Avnet Continues to Move Up on the FORTUNE 500

Ranks No. 102 on the list of largest companies and first among companies headquartered in Arizona

Press Releases | Avnet Newsroom: In this section of the Avnet Newsroom, you'll find our press releases listed in chronological order and archived by year. Organize press releases with the dropdown menu or try the 'search newsroom' feature to search by keyword, date range and more.

Avnet Technology Solutions Executives Recognized as CRN’s 2016 Women of the Channel

Press Releases | Avnet Newsroom: In this section of the Avnet Newsroom, you'll find our press releases listed in chronological order and archived by year. Organize press releases with the dropdown menu or try the 'search newsroom' feature to search by keyword, date range and more.

Avnet Technology Solutions Extends its Sales Toolkit To Go for Oracle Solution Providers in the Middle East Region

March 28, 2012 - Avnet Technology Solutions Extends its Sales Toolkit To Go for Oracle Solution Providers in the Middle East Region

Avnet's mobile-enabled toolkit allows Oracle solution providers to easily enhance their sales capabilities on the move

Dubai, UAE -- Avnet Technology Solutions, the global IT solutions distribution leader and operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), today announced the availability of a new mobile-enabled "sales toolkit to go" for its Oracle hardware and software partners in the Middle East region after a successful launch in U.S. and Canada.

Developed by Avnet, the sales toolkit is available to Avnet's Oracle partners and is designed to help sales teams close data center solutions focused deals easily and more efficiently. It features a broad range of product, market and best practice information that can be accessed from any mobile device, including smartphones and tablets, with Web browsing capabilities.

The Avnet exclusive mobile-enabled sales toolkit allows Oracle partners to consult, document and reinforce solutions sales strategy throughout every stage of the sales process from virtually any location. With the toolkit, partners will go to meetings more prepared and knowledgeable about Oracle-based data center solutions and will be able to act as trusted advisors to their customers.

Hani Barakat, senior director Oracle business, Avnet Technology Solutions Middle East and Africa, said, "We want to provide our Oracle Business Partners with a tool that gives them access to Avnet and Oracle expertise wherever and whenever they need it in a way that is both highly informative and portable. Avnet's new mobile-enabled toolkit reinforces our direction to drive solution sales strategy while equipping our partners with access to the right information at every stage of the sales cycle".

The toolkit features all of the sales enablement information partners have come to expect from Avnet. Partners will also be able to access customer role profiles with information about concerns and sale points; feature and benefit specifications on different Oracle hardware and software products that can be used to build complete solutions; objection handling resources; and a comprehensive Avnet and Oracle glossary. It is easy to access and is available on any phone or tablet with Internet access. Each module of the toolkit also comes with training to help partners maximize their use of the tool and the resources it contains.

About Avnet Technology Solutions
As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver services, software and hardware solutions that address the business needs of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2011, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $11.5 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

About Avnet 
Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, Avnet generated revenue of $26.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

Avnet Electronics Marketing Executive to Present on End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility at Upcoming Supply Chain Events

March 28, 2012 - Avnet Electronics Marketing Executive to Present on End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility at Upcoming Supply Chain Events

PHOENIX -- The landscape of supply chain infrastructure is rapidly changing. To address some of the challenges that companies face today, Lalit Wadhwa, senior vice president, global supply chain operations at Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), will present at two upcoming supply chain industry events. As part of a global company, Avnet Electronics Marketing facilitates the global supply chain – enabling customers to design in one region, and manufacturing for it in another. Using case studies from Avnet customers, Wadhwa will demonstrate ways to obtain accurate cost-to-serve models, as well as ways to utilize collaborative technologies to create greater visibility with the supply chain.

Click to Tweet: Avnet's Lalit Wadhwa to present at two upcoming supply chain events: Supply Chain World http://avnet.me/24203 & http://avnet.me/55140

Lalit Wadhwa

On Tuesday, April 3, 2012, Wadhwa will be presenting at Supply Chain World North America in Miami. His talk, "Leveraging Visibility in Extended Supply Chains to Analyze Total Cost-to-Serve" delves into best-practices and real-world examples of ways to model supply chain activities in order to obtain accurate cost-to-serve pricing. Wadhwa's talk begins at 11:00 a.m. EDT. For more information about this talk, visit the Supply Chain Worldwebsite.

