Spotlight On Fast Growth

Published for the Week Of July 19, 2004

n this Custom-System Solutions special report, we turn the spotlight on 10 fast-growth system builders.

Our Fast-Growth Performers are not necessarily the largest and most prominent system builders in the channel. Indeed, it would be tough for market leaders such as ZT Group International and Systemax Engineering to achieve the 40 percent-plus unit growth rates that our top 10 achieved last year. Instead, our profiles are meant to reflect the diversity of the channel and provide insights into how these companies managed to rise about the rest in a tough market.

We came across some interesting stories. Kontron America made strong headway specializing in the embedded computing solutions market. Maverick Systems, our No. 1 Fast-Growth Performer, began designing its own motherboards. And Micronet Systems, a small storefront VAR that, far from worrying about competition from big retailers, found that happiness is being located near Circuit City and Best Buy. You’ll find these and other stories in the 10 profiles on the following pages.

To find our fast-growth candidates, we conducted a phone and e-mail survey of system builders in May and June. We also drew upon data collected from attendees at XChange Tech Builder, an event for system builders held in Las Vegas in May and sponsored by CMP Media, parent of CRN.

This special report also inaugurates our CRN list of 50 Leading System Builders. The list, based on our survey, ranks system builders by average monthly units produced in 2003. It is not a complete list. Only those solution providers, distributors and system builders producing more than 100 systems a month and willing to break out unit volumes by category were included. But it does offer a look at some of the top competitors.

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What did we find? Our lead story, “System Builders On The Rise,” sums it up. High-touch service, a hot education market and expanding server and storage sales are among key factors that should keep the custom-system channel ticking over the next several years.