Avnet Technology Solutions

Avnet Data Center University
March 13-15, 2012 | Chandler, AZ

Avnet's Data Center University offers an in-depth training curriculum designed to help you serve your customers as their trusted advisor. By attending this event, you will gain a better understanding of the major market trends impacting the data center, as well as your customers' common business pains. The result? You will be positioned to respond with more effective and profitable solutions that address the needs of the business.

Early Bird Special
We are currently offering an Early Bird Special until Feb. 29, for $599 for the first attendee from a company, and $449 for each additional attendee. After Feb. 29, the standard rates are $799 and $599 respectively.

Register Now!

To view a 5-minute overview of the University agenda from the instructors themselves, click here.

Take your business in a profitable direction with these vertical market Universities:

April 11-12, 2012 HealthPath® University
June 5-6, 2012 EnergyPath™ University
July 24-25, 2012 GovPath® University

Questions? Email solutionspathtraining@avnet.com.

Jessica Truman / Marketing Project Leader / (210) 247-1313

From the HIMSS 2012 conference in Las Vegas, Avnet announced this week that it is now authorized to distribute Oracle’s Health Sciences solutions in the U.S. and Canada, including Oracle’s Healthcare Information Exchange and Oracle Enterprise Healthcare Analytics solutions.

Based on Avnet’s proven ability to develop and foster an ecosystem of highly-skilled healthcare IT solution provider partners through its SolutionsPath® methodology and HealthPath® practice, Oracle’s Health Sciences has authorized Avnet to distribute these specialized solutions. Under this agreement, Avnet will support a uniquely qualified team of healthcare IT solution providers and enable them to solve the business challenges facing small and midsize hospitals related to accountable care, electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchanges (HIEs).

“Interoperability and business intelligence are top IT priorities facing the healthcare industry in 2012 and for the foreseeable future,” said Chris Swahn, vice president and general manager for Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas’ Oracle Solutions group. “Federal mandates and patient demands all point toward an increasing need for hospitals and healthcare providers to share data electronically while still ensuring patient privacy and data security. Avnet is working with Oracle to foster a core team of knowledgeable solution providers that can help small and midsize hospitals prepare for the changing IT landscape. Our partners have the in-depth healthcare expertise and deep data center experience needed to create complete technology solutions that address the business intelligence needs associated with accountable care, EHRs and HIEs.”

Read full press release here: Avnet Technology Solutions Introduces Oracle Healthcare Information Exchange and Analytics Solutions

Read article in CRN: Avnet Opens Door To Oracle Health-Care Solutions

Maureen O'Leary / Director Communications / 480-794-6152

CRN announced this week that Jeff Bawol has been named one of CRN’s 2012 Channel Chiefs. This prestigious list of the most influential and powerful leaders in the IT channel recognizes those executives directly responsible for driving channel sales and growth within their organization, while evangelizing and defending the importance of the channel throughout the entire IT industry.

Bawol has been a driving force in expanding Avnet Technology Solutions’ business in the Americas and creating unique programs, tools and services to help its suppliers and reseller partners achieve profitable growth in high-growth markets. Under his guidance, Avnet Technology Solutions grew its business in the Americas by more than 30 percent during Avnet’s 2011 fiscal year. Bawol also led the charge to strengthen Avnet Technology Solutions’ geographic reach in 30 Latin America countries through the integration of Bell Microproducts and Tallard Technologies. In addition, Bawol continued to concentrate on helping partners create specialization in vertical markets through Avnet’s SolutionsPath® practices.

“Jeff is a terrific asset to our organization,” said Phil Gallagher, global president, Avnet Technology Solutions. “His efforts have helped us expand our strategic scale and scope in the Americas, and accelerated Avnet and our partners’ growth in both in new and established markets. Jeff’s passion for evolving the value of solutions distribution is demonstrated every day, and we appreciate CRN recognizing him for his leadership in the industry.”

Read full press release: Avnet's Jeff Bawol Recognized as one of CRN's 2012 Channel Chiefs

Maureen O'Leary / Director Communications / 480-794-6152

We encourage you to submit your entry for the 2012 Solution Provider 500 (formerly the VAR500). The Solution Provider 500 is an all-inclusive report on the top 500 solution providers, VARs and IT consultancies with North American headquarters.

Submit your application today - it's easy and free!

The deadline is 5 p.m. EST on March 2, 2012, with winners being announced at the 2012 Solutions Provider 500 event on June 6, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. To learn more and register to attend click here.

Terri Thomas / Senior Marketing Project Leader / 480-794-2561

Avnet’s Mike Houghton, vice president, brand strategy, and more than 100 other IT channel executives were recently asked by Vertical Systems Reseller (VSR) magazine to describe the most important changes they expect to see in their part of the industry in 2012. Their responses were published in VSR's 5th annual Review & Outlook 2012 supplement to the January issue of Vertical Systems Reseller magazine. You can register and download the 5th annual Review & Outlook 2012 supplement in PDF by clicking here.