On Wednesday, April 4, 2012, Wadhwa will give a talk at the Aberdeen Supply Chain Management Summit in Chicago. This presentation titled, "End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility and the Use of Collaborative Technologies: An Avnet Case Study," will detail how leveraging collaborative technology can lead to greater visibility and a more efficient supply chain. This talk will take place at 3:30 p.m. CDT in the Zurich Ballroom. For more information, visit the Supply Chain Management Summit website.

Wadhwa noted, "It's both a challenging and an exciting time in supply chain management. New technologies and methodologies are making it easier for companies to create more efficient supply chains than ever before. Avnet's customers rely on our expertise and ability to remain at the forefront of the logistics industry; we take great care to help our customer avoid pitfalls and missteps along the way. These presentations illustrate how Avnet is leveraging our expertise to help our customers deliver the technology of tomorrow — today."

Based in Phoenix, Wadhwa and his team assist Avnet customers seamlessly move their supply chain from one region of the world to another, across multiple sites. He is a 20-year Avnet veteran.

Connect with Avnet
Follow Avnet on Twitter
Contribute to our technical forums
View product and company videos
Buy our components

About Avnet Electronics Marketing
Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet, Inc. that serves electronic original equipment manufacturers (EOEMs) and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers in more than 70 countries, distributing electronic components from leading manufacturers and providing associated design-chain and supply-chain services. The group's website is located atwww.em.avnet.com.

About Avnet, Inc.
Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, Avnet generated revenue of $26.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

Avnet Technology Solutions UK Expands Specialist Storage Team to Drive New Business Opportunities for Hitachi Content Platform Storage Solution

Note to visitors: We have moved! For current news and information, please visit our successor blogs:  http://JBK-BizTech.blogspot.com and http://JBK-Current-Events.blogspot.com.  Thank you.

March 28, 2012 - Avnet Technology Solutions UK Expands Specialist Storage Team to Drive New Business Opportunities for Hitachi Content Platform Storage Solution

Bracknell, UK -- Avnet Technology Solutions, the global IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), is gearing up to drive increased demand in the UK for the Hitachi Content Platform from Hitachi Data Systems. Avnet has invested in fixed and mobile demonstration equipment and technical training. In addition, the Avnet team has been expanded to help existing and newly recruited business partners take the Hitachi Content Platform into the marketplace.

The advanced storage and data management capabilities of the Hitachi Content Platform are designed to help IT organisations address challenges posed by ever-growing volumes of unstructured data. Using a common platform, the Hitachi Data Systems approach to what are known as 'file and content solutions' provides a single infrastructure that can support a wide range of data types, applications and users, all with different service level needs.

Mike Fearon, Hitachi Data Systems business manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, UK, commented, "In an increasingly content rich world, Hitachi Data Systems is leading the way with technology that will have the same impact on storage that MP3 players had on music. We have stepped up our resources to work with the business partners to gain traction in the marketplace and fully exploit the potential of the Hitachi Content Platform. Our investment in this area, and the fact that we are the only UK channel player to hold the Hitachi Content Platform technical accreditation, makes Avnet the foremost Hitachi Data Systems file and content specialist distributor in the UK."

According to Avnet and Hitachi Data Systems, there is real market potential for the solution across diverse industries such as healthcare, media and contact centres. In healthcare, for instance, Hitachi's Clinical Repository, based on Hitachi Content Platform, overcomes the major challenge of searching, retrieving and storing documents and medical images across different IT applications. One platform is created that acts as the central repository for storing all medical images regardless of the image format (scans, x-rays, etc.) thereby saving time, increasing efficiency and ultimately, improving patient care.

Avnet business partners have the opportunity to attend an Avnet HealthPath™ University hosted by Hitachi Data Systems on 9th and 10th May in central London. The two-day programme provides a dedicated environment in which to learn more about the Hitachi Content Platform and Hitachi Clinical Repository products specifically tailored to the health sector. The keynote speaker is Steve Wragg, an experienced IT professional and Chairman of Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and attendees will benefit from his first-hand knowledge and insight into strategic issues such as healthcare buying and spending patterns and how to influence purchasing decisions.

Neill Burton, vice president of channels and alliances at Hitachi Data Systems, added, "The Hitachi Content Platform takes a totally fresh and radical approach to the complex issue of storage, rethinking how data is categorised and utilised. Combining Hitachi Data Systems' technology with the expert knowledge and outreach of Avnet, we are confident we have the support necessary to maximise the market opportunity that exists for the storage and retrieval of growing volumes of unstructured data."

