Groupware and Avnet: A Decade of Accelerated Success

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1 and Avnet: A Decade of Accelerated Success

2 OBJECTIVE Help Technology, Inc. successfully grow their business. SOLUTIONS Avnet Partner Program Converged Infrastructure Cloud SERVICES Partner Advocacy Credit/Finance Training Geographic Expansion REAL RESULTS Increased Revenues Emerging Markets Employee Engagement Revenue growth of 14,600% in just 10 years sounds like a fairytale told to business school students; however, that is exactly what data center infrastructure solutions provider Technology, Inc. has achieved. grew its revenues from approximately $1.5 million in 2005 to more than $221.2 million in 2015, earning the company recognition eight times among Inc. magazine s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America and catapulting it to #91 on The Channel Company s CRN Solution Provider 500. The team attributes much of this phenomenal success to the strategic partnerships it has formed along the way. In particular, its relationship with leading global technology distributor Avnet, Inc. provided with the support it needed to grow its business, expand into new markets, serve customers in new geographies, and provide advanced training for its team. As a result, recently honored Avnet as its Distributor of the Decade. As I look back at the growth achieved over the past 10 years, it wouldn t have been possible without a strategic distribution partner like Avnet, said Mike Thompson, CEO and president,. Avnet collaborated and invested in us every step of the way. The Avnet team is our trusted advisor, and they help us stay focused on technologies and market opportunities that position us for sustained success to ensure that we re meeting our customers needs today and well into the future.

3 As I look back at the growth achieved over the past 10 years, it wouldn t have been possible without a strategic distribution partner like Avnet. - Mike Thompson, CEO and president, Fueling Rapid Growth While most companies only dream of the growth has achieved, it does not come without its challenges. Rapid growth can make it difficult to find the necessary credit or financing which can often create a huge roadblock., for example, landed a keystone deal worth approximately $10 million with a major online retailer. At the time, s annual revenues were below the value of the deal; therefore, the company was challenged to obtain the credit it needed to purchase the technology solutions to support the opportunity. No company wants to walk away from a strategic, multi-million dollar technology deal with a marquee customer that holds long-term promise for the company. turned to Avnet for help. Avnet s financing solutions team was willing to look at the opportunity much more holistically than a traditional lending institution. They took s financial history into consideration, as well as the financial history and payment track record of its customer. As a result, Avnet was able to extend a line of credit that would not only allow to service this huge deal, but also laid the groundwork for many more sizeable deals with this customer and many others. The flexibility of Avnet s credit facilities has made a tremendous difference to our business, said Thompson. I have an open line of communication with their Credit team, day, night or on the weekend, to obtain the credit needed to support large deals and close business. Our customer engagements have been at the heart of our continued growth, but we wouldn t have been able to service many of them without the necessary investments and trust from Avnet. Ultimately, our customers, company, technology manufacturers and Avnet have all profited from this approach. Capitalizing on New Market Opportunities In addition to credit facilities, Avnet also provides with market-specific intellectual property to help it sustainably leverage profitable growth opportunities. Avnet identifies high-growth markets by carefully assessing a broad range of market research data paired with its own insights from 90+ years of technology experience and position at the center of the technology supply chain. More specifically, Avnet is helping strengthen its presence in strategic technologies, such as cloud and converged infrastructure. It seems as though the cloud is everywhere now from how we store our personal photos and music to the software used to run a business. It wasn t very long ago though that companies were trying to figure out how to approach this market, and looked to its trusted advisor to find clarity on how to target this new market. To help develop its cloud strategy, Avnet Vice President of Cloud Solutions Tim FitzGerald joined s cloud think tank. He played a pivotal advisory role in helping determine its strategy in the cloud market and its role in how to best serve its customers as they look to incorporate cloud computing into their IT environments. This ultimately led to investing in private cloud capabilities, as well as expanding into the hybrid cloud market.