Here's what Mike had to say about the changes he expects:

An increasing number of VARs will consider vertical market specialization in their long-term growth plans for 2012. There are many good reasons for VARs to focus their resources on targeted verticals, and most of them relate to the continuing desire from end users to work with trusted advisors.

It’s fair to assume that most business owners would welcome a solution provider’s efforts to get to know the pain points of their business; but in many vertical markets, that’s not enough. To specialize in a market, VARs need to “walk in the shoes” of the owner or CIO/CTO to truly understand the impediments to growth and be able to discuss solutions in the language of the customer organization. In many of the fastest-growing vertical IT markets—healthcare, government and education, retail, energy, and banking and financial services—knowing the organization’s structure, culture, plus the language of the industry and the regulations imposed on it are critical to building lasting relationships with the industry leaders who make purchasing decisions.

There are other elements that can directly impact the perception of a VAR as a trusted advisor. Topping the list is the need to stay current with new data center technologies, including cloud computing, “big data” analytics (the ability to analyze petabytes of structured and unstructured data at high velocity), the impacts of social media on sales and marketing, plus the increasing reliance on mobile computing. As new technologies and solution approaches emerge, VARs should incorporate them into their solutions advice where appropriate. Also, having access to a robust services bench that can implement the solutions at the level that satisfies the customer is vital.

Savvy VARs will look beyond the walls of their organizations in the coming year for partnership opportunities that can help them enter new vertical markets faster. This will accelerate their success at becoming a trusted advisor to their customers.

Chris Anding / Manager, Digital Marketing / (480) 794-7142

Last week Avnet announced its acquisition of Canvas Systems, a leading global and independent supplier of IT hardware and services. Canvas Systems will be part of Avnet's Technology Solutions, Americas business.

Read the full Avnet press release.

Canvas Systems specializes in providing services that span the IT lifecycle. The company's remarketing, refurbishment and disposal services provide a secure way for customers to refresh their IT infrastructure, which then creates an opportunity for the purchase of new technology.

What does this new acquisition mean for Avnet and our partners? It immediately enhances Avnet's services capabilities and expands our reach—and, in turn, our partners' reach—in the $155 billion (and growing) IT services market!

This strategic addition will help Avnet accelerate the services portion of your business, so watch for updates regarding Canvas and talk to your Avnet account manager for more information about Avnet services.

Maureen O'Leary / Director Communications / 480-794-6152

Driving Solutions Webinar and Avnet Data Center University - Make Plans to Attend!

Driving Solutions Webinar: Capitalizing on Market Changes Affecting the Data Center
February 21, 2012 | Register Here
2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT / 12 p.m. MT / 11 a.m. PT

Join Avnet’s director of Data Center Solutions, Kim Hofmann, for an overview of the trends and directions, market pressures and issues driving today’s opportunities in the data center, including:

• Optimizing the data center for economics, efficiently
• Cloud, virtualization, storage efficiency, systems management, BC/DR
• Security, converged infrastructure
• Networking in the data center and beyond
• The trends and drivers in the market pushing the adoption of cloud
• And more…

You’ll also get an update on Avnet’s Data Center University, March 13-15, 2012 in Chandler, AZ.

Avnet Data Center University
March 13-15, 2012 | Chandler, AZ

Avnet's Data Center University offers an in-depth training curriculum designed to help you serve your customers as their trusted advisor. By attending this event, you will gain a better understanding of the major market trends impacting the data center, as well as your customers' common business pains. The result? You will be positioned to respond with more effective and profitable solutions that address the needs of the business.

Early Bird Special
We are currently offering an Early Bird Special until Feb. 29, for $599 for the first attendee from a company, and $449 for each additional attendee. After Feb. 29, the cost increases to $799 and $599 respectively.

Register Now!

Take your business in a profitable direction with these vertical market Universities:

February 21-22, 2012 RetailPath University
April 11-12, 2012 HealthPath University
June 5-6, 2012 EnergyPath University
July 24-25, 2012 GovPath University

Questions? Email solutionspathtraining@avnet.com.

Jessica Truman / Marketing Project Leader / (210) 247-1313

Whether you need additional consultants on your staff, or your customers need an infusion of talent to their teams, Avnet Staff Augmentation Services can help by providing skilled personnel to work under the direction of you or your customer.

Avnet has the ability to provide personnel to help with technical implementation, software development, database management, software quality assurance and infrastructure and networking support. Our skilled technical professionals can help you and/or your end customers manage fluctuating skill needs, skill gaps and changing staffing requirements to meet aggressive project timelines. Avnet resources work with you onsite or remotely, and are certified in key technologies.

To learn more about Avnet Staff Augmentation Services click here, or email us at DataCenterLifecycleServices@avnet.com.

