Cracks the Midmarket Code with Innovative Business Model That Makes Midmarket Profitable for Suppliers and VARs

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2008--The Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) business of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW), today announced that it has launched a new business group dedicated to building a channel for suppliers and valued-added resellers (VARs) to expand their reach in the midmarket. The Arrow ECS Midmarket Group targets the technology needs of midsized companies, the fastest growing IT segment, through its VARs.

Arrow ECS Midmarket offers VARs solutions customized for midsized companies, data analytics to target the right prospects, training, marketing, and expert support.

"Serving the midmarket has challenged suppliers and VARs for years," said Kevin Gilroy, president of Arrow ECS. "We believe this new business model cracks the midmarket code, enabling suppliers and VARs to deliver their solutions to midmarket companies in a profitable, repeatable process."

Arrow ECS Midmarket is taking a lead in building multivendor solutions for its resellers, leveraging its information technology (IT) knowledge and broad portfolio of suppliers, including IBM. The initial suite of solutions focus on the high-demand areas of security, storage and virtualization, solving the business problems in industries such as health care, financial services, manufacturing, and professional services.

"Midmarket companies buy solutions and they buy locally," said Harris Warsaw, vice president of IBM General Business, Americas. "Arrow's strong focus on its partners, on the new offerings and marketing programs that target this important customer set, will help midmarket customers derive real value on their IT investment, while enabling them to effectively manage their business."

To support VARs in their selling efforts, Arrow ECS Midmarket is employing data analytics to create "business roadmaps" to the midmarket. These roadmaps combine Arrow's extensive data on buying patterns with market intelligence. They equip VARs with the knowledge of where their best prospects are in their local markets, the business and technology issues they face, and the best ways to grow their midmarket business.

Midmarket companies face Fortune 500-level IT problems and compliance requirements, and the need for expert support is acute and often goes unmet. Arrow ECS Midmarket offers enablement services and expertise to its VAR partners so they are prepared to fill this gap.

"Any distributor can emphasize education and marketing. The difference is that Arrow ECS supports us with actual resources and programs that are targeted for our customer base," said Trish Way, vice president of sales and marketing for KgW & Company, an Arrow ECS reseller.

"Arrow ECS has been a critical part of each stepping stone as we've grown over the past two decades," said Way. "Now, with the addition of the Arrow ECS Midmarket Group, we have an entirely new level of support and resources available to us, and we're going to continue capitalizing on them. Our company and our customers can only benefit."

"As groundbreaking as the three initiatives are, the true innovation is deploying all three simultaneously," said Mike Long, president and chief operating officer of Arrow Electronics, Inc. "By introducing new economies of scale to the supply chain, Arrow ECS is rewriting the economics of the midmarket."

About Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions

Arrow ECS, a business segment of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW), provides enterprise and midrange computing products, services and solutions to value-added resellers, system integrators, and independent software vendors. Based in Englewood, Colo., Arrow ECS connects its customers to the world's foremost technology suppliers, including HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems, EMC, NetApp, Hitachi Data Systems, and other leading storage networking, software, and security suppliers. Arrow ECS reported $4.8 billion in worldwide computer products sales in 2007. Visit www.arrowecs.com for more information.

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