To find out more about Avnet's partnership with Hitachi Data Systems, the Hitachi Content Platform or to register on Avnet's HealthPath University for Health in May, please visithttp://www.ts.avnet.com/uk/health.

About Avnet Technology Solutions
As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver services, software and hardware solutions that address the business needs of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2011, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $11.5 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

About Avnet
Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, Avnet generated revenue of $26.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

Avnet, Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire Ascendant Technology

March 26, 2012 - Avnet, Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire Ascendant Technology

Significantly Expands Professional Services Capabilities and Resources

PHOENIX -- Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) announced today that it has agreed to acquire Ascendant Technology LLC, a leading international IT consulting firm with operating units in North America, Europe, Brazil and India. 

Ascendant Technology specializes in developing end-to-end IBM solutions that help organizations optimize their information technology investment and achieve business results. As a trusted advisor in the definition and design of strategic software applications, Ascendant has helped businesses large and small develop and deploy e-Commerce, enterprise portal and collaboration, web content management, infrastructure automation and cloud computing solutions. The company generated revenue of approximately US$90 million in the 2011 calendar year.

"Avnet's acquisition of Ascendant Technology is expected to accelerate our global solutions distribution model," said Phil Gallagher, global president, Avnet Technology Solutions. "It supports our strategic focus on enhancing our services and software capabilities to drive growth for our suppliers and value-added resellers. Because of Ascendant's international footprint, Avnet's ability to identify new services and solution business opportunities for our partners will greatly expand."

Founded in 2003, Ascendant Technology has more than 500 business and technical professionals that help partners and clients design and deliver IT solutions that achieve business results in less time, with reduced risk and expense. By utilizing Ascendant's proprietary IDEA™ (Insight Driven Engineering Approach) Solutions Framework, organizations can bridge the gap between business objectives and technical execution to deliver improved performance and exceptional web experiences.

Jeff Bawol, president, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, adds, "Ascendant Technology's expertise in services delivery, complemented by their software offerings, aligns with Avnet's strategy to provide our business partners with the support they need to succeed in high growth vertical markets. Avnet partners primarily focused on providing infrastructure solutions will now be able to leverage their distributor relationship to expand the overall business value they can offer to their customers. Our unique SolutionsPath® value proposition, which prepares and enables our business partners to deliver complete hardware, software and service solutions to their customers using a vertical market focus, will be further supported by Ascendant's expertise in software application integration and services support."

This acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the next 45 days and will be integrated into the operations of Avnet Technology Solutions.

Avnet Technology Solutions UK Introduces New Professional Services Offering for Microsoft System Center

March 21, 2012 - Avnet Technology Solutions UK introduces new Professional Services offering for Microsoft System Center

Bracknell, UK -- Avnet Technology Solutions, the global IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc.(NYSE: AVT), today announced that Microsoft System Center professional services are now available from Avnet in the UK.  This coincides with Avnet becoming the only distribution company in the UK to achieve the Microsoft Gold Competency in virtualization and management - a significant milestone that recognises Avnet's exceptional technical competency in this area. 

By combining best-of-breed Microsoft technology with Avnet's professional services capability, Avnet business partners will benefit from an effective framework for introducing server management lifecycle best practices and more simple and flexible licensing models that save time and money for end-user customers.  Avnet will work with its business partners to support SME and midsized organisations by offering a comprehensive range of services covering pre-sales consultancy, design, customisation, integration and support.

Taisha Betz, Microsoft business unit manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, UK, commented, "Today's announcement rewards our investment in high quality training and reflects our commitment to adding real value to our business partners.  Our dedicated team of professionals has the market knowledge, resources and technology know-how to help business partners offer much more than software licenses, namely the ability to implement large-scale, complex IT solutions and services that deliver tangible business value."

Stephen Ennis, services business development director, Avnet Technology Solutions, EMEA, added, "Being the first IT solutions distribution company in the UK to gain the Microsoft Gold Competency in virtualization and management is a truly remarkable achievement. Our comprehensive services portfolio enables business partners to rapidly enter and capitalise on the high growth virtualisation market. This portfolio is complementary to our business partners and augments their own in-house services."

