Nominations open for the new-look ARN Innovation Awards 2024

Nominations are now open for the new-look ARN Innovation Awards in 2024, housing a modernised and streamlined awards line-up featuring a new Innovation for Good category.

Set for Thursday 14 November, the black-tie event will unite the IT industry ecosystem under the ARN roof at Doltone House in Darling Island, Sydney.  

In 2024, the Innovation Awards program was streamlined from 35 to 30 awards, as ARN raises the bar for industry excellence across Australia.

This includes a new category Innovation for Good designed to acknowledge the contributions of industry-leading organisations that are making a positive societal impact, particularly in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and Sustainability within the IT sector. 

Distributor, partner and vendor organisations are all welcome to participate in this category, recognising meaningful industry-wide innovation.

The Innovation Awards illuminates the entire local ecosystem. It not only acknowledges and celebrates expertise, but also amplifies transformative examples of best practices across the ecosystem. 

The program, now in its seventeenth year, recognises the standout work of managed service providers, system integrators and value-added resellers – across metro and regional locations, complemented by start-ups, specialists and homegrown independent software vendors.

Innovation at vendor and distributor levels is also magnified, recognising leading champions of the channel, creative thinkers, consistent performers and market leaders.

To achieve this, Innovation Awards will honour the channel across seven categories, spanning Partner, Tech Partner, Innovation for Good, Start-up, Personal Innovation, Vendor and Distributor categories as well as Hall of Fame.

Nominations are now open and will run until Friday 23 August. Nominations can be submitted by an individual, an employee, employer or business partner with only Australia-based individuals and examples eligible. 

Finalists will be selected by a shortlist panel including Moheb Moses of Channel Dynamics, ARN founder, Susan Searle, A/NZ editorial director Cathy O’Sullivan and ARN editor Julia Talevski.

ARN holds a wider responsibility for ensuring as many credible technology providers are endorsed through this unique awards program, aligned to the collective goal of providing a platform upon which the ecosystem can shine across Australia.

INNOVATION AWARDS in 2024:

PARTNER

Recognises customer innovation and excellence across the key market segments of Enterprise, Mid-Market and SMB. The Regional award is open to partners with headquarters outside of metropolitan cities. Nominate here.

TECH PARTNER

Recognises partners leveraging established and emerging solutions to enhance customer innovation levels, underpinned by deep levels of expertise and specialist services spanning Cloud; Security; Digital Transformation; and Emerging technology segments. Nominate here.

START-UP

Recognises market-leading start-ups building unique businesses to bring innovative new technologies to the Australian market across Product, Industry and Entrepreneur. Note: All submissions must be from Australian-based start-ups commencing business after 1 July 2019. Nominate here.

VENDOR

Recognises vendors helping partners deliver transformative solutions and services to customers, operating market-leading approaches to engagement and enablement across the key technology segments of Cloud, Security, Hardware, Software, Networking and Specialist. Nominate here.

INNOVATION FOR GOOD

Recognises the work of industry leading organisations with demonstrated positive impact on society, putting words to practice through targeted impact in relation to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and Sustainability in the IT industry. Note: This is open to distributor, partner and vendor organisations. Nominate here.

DISTRIBUTOR

Recognises distributors spearheading ecosystem innovation and growth through transformative approaches to vendor engagement and partner enablement, spanning the core categories of Hardware, Software, Specialist and Creativity. Nominate here.

PERSONAL INNOVATION

Recognises standout individuals across Partner, Vendor and Distributor organisations who contribute to customer, company and channel success through a transformative approach to Management, Channel, Sales, Technical and Marketing Excellence. Nominate here.

HALL OF FAME

Recognises long-standing leaders who have been instrumental in the development and enhancement of the Australian channel. One individual will be inducted into the ARN Hall of Fame in 2024 and will be determined by the executive panel of industry judges plus previous Hall of Fame inductees.