Avnet Celebrates 30 Years of Delivering Innovative HP Solutions Through the Channel

Business Wire, Nov 27, 2007

Business Partnership Reaches $1 Billion in Annualized Revenue Worldwide

PHOENIX -- Avnet Technology Solutions, a value-added distributor of enterprise computing products, embedded subsystems, software and services, and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), will be celebrating its 30-year partnership with HP. Kicking off celebrations at its annual HP Partner Summit, Avnet also announced that its HP business reached a landmark $1 billion revenue run rate worldwide in HP's 2007 fourth fiscal quarter.

The long-standing relationship between Avnet and HP stretches back to 1978. Today, Avnet's HP business, which experienced double-digit growth worldwide in the past year, is one of the fastest growing within Avnet.

"Over the years, HP and Avnet have become true partners, working hand-in-hand to deliver solutions and programs that help our reseller partners build and grow their businesses," said Rick Alvarez, vice president and general manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, HP Solutions group. "Avnet and HP continue to invest in innovative services and solutions that enable our partners to meet the evolving needs of the technology market. We have an unwavering commitment to assisting our resellers in capitalizing on opportunities in emerging markets, which has accelerated the success of Avnet, HP and our partners."

"Avnet has played an important role in the success of our channel strategy," said Adrian Jones, vice president and general manager, Solution Partners Organization - Americas, HP. "Avnet shares HP's vision of delivering a best-in-class experience for solution providers. Together, we provide the solutions, tools and resources that help our reseller partners meet the market demands of today and prepare them for the technology needs of the next decade."

As a value-added HP distributor, Avnet delivers innovative solutions and programs designed to provide HP partners with the resources they need to find and close new business. These include:

* Virtualization and Consolidation Solutions: Avnet and HP have been investing in the technologies leading to virtualization and consolidation solutions for decades. Today, Avnet offers HP partners a wealth of tools, services and solutions designed to help them develop and grow their server consolidation practices. For example, Avnet's Consolidation Impact Analysis (CIA) provides a total cost of ownership analysis tool that enables solution providers to assess a customer's environment for an objective review of the benefits of IT consolidation. Armed with the data from this analysis, partners can confidently recommend the HP server and storage solutions and services most appropriate for a customer's needs.

* Avnet ISV Alliance Program: To provide partners with complete solutions, Avnet brings together independent software vendors (ISVs), such as SAS Software, to provide powerful business intelligence solutions that complement HP's offerings. Avnet's ISV Alliance Program provides partners with training, lead generation programs and financing services.

* Vertical Market Expansion: Avnet offers a range of specialized programs to help resellers capitalize on the growing demand for IT solutions in key vertical markets, including healthcare and government. Avnet HealthPath helps partners grow their healthcare business by providing healthcare market education and training. Avnet's Government Solutions group assists resellers in navigating the complexities of selling to the public sector and offers tools and programs to expedite deal closures.

"Technology has evolved at a tremendous pace in the last 30 years, and we've helped our customers leverage this to create a business advantage," said Marc Sarazin, executive vice president of sales and marketing, AdvizeX Technologies. "Avnet and HP have become an integral part of our team and enable us to understand rapidly changing technology and how it can be used to grow our business and meet customers' needs. Their solutions, programs and services are designed to target growth markets and provide us with the resources we need to continue to expand our business and position us for long-term success."

Avnet has continued to strengthen its relationship with HP around the globe over the past 30 years. Most recently, Avnet announced a distribution agreement with HP in Singapore earlier this month. Avnet's acquisition of Magirus, which closed in October 2007, also expanded Avnet's representation of HP to include seven European countries. Today, Avnet represents HP in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

"As a global distributor, Avnet is poised to help our partners not only expand their solutions portfolios, but also the geographies they support," said John Paget, president, Avnet Technology Solutions global. "We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship with HP around the world to provide even more routes to market for our partners, positioning them for success in the global economy."

About Avnet Technology Solutions

Avnet Technology Solutions is an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) representing US$6 billion in annual revenue for fiscal year 2007, 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. Visit www.ats.avnet.com.