Avnet Adds StoragePath To Its Tech-Specific VAR Training Programs

Avnet Tuesday debuted StoragePath, the latest addition to a series of university programs for its VAR community that focus on particular technology segments or vertical opportunities. According to Avnet, StoragePath will focus on hardware, software and services related to storage and, like the distributor's other SolutionsPath programs, will observe the same three-day course instruction format.

"We feel that over the next several years, storage brings a lot of opportunity to our customers' end users," said Kim Hofmann, director of the storage solutions practice for Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, in a Channelweb.com interview. "We're following essentially the same recipe for all SolutionsPath offerings, which is looking to understand what's really going on in the end-user community."

StoragePath, said Hofmann, will focus on four particular areas under the broader storage category: storage infrastructure design and management; storage utilization; data loss protection and recovery; and application optimization. VARs can attend Avnet's StoragePath University -- the three-day course format -- and also have access to a range of services through the distributor's OneTech Services branch.

Among its other SolutionsPath programs, Avnet already offers VirtualPath, which focuses on virtualization. Hofmann said there were enough topics unique to both storage and virtualization training for VARs to warrant two different courses, although each contains elements of the other.

"I think there's a lot of synergy between the practices," Hofmann said. "If I'm talking about storage utilization, it's possible that through optimizing my storage, I could come to the conclusion that I need to know more about how to work through a virtualized environment. There's a lot of synergy throughout the areas to focus on in the data center."

"Avnet's investment in resources like training, assessment and implementation services supports this activity, helping us address the latest storage-related challenges and earn the trust of our clients," said Ric Hughes, president and CEO of systems integrator Systems Alliance, in a statement. "By participating in Avnet StoragePath, our team is positioned for accelerated growth in the ever-changing storage solutions market."

StoragePath is the fifth of Avnet's SolutionsPath offerings. The distributor has previously offered vertical-centric programs like HealthPath and GovPath, and technology-specific programs like VirtualPath, and, most recently, SecurePath.

Tim FitzGerald, Avnet's Technology Solutions Practices Leader and former practice leader for its VirtualPath, said more SolutionsPath programs are coming.

"Our intent is to continue to identify high-growth areas," FitzGerald said. "There are lots of exciting things we're working on."