To find out more about Avnet's new professional services offering for Microsoft System Center, please visit www.virtcentral.co.uk

About Avnet Technology Solutions

As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver services, software and hardware solutions that address the business needs of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2011, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $11.5 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, Avnet generated revenue of $26.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

Avnet Embedded to Hold Free, Solid State Drive Virtual Summit

March 15, 2012 - Avnet Embedded to Hold Free, Solid State Drive Virtual Summit

PHOENIX -- The worldwide solid state drive (SSD) market is experiencing unprecedented growth. Avnet Embedded, the largest distributor of SSDs and a division of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, a business region of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), has teamed up with 13 leading suppliers to offer a free, two-day virtual summit covering the rugged, durable, energy efficient benefits of SSDs. Registration is open now at Avnet's website.

Click to Tweet: Avnet Embedded to hold free, #SSD virtual summit 4/3 and 4/4. Register now:http://avnet.me/72742

On April 3 and 4, 2012, Avnet Embedded will spend an entire 48- hour period examining the intricacies of SSDs. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. PDT on April 3, representatives from Adaptec by PMC, Dell OEM, Hitachi GST, Intel, LSI Corp., Kingston, Micron Technology, OCZ Technology, Rorke Data, an Avnet Company, Smart Storage Technology, Seagate, STEC and Toshiba will participate in more than 25 on-demand technical courses regarding SSDs. Attendees can choose from courses that delve into:

• SSD tiered storage solutions;
• Data security in SSDs;
• SSDs in rugged embedded computing;
• High-performance caching;
• Calculating SSD endurance and performance;
  And more.

For a full listing of courses visit the Solid State Drive Virtual Summit webpage.

In addition to technical courses, Avnet's Solid State Drive Virtual Summit will also feature presentations from industry analysts Jim Handy, director of Objective Analysis and Jim Feldham, president of Semico Research. Both Handy and Feldham will give an industry insider's perspective of the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities presented with SSDs.

Attendees of Avnet's SSD Virtual Summit can also participate in 30-minute, live chat sessions with technical experts from each supplier. Engineers are invited to use these sessions to pose questions, discuss current trends and get real-time design assistance direct from the source. The schedule of sessions is posted on the Solid State Drive Virtual Summit page.

"SSDs are quickly becoming an appealing alternative, offering our customers throughput improvement and near real-time response times for applications delivered across cloud and mobile devices," said Chuck Kostalnick, senior vice president, Avnet Embedded. "Our SSD Summit helps engineers navigate through the nuances and complexities of SSD technology, ultimately providing the right resources to choose the right solution for each attendee's particular product or service."

News Release from Avnet

March 14, 2012 - Avnet Express' Drive for Innovation Rolls into Phoenix in Support of "Girls Have IT Day"

Collaborate with Xavier College Preparatory at the Fourth Annual Event on Friday, March 16, 2012

Phoenix and San Francisco -- The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) estimates there will be 1.4 million computer specialist jobs in the U.S. by 2018 -- however, less than 20 percent of women today have the education necessary to fill these positions. To help spread the word about the importance of women in science, technology, electronics and math (STEM), the Avnet Express Drive for Innovation will be making a pit-stop in Phoenix to support Xavier College Prepratory's fourth annual "Girls Have IT Day." This event was developed in partnership with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University and encourages young women to get involved in STEM.

Taking place on Friday, March 16, 2012 at 1 p.m. (MDT), Brian Fuller, editorial director of EE Times and driver of the Drive for Innovation Chevrolet Volt, will join 400 middle and high school girls from the Phoenix metropolitan area to discuss innovation and the critical role that women play in the future of technology. Sponsored by UBM Electronics, the daily source of essential business and technical information for the electronics industry's decision makers, and Avnet Express, the e-Commerce engine of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), the Drive for Innovation has been traveling the country to shine a light on American innovation. Since July 2011, Fuller has been interviewing engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, teachers and students, and blogging and posting video updates about his experiences.

"Inspiring our youth to pursue careers in science and technology takes on increasing priority for us all as the U.S. fights to retain its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation," said Fuller. "The quality of our math and science education lags behind other nations. Among 30 developed countries, the United States ranks 25th in math and 21st in science. It's critical to help young technologists and innovators connect with the world of technology and inspire them to pursue careers in science and technology."

"America is at a crossroads when it comes to innovation. It is important that our youth, especially young women, are aware of the significant impact they can have on the future of technology, science, mathematics and electronics," said Beth Ely, senior vice president, Avnet Express. "Avnet is given the incredible opportunity to see all sides of the technology value-chain and we support initiatives, such as these, that help future generations gain a better understanding of the opportunities presented in technology."

