John Varel, CEO of FusionStorm, Named Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year(R) 2008 Award

Market Wire, June, 2008

FusionStorm -- "Making Technology Work" -- an award-winning systems integrator and managed service provider, announced that John Varel, CEO and Founder of FusionStorm, is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 Award in Northern California. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. John Varel was selected as a finalist from over 90 nominations by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on 21st June at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

John has had a successful and colorful career as an entrepreneur that has spanned over 30 years. Prior to starting FusionStorm in 1994, he was co-founder of The Concorde Group, one of the largest resellers of Sun Microsystems refurbished hardware. He has also launched many successful syndications, including: Meris Laboratories, the largest physician owned clinical laboratory in the nation, and Zephyr Park, Ltd., one of the earliest wind-parks in Southern California.

John has also performed successful turnarounds in the manufacturing, broadcast and distribution industries. His passion for protecting the environment and concern for global warming has led him to consciously practice this lifestyle, by living off-grid, on a sustainable farming plantation in Waihee, Maui, with his wife Angie.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 22nd anniversary this year. The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 15, 2008. The awards are the concluding portion of Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors.

In Northern California, sponsors include NYSE Euronext, HSBC, Marsh, RR Donnelley, Scherzer International, The Big Picture Film and Video Arts, SmartBusiness and The Summit Group Communications.

About FusionStorm

FusionStorm -- "Making Technology Work" -- is a national provider of IT products, professional services, support contract services and 24x7 managed services for enterprises of all sizes. The company assists organizations by providing complete solutions for system infrastructure, storage, networking, voice-over-IP communications, security, database, disaster recovery, managed hosting and remote managed services, both on-site and in the data center. FusionStorm is The VARBusiness, VAR of the Year for 2006-7. FusionStorm offices include San Francisco (HQ), Santa Clara, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, Albuquerque, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Cincinnati, Bethesda, Boston, Tampa, Phoenix, New York City and Shrewsbury, New Jersey. The company's web site is www.fusionstorm.com and the toll-free phone is 800.228.TECH (8324).

FusionStorm Key Technology Partners Include

Alert Logic, AMD, APTARE, Avnet Technology Solutions, Avocent Corporation, Belkin, Cisco Systems, Citrix, Credant Technologies, Dataram Corporation, Diligent Technologies Corporation, EMC, Emerson Network Power - Liebert, F5 Networks, Force10 Networks, Guardium, Inc., Hitachi Data Systems, Hewlett Packard, Hewlett Packard/Opsware, Info X, Ingram Micro, Isilon Systems, Juniper, Kingston Technology, Nimsoft, Oracle, ProStor Systems, Qlogic, Quantum, Red Hat, Samsung Electronics America, SonicWALL, Sun Microsystems, Symantec Corporation, Teneros, VMware and Websense.

About Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year

Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 130,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve potential.