We are thrilled to announce that the UC Partner Awards is back for its third year, with the application process now open! Applications for this prestigious global awards event open today, marking the beginning of an exciting journey to celebrate excellence in the UC and Collaboration channel.
The UC Partner Awards seek to recognise the remarkable achievements of Channel Partners, MSPs, Resellers, and other organisations that have played a pivotal role in driving innovation and growth in the UC technology sector. As businesses continue to navigate their hybrid working journeys, the Channel is at the forefront of ensuring that companies of all sizes can maximise the return on their investments in UC technology. The UC Partner Awards aim to highlight those partner businesses that are making a significant difference in the Channel ecosystem.
We are honoured to introduce the distinguished panel of judges who will be evaluating the applications for the UC Partner Awards. These industry experts bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the judging process, ensuring that the winners truly represent excellence in the UC and Collaboration channel.
Let's get to know them:
Jay McBain - Chief Analyst – Channels, Partnerships & Ecosystems – Canalys
Jay McBain is one of the most visible and respected thought leaders in the global channel ecosystem, and he is often sought out for industry guidance and future trends.
He has spent his 28-year career in various executive channel sales, marketing, and strategy roles within IBM, Lenovo, Autotask, ChannelEyes, and Forrester. Jay is Chief Analyst at Canalys – the world's leading research firm with a distinct focus on channels, partnerships, alliances, and ecosystems.
Anurag Agrawal - Chief Global Analyst, Techaisle
Anurag Agrawal is a renowned industry analyst with over 35 years of experience. He is the Founder and Chief Global Analyst at Techaisle and was previously the head of Gartner's Worldwide Research Operations.
Anurag is recognised as one of the top analysts to follow in the Midmarket and Channel Partner segments. He is an analytical blogger specialising in developing go-to-market strategies and advising senior executives on the cloud, routes-to-market, emerging technologies, and industry dynamics. Anurag consults with senior executives on developing their Channel, SMB, and midmarket strategies based on data collected from Techaisle market research. He began his analyst career with IDC, where he is credited for launching IDC's much sought-after quarterly market share tracker research.
Janet Schijns - CEO, JS Group
Janet Schijns is CEO and Co-Founder of JS Group, a go-to-market acceleration firm dedicated to achieving results in the Channel Megacosm.
She serves on the Board of Directors for AvePoint and Ninjio and regularly advises top technology firms on their go-to-market.
She was formerly EVP and CMSO at Office Depot, and prior to that, she was the Chief Channel Executive Chief Marketing Technologist and ran business products for Verizon. Additionally, Janet ran the channel organisation for Motorola Enterprise and Government and is a noted and admired channel expert in the industry, regularly appearing on the main stage at a variety of events.
Craig Durr - Senior Analyst, Wainhouse Research
Craig Durr is a Senior Analyst at Wainhouse Research (part of the Futurum Group), focusing on the unified communications and collaboration market. Craig covers Meeting Room Collaboration, providing research and analysis on the products and services that enable group collaboration and communications.
In addition to following the technology, Craig also studies the human elements of work - organising his findings into the workforce, the workplace, and the workflows – and charting how these influences drive today's and tomorrow's technologies and business strategies. Craig's experience includes product leadership roles at Poly, Dell, Microsoft, and IBM.
Jasmina Muller - Chief Ecosystem Officer, Partner Tap
Jasmina Muller is the Chief Ecosystem Officer at PartnerTap, a partner ecosystem platform that helps channel teams identify more sales opportunities. With over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, Jasmina has a proven track record of success in building and managing strategic partnerships. She is an expert in building and maintaining relationships with partners and has a deep understanding of the technology industry and the challenges facing today's IT organisations.
Prior to joining PartnerTap, Jasmina held senior partnership and business development roles at several leading technology companies, where she developed and executed successful partner strategies that drove significant revenue growth and increased market share. She supports organisations that give back to the community and promote DEI efforts, volunteering her time with board seats on Tech4Change, the Alliance of Channel Women and Achieve Unite.
Jessica Baker - Chief Program Officer, AchieveUnite
Jessica Baker is the Chief Program Officer at AchieveUnite. She is a seasoned Channel and Ecosystem expert with over 30 years of experience developing and managing partner strategy, programs, marketing, enablement and operations.
She is fanatical about generative AI, cloud, SaaS and everything that means to the partner ecosystem. Throughout her career, she has been recognised with many awards, and she sits on several channel leadership boards. Prior to co-founding AchieveUnite, she held leadership positions at Progress Software, Compuware, Signiant, and Softek.
Pete Matheson - CEO at Pete Matheson
Pete Matheson has spent over 20 years working in the IT industry, helping businesses of all sizes improve their IT systems, processes, and support. Over the last decade, he built a Managed Services Provider in the UK from scratch, going from having no money in the bank and no staff to achieving over £1.2m in turnover with a team of 16.
Throughout his journey of running his business, he began sharing everything he could about how he ran and grew his business via his YouTube channel, which has now amassed over 43,000 subscribers.