Kathy Schauer / Director, Solutions Marketing / (480) 794-6470

On Thursday, January 26, Avnet announced positive results for Q2 FY12. As a result of contributions made by both operating groups, Avnet, Inc.'s earnings per share exceeded its originally projected expectations and generated very strong cash flow from operations. Avnet CEO Rick Hamada stated that although the macro environment presented some top-line challenges, Avnet has adapted swiftly to the changes in market conditions, driving steady improvement across the business.

Read the full Avnet press release.

Avnet CEO Rick Hamada was interviewed last week by Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money. Hamada provided his outlook of the tech sector and Avnet. If you did not have a chance to watch the broadcast live, view the replay of his interview.

In addition, Phil Gallagher, president of Avnet Technology Solutions, Global
commented on Avnet's results from the data center perspective, "Avnet Technology Solutions' distribution expertise, solutions-selling methodology and global footprint continue to foster investment from suppliers and partners looking for new opportunities in traditional and emerging markets. Sales in all three major categories – services, software and hardware – were up year over year."

Maureen O'Leary / Director Communications / 480-794-6152

One of the largest healthcare conferences in the country is just a few short weeks away. The Health Information Management System Society Conference (HIMSS 2012) comes to life February 20-24 in Las Vegas. An estimated 50,000 attendees are expected at this annual event.

Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

Avnet TS will have a 20' x 50' space on the show floor (booth #1463) with eight partners showcasing solutions focused on VNA (vendor neutral archive), healthcare analytics, and ISV recruitment. Representing the following supplier brands with Avnet will be:

•HP – Vital and Logicalis (3PAR and ISV)
•IBM – DSS, Novastar, Nordisk (VNA with Teramedica and Acuo)
•Oracle – Analytics Partners, LCN, Enkitec (HIE and Enterprise Health Analytics)

While partners showcase healthcare solutions to event attendees, Avnet executives will be there too, meeting with partners and their customers, as well as industry analysts and reporters.

For more information, contact your Avnet account manager or Jim Bindon to learn about HIMSS and/or how to grow your healthcare practice with HealthPath®.

Look for information from the event by searching hash tag #HIMSS12 on Twitter.

Maureen O'Leary / Director Communications / 480-794-6152

Avnet Introduces End-to-End SolutionsPath Engagement Service!

This week the curtain dropped to reveal Avnet's SolutionsPath® Engagement Service to the industry. This new strategic consulting service for partners in the U.S. and Canada provides a business growth model based on Avnet’s unique, proven SolutionsPath® methodology.

By engaging with Avnet for this service, partners will evolve from accessing Avnet’s resources in an à la carte manner to creating a complete business plan with measurable goals and mutual accountability. Avnet will work with participating partners to develop profitable growth plans for designing, selling and delivering data center solutions in high-growth vertical markets such as banking, energy, government, healthcare and retail. Participating partners will also increase the depth of their industry expertise and breadth of data center solutions competencies.

“Industry research clearly indicates that CIOs and IT executives strongly prefer to work with solution providers that understand their specific industries and business challenges,” said Gavin Miller, vice president of Solutions Marketing and Development, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. “Avnet’s success with our SolutionsPath methodology has proven that by developing expertise in high-growth vertical markets, our partners can grow their businesses at a faster rate than the industry average. We have now created a complete engagement model that leverages Avnet’s multi-million dollar annual investment in consultants, business intelligence tools, planning services and resources into a long-term growth process for our partners. The SolutionsPath Engagement Service aligns market-specific research, planning, training and enablement, and professional services with measurable goals and mutually agreed-upon outcomes to bring even greater success to our partners.”

Read the full Avnet press release.

Current Avnet partners can request a personalized briefing about the SolutionsPath Engagement Service by contacting their Avnet account manager.

Maureen O'Leary / Director Communications / 480-794-6152

Cover each product sale with attached services to increase margins!

According to IDC*, “Short implementation time + Faster ROI will continue to drive demand for end-customer consulting services.” Avnet’s implementation services can help you get your customers up and running correctly and speed time to deployment—while increasing your margins.

For example, Avnet Implementation Services for NetApp offers you a 20 percent services margin when you attach services to each product sale. With this service, Avnet provides our partners:

• A comprehensive portfolio of NetApp installation, implementation and configuration services
• Fully certified NetApp engineers and consultants
• Expertise across the entire NetApp hardware line
• Easy services ordering using packaged offerings and SKU numbers
• Project managers to ensure fast, efficient and effective delivery of high-quality services

Avnet Data Center Lifecycle Services are designed to help you expand revenue-generating opportunities beyond the product sale. With our ever-broadening services portfolio, Avnet services span the full data center lifecycle — from planning, acquisition, and integration — to deployment, management, and asset disposition.

Let us help you fill technical, business or geographic gaps and broaden your services portfolio. For more information about Avnet implementation services and other Avnet services, please visit our website.

*IDC Predictions 2011: More Signs of Life in the Global Services Market Worldwide.

Kathy Schauer / Director, Solutions Marketing / (480) 794-6470