In an interview with CRN, Intel’s Jason Kimrey says the Intel Partner Alliance Partner of the Year Awards recognize those are who not only driving revenue growth but who are also building innovative solutions and business models on top of embracing the chipmaker’s AI strategy.

Intel has announced its top 27 partners in the Americas who have built fast-growing businesses and created innovative solutions with the semiconductor giant.

Announced Friday, the 2024 Intel Partner Alliance Partner of the Year Awards also recognized those who are championing the chipmaker’s AI strategy, which includes processors for PCs, data centers and edge computers. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company plans to formally recognize the partners at the Intel Vision event in April.

[Related: Intel Names 25-Year Company Veteran Michael Green As US Channel Chief]

This year’s winners consist of distributors, strategic OEMs, solution providers, global systems integrators, software partners and regional cloud service providers, representing the diverse range of partner types within the three-year-old Intel Partner Alliance program. Out of the 28 awards given, one partner took home two: Fremont, Calif.-based distribution giant TD Synnex.

In an interview with CRN, Jason Kimrey, Intel’s vice president of North America commercial and partner sales, said while revenue growth was one factor for how the chipmaker chose this year’s top partners, innovation was another important consideration.

“It’s never just about revenue growth. It’s also around innovation. And it could be product innovation. Innovation in the way that we go to market. Innovation in the business models that we’re exploring together. We’re really looking for partners who can be change agents on how we go to market with Intel,” he said.

For example, Kimrey pointed to Chandler, Ariz.-based Insight Enterprises. The solution provider powerhouse won an award for strategic marketing campaigns it led with Intel, which included work around a Windows 11-driven PC refresh and the launch of Intel’s Core Ultra processors.

He also called out Densify, a Richmond Hill, Ontario-based software partner that won an award for collaborating with the chipmaker on the Intel Cloud Optimizer software-as-a-service, which helps businesses optimize cloud computing costs.

“Innovation is a pervasive theme,” said Kimrey (pictured above).

The awards also recognized partners who are “laying the groundwork” for strategic areas like AI, where revenue and impact will start to show “in the months and years to come,” he added.

These partners included Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW, which worked with Intel on campaigns to promote the chipmaker’s view of AI PCs and important use cases.

There was also North Sioux City, S.D.-based Sterling, which partnered with the chipmaker on marketing campaigns and training sessions to help joint customers understand how Intel software and hardware technologies can solve AI problems.

“I think they agree that this is not a one-vendor-takes-all [market] and that there’s a need for industry-standard, open-standard AI solutions, and they’re playing a key role in the training and [conveying of that] information,” Kimrey said.

Insight, CDW and Sterling were among a handful of partners recognized by Intel who also recently won awards from the company’s rival in the AI computing space, Nvidia. The others who also won Nvidia Partner Network awards were TD Synnex, St. Louis, Mo.-based World Wide Technology and London-based Deloitte.

While Intel and Nvidia are ultimately battling over revenue share for future AI workloads, Kimrey said “no partner starts an AI conversation with hardware” because what’s most important is trying to solve the problems that customers are having. This, he added, is how Intel’s top Americas partners are approaching the fast-growing and fast-changing market.

Another strategic area where Intel is recognizing partners is software. Over the past few years, the company has set out to build a substantial software business, driven by CEO Pat Gelsinger’s “software-first” strategy that aims to make Intel the silicon platform of choice.

The partners honored for their work on Intel software products included Deloitte and Brazil-based RealCloud, who both have adopted the chipmaker’s Granulate software for optimizing application performance in data centers.

“It’s a key part of our overall story,” Kimrey said.

What follows are descriptions of the 28 Intel Partner Alliance Awards provided by Intel across U.S. distributors, U.S. strategic OEMs, solution providers and integrators, global systems integrators, software partners, Canadian partners and Latin American partners.

U.S. Distributor Award Winners

TD Synnex won the marketing award “for launching the first distributor-led AI and software solutions campaign, delivering massive return on investment on their VMware/Xeon and Intel vPro campaigns, and trailblazing their Partner Assist+ program to lead in the Intel Partner Alliance program recruitment and points redemption.”

The Fremont, Calif.-based distributor also won the client components award “for leading the U.S. channel in overall customer reach and sales volume to Intel’s broad channel.”

ASI, also based in Fremont, Calif., won the data center and AI components award “for leading the channel in over-achievement in Xeon sales, supporting the largest amount of customers, and for risk-taking with strategic stocking initiatives.”

Hebron, K.Y..-based BlueStar won the solution aggregation award “for driving across-the-board excellence in innovative solutions and state-of-the-art channel marketing, and for leading the way in delivering influence in key solutions spaces.”

