Avnet gets Flexy in EMEA

Distributor offers suite of integration services based on FlexPod and ExpressPod in partnership with Cisco and NetApp

Avnet is rolling out its joint initiative with Cisco and NetApp in the UK and EMEA to supply its reseller base with a suite of integration services based on FlexPod and ExpressPod.

The initiative has undergone a pilot scheme in the US, which was deemed a success. The suite of services offered includes pre-sales support, consolidated quoting, single order capability, assembly and testing, ship completion and tracking.

Resellers will be able to secure additional support and expertise from Avnet's Cisco, NetApp and VMware teams.

Anthony Greenhalgh, director of supplier acceleration for EMEA at Avnet Technology Solutions, said: "This joint initiative means we can now offer unparalleled integration services for Cisco and NetApp technologies to build fully integrated FlexPod and ExpressPod architectures. These architectures are designed to transform datacentres toward a shared infrastructure, either within a customer's own facility or as part of a cloud platform. Our services will help remove the complexity associated with integration and enable our partners to simplify and accelerate sales opportunities."

NetApp's vice president of partners and pathways, EMEA, Thomas Ehrlich, added: "The market potential of the FlexPod and ExpressPod solutions is immense. The architecture's flexibility pays off for reselling partners and customers alike, whether it is configuration, applications or infinite scalability by using NetApp clustered ONTAP for agile data infrastructures based on FlexPod. We are delighted Avnet Technology Solutions is building on its FlexPod programme success in the US, bringing value and expertise to its EMEA channels."

Ed Baker, EMEA director of datacentre and virtualisation channel at Cisco, said: "Customer feedback about FlexPod has been exceptional due to its flexible infrastructure that provides them with the foundation for moving applications and workloads to the private cloud. For resellers, it is not only an innovative hardware platform, it's a great way to position new services and increase customer relevance. Working with Avnet will accelerate the datacentre market and give more resellers the ability to confidently position this disruptive solution to their customers."