Avnet Technology Solutions Responds to Increasing Demand for HP Blade Technology with Emphasis on Expansion of Consolidation Program

Business Wire, Nov 28, 2006

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, a distributor focused on enterprise computing solutions and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), today announced that its HP Blade server consolidation program has resulted in a significant increase in consolidation projects by its partners and that it has expanded this successful program to include consolidation of storage and desktop computing resources.

Avnet's Consolidation Impact Analysis (CIA), a total cost of ownership (TCO) tool, has helped Avnet's solution providers launch more than 280 server consolidation projects in 2006. More than 32 percent of these projects have resulted in new engagements for the partners. Using the innovative CIA service, Avnet's partners assess a customer's environment and provide a TCO analysis, significantly accelerating the sales cycle by analyzing the return on investment for all elements of the proposed solution. The data in the analysis provides the partner's end-user customer with an objective review of the benefits of IT consolidation both in financial terms and technical capabilities.

Successful consolidation projects supported by CIA include a significant win by Avnet's partner Trilogy Solutions, LLC. "We recently secured a project to help a large convenience store chain in the Northeast move from 136 Windows servers to 17 HP servers," said Mark Darlington, chief operating officer for Trilogy. "Avnet provided assistance with financial analysis and modeling, helping us to demonstrate to this Dell-only shop that they can achieve consolidation savings of more than $860,000 over the next three years."

In separate releases today Avnet also announced additions to its consolidation program:

* CIA for Storage service, which enables partners to assess an end customer's storage environment, provide a total cost of ownership analysis, and recommend the HP storage solutions and services most appropriate for their needs.

* Services to help partners deliver a virtual desktop computing environment using the HP Blade PC technology. This solution centralizes desktop computing and storage resources into easily managed, highly secure data centers, while enabling end users to enjoy the convenience and familiarity of a traditional desktop environment.

"Avnet has expanded its consolidation process across the IT infrastructure," said Rick Alvarez, vice president and general manager, HP Business Unit, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. "Now our partners will have financial analysis tools they need to address more of the full spectrum of their customers' IT support issues."

About Avnet Technology Solutions

Avnet Technology Solutions is a distributor focused on enterprise computing solutions and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) representing $4.99 billion in annual revenue, with locations in more than 30 countries. As a global technology sales and marketing organization, Avnet Technology Solutions has sales divisions focused on specific customer segments and a select line card strategy enabling an exceptional level of attention to the needs of its customers and suppliers.

About Avnet

With more than 250 locations serving customers in 70 countries worldwide, Avnet (NYSE: AVT) markets, distributes and adds value to the products of the world's leading electronic component suppliers, enterprise computer manufacturers and embedded subsystem providers. Additionally, Avnet brings a breadth and depth of service capabilities, such as supply-chain optimization, logistics solutions, product assembly, device programming, computer system integration and engineering design assistance. For the fiscal year ended July 1, 2006, Avnet generated revenue of $14.25 billion. Visit www.avnet.com/.>

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