Arrow Electronics, based in Centennial, Colo., won the embedded award “for leading the value-add distributor channel in embedded revenue and customer reach, and for fully leveraging Intel’s Field Sales teams to drive sales.”

Harrisburg, Pa.-based D&H Distributing won the branded systems award “for leading the channel in branded systems revenue growth on both client and data center, and for delivering best-in-channel sales of systems powered by Intel Core i5 processors or higher.”

Ingram Micro, based in Irvine, Calif.-based won the top Intel vPro award “for leading the channel in highest mix of Intel vPro systems sold in the U.S. distribution channel.”

U.S. Strategic OEM Award Winners

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Pure Storage won the data center and AI award “for demonstrating remarkable leadership as one of the first storage companies to launch fourth-gen Intel Xeon Scalable-based storage appliances in their suite of products with an outstanding ramp.”

BCM, based in Irvine, Calif., won the networking and edge award “for an outstanding partnership as an early adopter of Intel’s newest breakthrough processor and GPU technologies,” Intel said.

This resulted in “BCM single board computers (ECM-RPLP and ECM-ADLN) featured as Intel Edge Software Recommended Hardware passing through both the Intel Edge Software Device Qualification (Intel ESDQ) and the Intel Edge AI Box Qualification processes to benefit developers, ISVs and SIs in quick time to market,” the company added.

Also based in Irvine, Calif., Razer won the consumer and commercial award “for their trailblazing role in gaming technology, choosing Intel’s HX platform to power Razer’s ultra-premium gaming 16-inch and 18-inch notebooks, ensuring a premium customer experience,” Intel said.

“This collaboration extended to a multifaceted launch strategy, including a press video, prominent spotlights in Intel’s CES keynote, and global exposure through demo units distributed to Intel’s marketing teams worldwide,” the company added. “Razer and Intel’s collaboration highlights the gaming hardware evolution and our joint commitment to gamers for continued innovation, global reach, and immersive gaming experiences.”

Trenton Systems, based in Duluth, Georgia, won the public sector award “for outstanding [year-over-year] revenue and design win growth and their pivotal role in growing Intel’s revenue and expanding its channel partner network,” according to Intel.

“Trenton Systems develops innovative advanced computing solutions leveraging the full potential of Intel’s technology portfolio to address evolving customer needs, all supported by the Made in the USA initiative,” the company added. “Trenton Systems is also a strong partner supporting Intel Federal and Intel’s OCTO, as well as engagements across all public sector teams.”

Solution Provider and Integrator Award Winners

St. Louis, Mo.-based World Wide Technology won the data center and AI award “for consistently driving innovative data center solutions leveraging Intel’s portfolio to advance core infrastructure to the latest secure and sustainable AI,” Intel said.

“WWT innovates on Intel platforms, building solutions in their state-of-the-art Advanced Technology Center and pushing the envelope of new Intel AI-powered solutions in their AI proving ground,” the company added.

New York-based Presidio won the data center and AI growth award “for consistently pushing the boundaries of data center solutions resulting in Presidio fast transition to market on Intel’s latest data center platforms,” Intel said.

“By leveraging cutting-edge technologies within Intel’s data center portfolio, Presidio plays a pivotal role in advancing everything from the core infrastructure that powers the enterprise, to the forefront of secure and sustainable AI,” the company added.

Insight Enterprises, based in Chandler, Ariz., won the marketing award “for continuing to help Intel evolve how it reaches customers through account-based marketing. Insight’s strategic marketing campaigns with Intel showcase technology leadership,” according to Intel.

“They excel in [Windows] 11 refresh and Intel Core Ultra launch, highlighting solutions from edge to cloud. Insight’s innovative approach elevates Intel’s brand, demonstrating shared commitment to sustainable innovation,” the company added.

Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW won the client award “for being instrumental in driving Intel’s leadership in the client computing segment, from the development of a comprehensive service offering leveraging the capabilities of Intel’s vPro platform to their incredible focus and support on the development of a go-to-market strategy to accelerate the adoption of the AI PC category, CDW has demonstrated the value of partnership at every turn,” Intel said.

Compucom, based in Fort Mill, S.C., won the client growth award “for their instrumental and advisory partnership in Intel’s code-named Raptor Lake and Meteor Lake processors, which contributed to the development of the AI PC Category,” according to the chipmaker.

Japan-based Rakuten Symphony won the edge award “for catalyzing the industry’s shift toward higher levels of automation, simplification and industrialization in network operations with Symware 2.0, powered by fourth-gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with Intel vRAN Boost and Rakuten’s Cloud Native Orchestrator, with Intel vRAN Boost,” the company said.

Iron Bow Technologies, based in Herndon, Va., won the public sector award “for their dedicated partnership to transform client technology investments into robust capabilities across mission-critical environments,” according to Intel.