Xavier College Preparatory, a Roman Catholic, all-girls high school located at 4710 North Fifth Street in north central Phoenix, has built an outstanding record of academic excellence, innovation, leadership development, athletics and community service. Xavier is twice recognized as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, and recognized nationally for academic excellence by the Catholic High School Honor Roll in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Xavier was awarded the 2007-08 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, honoring high schools with high student success rates in AP math, science and technology courses. The Arizona Interscholastic Association awarded Xavier its prestigious H.A. Hendrickson Award (2009) for overall excellence in interscholastic competition and it's Blue Cup Award (2006) for excellence in scholastics, athletics and activities.

Xavier College Preparatory joins University of Pennsylvania and University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as Thomas Jefferson High School, Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona and Brooks County High School as educational stops on the Drive for Innovation, where Fuller discussed innovations in the electronics industry with students.  During a stop at Brooks County High School in Quitman, GA, Fuller was able to witness high school students creating bio-diesel using leftover fast food oil. 

Avnet Express gives design engineers and purchasing professionals online access to the world's largest catalog of electronic component products, which tops five million parts. Avnet Express offers parametric searching capabilities and the ability to upload a bill of materials (BOM) for easier sourcing of products and a consistent global platform of localized content. The site can be accessed in nine languages and 13 currencies.

Check www.driveforinnovation.com for upcoming locations and to sign up to follow the stories and request that the Volt pull into your town or city for a visit.  Upcoming stops on the "Drive for Innovation" road trip include:

• San Jose, CA
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Diego, CA

To learn more about Avnet Express, visit avnetexpress.com.  To follow the "Drive for Innovation" and the Chevrolet Volt as it travels across the United States, visit www.driveforinnovation.com.  Follow the "Drive for Innovation" on Facebook and Twitter.

News Release from Avnet - Agreement with EMC

March 13, 2012 - Avnet Technology Solutions Americas Expands Agreement with EMC Corporation to Include Avnet Embedded

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Avnet Technology Solutions, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), announced today an expanded distribution agreement with EMC Corporation to now offer EMC solutions through Avnet Embedded, a division of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas. Avnet Embedded maintains a shared selling organization supporting both Avnet Technology Solutions Americas and Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, two business regions of Avnet, Inc.

This expanded agreement leverages the success of the long-standing relationship between Avnet and EMC. As one of the primary distributors of EMC technologies, Avnet Technology Solutions has helped partners grow their mid-market storage business profitably with EMC solutions for more than 12 years.

Avnet Embedded will now offer EMC® VNX and VNXe® unified storage solutions, EMC Isilon® scale-out NAS systems, and the EMC Atmos® Cloud Storage Platform as part of its Build OEM Better™ program. This program provides a lower total cost of ownership, reduced manufacturing time, flexibility and scalability via a global footprint of integration and service support for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent software vendors (ISVs). The addition of EMC enables Avnet to offer OEMs the opportunity to customize their storage and software solutions and capitalize on a single interface, often leveraging a single (IP) fabric to more easily implement back-up recovery. Avnet customers can also virtualize their applications to increase ease and consistency of deployment; consolidate physical infrastructure (in development and in the field); offer their application as a service (from their own or hosted data centers); and improve reliability and scale.

Utilizing EMC's proven portfolio of bundled storage, software and application solutions, OEMs can move quickly from design to deployment of end applications ranging from telecommunications to manufacturing, media to life sciences-all backed by Avnet's technical expertise and outstanding customer support team.

"By leveraging the highly-acclaimed Build OEM Better™ program, Avnet's OEM customers can easily embed EMC's industry-leading systems and software within their OEM solutions, as well as take delivery of integrated, turnkey systems for rapid deployment to their end-customers," said Joe Eazor, executive vice president for Global Accounts and OEM at EMC. "EMC is excited to work with Avnet Embedded to help its partners deliver customers proven technology solutions that are reliable, efficient and easy to use."

"Our OEM customers are looking for IT storage solutions that are simple, reliable and repeatable," said Chuck Kostalnick, senior vice president, Avnet Embedded. "Adding EMC to our Americas offering provides Avnet's customers with a faster way to deliver enterprise-class performance and next-generation solutions."

