Arrow Electronics the First Distributor to Place Linux Cluster Computing Systems in IBM Business Partners Facilities

Business Wire, Feb 24, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2003

The Support Net Division of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW), one of the largest value-added distributors of IBM enterprise products and integration services, announced today it has facilitated the placement of IBM's eServer 1350 cluster system in two facilities for use by two of its IBM Business Partners who deliver life sciences solutions.

The IBM Linux clusters will be used by the resellers to align with life sciences application vendors and conduct demonstrations and proof-of-concepts on live life sciences clusters for their own customers.

The first cluster will be installed for Solution Technology Inc. (Indianapolis, Ind.) and will be deployed with the focus of partnering with the Central Indiana Life Sciences Initiative, an economic development effort aimed at making Central Indiana a national and international life sciences center. The second cluster will be located at the Total Storage Solution Center, owned and operated by Advanced Systems Group (Tustin, Calif.).

"While other distributors only leverage existing IBM programs across their reseller base, Arrow invests energy and bandwidth in creating unique, customized programs and offerings that help resellers sell competitive solutions to their customers," said Eric Williams, executive vice president, Support Net Division.

Both systems will provide a focal point for these resellers' demand-generation activities in the IBM life sciences arena.

The IBM eServer Cluster 1350 is designed to be an ideal solution for industrial, financial services, life sciences, government and educational organizations requiring excellent price/performance for handling high-performance computing workloads. The reliability, performance and security features of the Linux platform has led to an unprecedented growth in Linux-based systems, including clusters, in life sciences applications. At about one-tenth the cost of traditional mainframe systems, clusters have become widely accepted as high-performance computing solutions anywhere simulation and rendering capabilities are required.

"Arrow is building offerings with IBM infrastructure technologies that are helping resellers take advantage of business opportunities in life sciences," said Anne-Marie Derouault, director, Alliances and Distribution Channel Management, IBM Life Sciences. "The IBM Linux Cluster answers the need for a cost-effective clustering solution that can accommodate the high-performance computing requirements of a broad range of life sciences companies."

About the North American Computer Products group of Arrow Electronics

The North American Computer Products group of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW) is a leading distributor of enterprise and embedded computing systems to resellers and OEM customers in North America. Based in Englewood, Colo., the group is comprised of four divisions that make up Enterprise Computing Solutions (Support Net, SBM, MOCA, Enterprise Storage Solutions) and OEM Computing Solutions, which serves industrial OEM customers. Visit us at www.arrownacp.com.

Arrow Electronics is one of the world's largest distributors of electronic components and computer products and a leading provider of services to the electronics industry.