“Iron Bow exhibits exceptional dedication to innovation and advancing cutting-edge Intel-based products including Iron Bow Hybrid Cloud as a service, workforce transformation with vPro and edge solutions,” the semiconductor giant added.

North Sioux City, S.D.-based Sterling won the public sector growth award “for demonstrating outstanding proficiency in delivering and implementing transformational AI business solutions,” according to Intel.

“Their profound comprehension of the extensive AI landscape, coupled with a steadfast commitment to spearhead Intel’s cutting-edge advancements in AI accelerators, NPUs, GPUs and software enablement via tools like oneAPI, underscores Sterling as a crucial partner for implementing Intel’s global strategy,” the company said.

Global Systems Integrator And Software Partner Award Winners

London-based Deloitte won the global systems integrator award “for expanding their partnership and exceeding sales goals, driving key workloads and AI advancements across U.S., Canada and EMEA,” according to Intel.

“Deloitte integrated Intel Granulate into their FinOps platform and expanded innovation with Intel’s software, aiding customers in achieving cost optimization, securing workloads, and accelerating their AI and software development,” the semiconductor giant added. “They deeply engage with Intel AI, creating Xeon use case guides, evaluating Intel Gaudi, and leveraging the AI PC to build cost-effective enterprise AI solutions.”

Red Hat, the IBM-owned software company in Raleigh, N.C., won the global software partner award “for their collaborative, open innovation stretching from foundational open-source solutions to enabling support for Red Hat OpenShift, Red Hat OpenShift AI and Red Hat Enterprise Linux with OpenVino, fourth- and fifth-gen Xeon Scalable processors, Gaudi and GPU Flex,” Intel said.

This, according to the company, enabled Red Hat to deliver a “comprehensive platform experience and fueling AI-enabled workloads across the hybrid cloud.”

“Red Hat’s long-standing collaboration with Intel spans a diverse set of use cases, partners and customers for edge, industrial, AI, security and the telecommunications sectors that is further scaled through co-marketing campaigns and programs,” the company added.

Richmond Hill, Ontario-based Densify won the cloud software partner award “for Densify’s collaboration with Intel to continuously fine-tune the Intel Cloud Optimizer software-as-a-service offering, to include a sophisticated understanding of key Intel hardware features and how they benefit specific customer workloads,” Intel said.

“Densify’s Intel Cloud Optimizer provides each customer with the best possible [return on investment] and value from Intel’s latest and greatest technology in the public cloud,” it added.

Canada And Latin America Award Winners

Montreal-based Hypertec won the Canadian strategic OEM award “for their remarkable 153 percent [year-over-year] growth driven by their continuous innovation to scale and champion sustainable compute through their immersion-cooled platform Trident, powered by fourth- and fifth-gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors,” Intel said.

“Hypertec works closely with Intel to bring next-generation Intel processors and accelerators under liquid- and immersion-cooled environments to support the evolving compute demands of AI while maintaining sustainability and reducing [total cost of ownership],” the company added.

Compugen, based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, won the Canadian solution provider award “for their revenue growth and driving Intel refresh in public sector and education segments,” Intel said.

“Compugen partners closely with Intel and its ISV partners to develop scalable and innovative AI Enterprise solutions,” according to the company.

Brazil-based RealCloud won the Latin American cloud service provider award “for their adoption and promotion of Intel Granulate, generating a significant pipeline and closing the first customer deal in Latin America,” Intel said.

“In addition, [RealCloud was recognized] for their investment in the Densify Intel Cloud Optimizer software-as-a-service offering to optimize and influence the cloud migration of key workloads to Intel-based cloud instances,” the company added.

Positivo Tecnologio, also based in Brazil, won the Latin American strategic OEM award “for developing a new Intel vPro notebook design based on 13th Gen Intel Core processors with new features including Thunderbolt,” according to Intel.

“In a competitive market with strong [multinational corporations], Positivo became an Intel vPro success story in 2023. Offering this design to the market, Positivo increased their sales volume 4x from prior year, winning key end customers in the enterprise and SMB market,” it added.

Santiago, Chile-based SONDA won the Spanish-speaking solution provider award “for their partnership with Intel to deliver projects aimed at advancing digital transformation in businesses across Latin America and the United States,” Intel said.

“SONDA’s specialization in IT solutions integration in combination with Intel’s technology and infrastructure expertise aim to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies, especially with startups across Latin America,” the company added.

SoftwareOne, based in Switzerland, won the Spanish-speaking cloud service provider award “for being the fastest-growing partner in Intel’s Cloud Optimization portfolio across Latin America,” according to the semiconductor giant.

“SoftwareOne is a leading global software and cloud solutions provider that is redefining how companies migrate and modernize their workloads and applications, and, in parallel, helping customers to navigate and optimize the resulting software and cloud changes,” it added.