Connect with Avnet Embedded

Follow Avnet on Twitter 

Contribute to our technical forums 

View product and company videos 

Buy our components 

Learn more about Build OEM Better

Follow Avnet Technology Solutions, North America, on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AvnetAdvantage

About Avnet Technology Solutions

As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver services, software and hardware solutions that address the business needs of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2011, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $11.5 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

About Avnet Electronics Marketing

Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet, Inc. that serves electronic original equipment manufacturers (EOEMs) and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers in more than 70 countries, distributing electronic components from leading manufacturers and providing associated design-chain and supply-chain services. The group's website is located atwww.em.avnet.com.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, Avnet generated revenue of $26.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

News Release from Avnet

March 8, 2012 - Avnet Express' Drive for Innovation Celebrates Six Months of Inspiring People and Technology

Traveled 14,414 miles through 17 states and interviewed 500+ people at 100 companies

Phoenix and San Francisco -- Innovation: dead in America? Hardly. After six months of driving around the nation and interviewing more than 500 engineers, entrepreneurs, inventors, educators and students, our research shows quite the opposite -- innovation is thriving in America.

Avnet Express' Drive for Innovation – a year-long, cross-country road trip focused on uncovering innovation in the electronics industry, is celebrating six months of uncovering inspiring people and innovation in technology. Now at the half-way point of this exciting journey, we're pausing to note just a few of the innovation stories from our log book. They range from the sublime and sophisticated to the simple and powerful:

• Nanoforge, a startup company emerging from Duke University in N.C. is bringing to market copper nanowires using a low-cost, high-volume production process. Nanoforge's nanowires can be used in displays, solar cells and other applications and promises to lower cost and upset conventional application assumptions.
• Nextreme Thermal Solutions is making small, inexpensive devices to harvest energy from thermal differentials. Clamp the prototype onto a homeowner's sink's hot- and cold-water pipes and it generates enough power to illuminate a small light bulb.
• Two buddies, one a hockey coach, the other an embedded designer, are working together to make a helmet-mounted shock sensor able to send a constant stream of data to iPad and iPhone apps for coaches and parents.
• When Rockwell Collins teamed up with Lectronix, in Lansing, Mich. to build more effective and compact communications systems for police squad cars, Lectronix's chief executive officer put his experience as a pilot to great use in the design.
• To encourage and nurture engineering and computer-science students at the University of Massachusetts, administrators and professors have created a crash pad of sorts. In the subterranean M5 maker-space, students have access to space, parts, computers, software, probes and snacks to work on school projects and just be technologically creative.

"The Drive for Innovation is about finding and telling stories of great engineering everywhere," said Brian Fuller, editorial lead on the Drive for Innovation. "Whether it's Middleton, Wis., Schaumberg, Ill., Wilmington, Mass., Huntsville, Ala. or College Park, Md., the story is always about standing on the shoulders of the inventors of the past and moving the technology and the economy forward, relentlessly."

Since July 2011, the Chevrolet Volt has been making periodic stops throughout the journey, where Fuller, the driver of the Chevrolet Volt, has been blogging and posting video updates about his experiences. Fuller has travelled 14,414 miles and through 17 states. Fuller has made 100 interview stops, interviewed more than 500 people at 100 companies. Additionally, he has completed 114 blog entries uploaded 130 videos as well as 261 images. The multi-faceted program is anchored by a website that features content from the road trip, a drive tracker and an interactive map that highlights the tour as well as games and prizes to fuel community engagement.

"When Avnet Express embarked on this journey we weren't sure exactly what to expect," said Beth Ely, senior vice president, Avnet Express. "As we've followed along, the rich stories that Brian has uncovered have truly shone a bright spotlight on the innovation that Avnet sees everyday in our customers," said Beth Ely, senior vice president, Avnet Express. "As we progress, we look forward to helping share these incredible stories of American innovation with the rest of the world."

Avnet Express gives design engineers and purchasing professionals online access to the world's largest catalog of electronic component products, which tops five million parts. Avnet Express offers parametric searching capabilities and the ability to upload a bill of materials (BOM) for easier sourcing of products and a consistent global platform of localized content. The site can be accessed in nine languages and 13 currencies.

Check www.driveforinnovation.com for upcoming locations and to sign up to follow the stories and request that the Volt pull into your town or city for a visit. Upcoming stops on the "Drive for Innovation" road trip include:

• Phoenix
• Los Angeles
• San Jose, Calif.
• San Diego, Calif.
• and more

To learn more about Avnet Express, visit avnetexpress.com. To follow the "Drive for Innovation" and the Chevrolet Volt as it travels across the United States, visit www.driveforinnovation.com. Follow the "Drive for Innovation" on Facebook and Twitter.