EMC Corporation named Systems and Hardware Vendor or the Year

The "Systems and Hardware Vendor of the Year" award acknowledges EMC's dedication to EMC Velocity² Partners, in particular its commitment to driving channel growth through business development activities, reseller initiatives, product portfolio and services opportunities. EMC was chosen from a field of seven market-leading IT vendors.

"EMC stood out in a very strong category as a company that has dramatically improved its Middle East channel engagement activities in the past 12 months, particularly in terms of the services and tools available to resellers through the EMC Velocity² Partner Program,"

commented Andrew Seymour, Editor of Channel Middle East.

"The judging panel also looked favourably on EMC's commitment to better supporting its regional Velocity² Partners through the addition of new sales offices and channel management in markets such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia," added Seymour.

The Channel Middle East Awards is organized by Channel Middle East Magazine, the primary source of news and information on the distribution, reseller and retail channels in the region, and Channel Arabic Magazine, the only Arabic-language publication providing news, trends and analysis on Middle East IT channel business. The award program is aimed at recognizing individuals and companies that have made their mark in the IT channel in the Middle East throughout the past twelve months.

"I am delighted to see the recognition and success of EMC's Velocity² Partner Program. This is the second Channel Award for EMC in EMEA in less than three months. In January, we were awarded IT Europa's Best Vendor Channel Program at the magazine's annual European IT Excellence Awards. This new award highlights our innovative, service-orientated channel program for our partners in the Middle East and our overall strong commitment towards the channel," comments Willem Hendrickx, EMC EMEA Vice President Channel and Mid-Market.

Mohammed Amin, Regional Manager, EMC Middle East, said,

"We are honored to be recognized and awarded with such a respected accolade. Moreover, it further highlights our commitment to resellers in the Middle East. EMC's investments in reseller enablement and training initiatives have resulted in more than 30 Middle East resellers signing up to the Velocity² Partner program."

EMC's recent distinction as one of the Top 10 Companies by itp.net's yearly Top 100 Awards further demonstrates its continued growth and commitment to the region. The high caliber list is made up of the ten most exceptional IT companies in the Middle East and represents those companies with the investment, innovation and commitment to lead the region's IT market. In addition to being named in the overall category of Top 10 companies in the Middle East, EMC was also listed as number 2 in the category of Data Centre Solution and number 1 for the Storage category.

The itp.net Top 100 is a yearly list recognizing the technology companies that are leaders in their sectors; identifying those companies whose technical excellence, investment and operations make them real power players in the Middle East.