Distribution Briefs

Safe and Secure

Forging Ahead With Storage
Arrow Electronics has been named the first distributor to join the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), a nonprofit industry organization that delivers standards, education and services to promote open-storage-networking solutions. Last year, the SNIA engaged with Arrow's North American Computer Products Group through the distributor's Enterprise Storage Solutions business unit. As a result of that relationship, Arrow was granted all SNIA-associated membership and voting privileges. Through its association with the SNIA, Arrow hopes to promote open standards and to further the organization's vendor-independent certification program,something Arrow execs believe will lead to more VAR certifications and, ultimately, stronger storage-networking practices among the solution providers it serves. In addition, Arrow executives will sit on the SNIA's marketing and education committees.

Get a Post-Warranty Sales Boost
Thinking about add-on business? If you're a Compaq reseller, think about this: More than 1.5 million Compaq ProLiant servers are in use in the United States, many of which were purchased up to three years ago. The opportunity now exists for solution providers to extend warranty services or offer replacement products. To assist its VARs in this quest, Tech Data, Clearwater, Fla., has launched a new Web-based tool for resellers on its partner Web site that allows Compaq VARs to better manage product warranty extensions or Compaq CarePaq renewals. Solution providers can gather information on Compaq products or services acquired 36 months ago that are approaching expiration,down to the end user's name and phone number. The post-warranty tool allows Compaq resellers to extend Compaq service coverage for another full year, or to refresh the technology.

Distributors Are the Toughest Customers
Graybar, a national distributor of electrical, communications and data products in St. Louis, has inked a deal with Deloitte Consulting under which Deloitte will implement a mySAP.com e-business solution to run Graybar's business-system applications. The implementation will replace Graybar's legacy technology and will run on IBM servers (including IBM's e-server pSeries and xSeries systems), Shark enterprise storage servers, and LTO libraries and drives. SAP was chosen based on its track record with large corporations with high transaction needs over a geographically dispersed area. Graybar will make use of the entire mySAP.com suite of solutions, including mySAP CRM, mySAP Supply Chain Management, mySAP Human Resources, mySAP Enterprise Portals and mySAP Business Intelligence. Deloitte and SAP offered Graybar executives a proof-of-concept demonstration and performed structured load-testing of the systems before the decision to implement was made. The rollout will be handled in phases from now through 2004.

Climbing the International Ladder
Ingram Micro, Santa Ana, Calif., has promoted Hans Koppen, 59, to executive vice president of Ingram Micro Inc. Koppen will retain his current position as president of Ingram Micro Asia-Pacific as well. He is recognized for his contributions in integrating Ingram acquisitions in that region, opening new market opportunities and developing an acumen for working through cultural barriers when doing business in different countries. Koppen was previously president of Ingram Micro Latin America and president of Latin America at GE Capital IT Solutions, plus he has held a variety of executive positions with Control Data in Belgium, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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