Avnet Technology Solutions Unveils New Vertical Market Practices

Today at the annual Avnet Technology Solutions – IBM Partner Summit, Avnet Technology Solutions, the IT solutions distribution leader and operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), unveiled three new vertical market practices – EnergyPath™, FinancialPath™ and RetailPath™. Based on Avnet’s proven SolutionsPath® methodology for capitalizing on specialized growth markets, these dedicated practices are designed to help Avnet’s solution provider partners in the U.S., including value-added resellers (VARs) and independent software vendors (ISVs), become trusted advisors to their customers.

"The evolving landscapes of the energy, financial and retail markets are driving significant investment in IT infrastructure that can create competitive differentiators through improved operational efficiency and customer interaction,” said Michael Houghton, vice president of Vertical Market Solutions for Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. "Whether a VAR or ISV has an existing specialization or is ready to enter a new market, Avnet’s EnergyPath, FinancialPath and RetailPath practices will enable them to quickly gain industry-specific knowledge, obtain access to an extensive portfolio of enablement offerings and expertise, and deliver cross-supplier solutions that address the needs of end customers in industry-specific markets.”

Avnet Technology Solutions’ new vertical market practices are managed by experienced market experts. Leading the EnergyPath practice is Nicole Evans, director, Energy and Utilities Solutions Practice. Evans joins the company from IBM, where she held various roles responsible for the strategic and operational management of IBM’s hardware business in high-growth global markets. FinancialPath is led by Matthew Geer, director, Financial Services Solutions Practice. Geer most recently directed IT strategy development at American Express and previously held senior roles at Bank One and JP Morgan Chase. Leading RetailPath is Joe Delgado, director, Retail Practice. Prior to Avnet, Delgado was with IBM for 14 years, where he worked with VARs and ISVs in the retail industry.

Each practice area will offer vertical market solutions that leverage Avnet’s industry-leading technology supplier partnerships. Avnet’s VAR and ISV partners will be able to address their customers’ IT needs with solutions that include services, software and hardware, and are supported with a comprehensive library of solution-selling tools and resources that provide a competitive edge. Through research and guidance from leading industry analysts, Avnet has identified the technology and business issues that offer the greatest immediate growth opportunities for partners in each market.

Avnet EnergyPath solution focus areas include:

• Utilities Data Management
• Utilities Infrastructure Optimization
• Asset, Device and Service Monitoring
• Utilities Risk Management and Compliance

Avnet FinancialPath solution focus areas include:

• Customer Channels and Intelligence
• Core Financial Systems
• Institutional Risk Management
• Financial Infrastructure Optimization

Avnet RetailPath solution focus areas include:

• Channels
• Retail Data Management
• Merchandising and Product Management
• Infrastructure Optimization

"Avnet’s focus on these vertical markets aligns well with IBM’s framework that supports smarter industries,” said Sandy Carter, vice president, Software Group Business Partners and Midmarket for IBM. "Addressing the education and enablement of solution providers that sell into these industries can help us create a more collaborative channel that is responsive to the business needs of our joint customers.”

Avnet’s EnergyPath, FinancialPath and RetailPath practices offer enablement and training curriculum that equips partners with knowledge and skills to quickly build a profitable vertical market business. These practices also reduce the up-front investments and cost risks for Avnet’s partners that are often required when developing new business in growth markets. The EnergyPath, FinancialPath and RetailPath practices offer partners a broad range of resources to increase their business opportunities, including:

• Avnet EnergyPath, FinancialPath and RetailPath Universities: Offer Avnet’s partners comprehensive training curriculums that combine real-world knowledge of the vertical markets, as well as the technology training and solution-selling skills needed to succeed in these growing markets.
• SolutionsPath^® Services: Offer assessment services to drive business development, augment existing staff, and enable partners to deliver complete solutions to their customers. These service offerings include: industry-specific assessment services, cross-platform configuration expertise, Avnet and supplier services, as well as high-value, revenue-generating services ranging from disaster recovery and remote storage management to cloud-based services.
• Additional Avnet SolutionsPath Resources: Offer consultative business planning through SolutionsPath Advisor^™, on-demand sales toolkits from SolutionsPath^® Playbooks, and demand generation campaigns from Avnet SolutionsPath Campaign Creator.

These vertical market solutions augment Avnet’s existing technology practice areas focused on mobility, storage, networking, virtualization and security, and additional vertical market practices for the government and healthcare industries. These practices are proven to accelerate partners’ success in the market. For example, engaged HealthPath^® partners experienced more than 40 percent year-over-year growth and engaged GovPath^® partners grew their government business by more than 30 percent year-over-year.

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About Avnet Technology Solutions

As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver effective solutions that address the business challenges of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2010, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $8.19 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 3, 2010, Avnet generated revenue of $19.16 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.