvidia
Memory
Finalists: Kingston; Transcend; Crucial
Winner: Kingston
Disk Drives
Finalists: Seagate; Kingston; Western Digital
Winner: Seagate
Sensors (IoT devices)
Finalists: Xiaomi; Raspberry Pi; LifeSmart
Winner: Xiaomi