4 also found that Avnet would be a strong partner as it entered the converged infrastructure market. With s extensive integration capabilities and data center expertise, this market was a natural fit for the company. However, it needed to have the right foundational relationships in place. Based on its unique relationships and capabilities in converged infrastructure, Avnet was able to quickly onboard with key suppliers to allow it to offer converged infrastructure solutions, such as FlexPod featuring Cisco and NetApp technology. Additionally, Avnet s extensive relationships with hard disk manufacturers meant could turn to Avnet as a one-stop shop for all of its converged infrastructure needs. Serving Customers in New Geographies While and Avnet have collaborated to target high-growth technology markets, Avnet also opened the door to new geographies around the world., like many solution providers, has built trusted relationships with its customers. Customers know they can turn to when they want to implement technologies in any of their offices, but when that office is in a country outside of the U.S. it becomes much more complex. For example, had an opportunity to provide one of its key customers with technology in Ireland. This meant needed to not only develop the project design and implementation, it also had to navigate tax issues. wanted to make sure its pricing was on par with its current arrangements with the customer, which meant it couldn t incorporate any value-added taxes (VAT) for importing goods into Ireland with its billing. At the same time, didn t want to take away from its overall profits. For this opportunity in Ireland, was able to tap into Avnet s global scale and scope, and expertise in doing business in more than 115 countries around the world. leveraged Avnet s presence in Europe, which meant that all the purchases for the deal could be made in-country through Avnet. Avnet s global logistics experts were able to help through each step of the process and provide the company with solid options to efficiently and cost-effectively service the customer. Ultimately, was able deliver on the project with the same great service the customer was used to while addressing the VAT issue. Building a Foundation for Long-Term Success It s one thing to find a path to rapid growth. It s a completely different challenge to manage a company through the incredible change associated with growth, especially the increase in the number of employees and operational elements of running the business. also found this was an area where Avnet had expertise. As underwent transitions and expansions to its leadership team, it wanted to make sure the team could work together seamlessly. Avnet mentioned that one of its best practices as a Fortune 500 company was to use predictive indexing a skill and behavior assessment test used to aid in the understanding of managerial styles. A member of Avnet s human resources team conducted these assessments for and engaged its leadership team in determining the best ways to work with their fellow executives. Today, the executive team is a close-knit group that understands how to collaborate and work together in a mutually beneficial way. It s not always easy to sum up a decade of a relationship, but with Avnet it all comes down to one word trust. Avnet has proven time and time again that they have our best interests in mind and will do the right thing for us. - Mike Thompson, CEO and president,

5 Additionally, Avnet shared its insights on how to financially run a successful company based on its own experience and proven track record. It hosts an annual CFO Conference, where has been one of a select few solution providers in attendance. These events provided the executive attendees from solution providers such as with an interactive forum in which to share best practices, outline engagement successes, understand current trends and discuss technology solutions. Led by subject matter experts, Avnet s CFO Conference is built by financial strategic executives for financial strategic executives to generate innovative, strategic discussions and collaboration around the diverse channel and value-added reseller environment. Avnet also provided assistance as increased its sales team. Avnet developed an IT:101 class for junior members of s sales and marketing team. The class was taught by an Avnet expert who helped the professionals better understand the data center and the channel that supports it. Included was an in-depth exploration of the channel and the data center. This was followed by insight into the key elements related to the new data center of today, including computing, storage, networking, security, application delivery, and cloud computing. s junior sales and marketing team is now much more knowledgeable, putting it in a better position to engage customers and further fuel s success. Finding the Ultimate Key: A Trusted Relationship There are numerous reasons contrubuting to and Avnet s mutual success over the last decade; however, the most important aspect is ultimately an intangible one the deep, trusted relationship the two companies have built. This has been forged through a number of challenges and mutual focus on collaborating closely and creating outstanding customer experiences. The deep relationship expands well beyond the aspects of dayto-day business. For example, a former Avnet executive has gone on to become a member of s board of advisors where they continue to counsel the company on its continued path to growth. Additionally, is one of a select number of solution providers that joined Avnet s Global Value-Added Reseller Council. This team is committed to finding new ways to improve doing business around the world and advocating the needs of the channel to leading global technology vendors. It s not always easy to sum up a decade of a relationship, but with Avnet it all comes down to one word trust, said Thompson. Avnet has proven time and time again that they have our best interests in mind and will do the right thing for us. has experienced a lot of success over the past 10 years, and Avnet has helped and invested in us to achieve that success. The Avnet team believes in us and allows us to have the capacity to achieve our goals. With the accelerated pace of change in the world today, we look forward to the next decade and how we can work with Avnet to continue to achieve tremendous growth and transform our clients businesses with next-generation technologies. CEO and President Mike Thompson and Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas President Jeff Bawol From components to cloud and design to disposal, Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) accelerates the success of customers who build, sell and use technology globally by providing them with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, services and solutions. Avnet is a Fortune 500 company with revenues of $27.9 billion for the fiscal year For more information, visit Avnet Technology Solutions South Price Road, Tempe, AZ Avnet, Inc. All rights reserved. The Avnet logo is a registered trademark and Accelerating Your Success are trademarks of Avnet, Inc. All other products, brands and names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners WC