Arrow Electronics Offers Customized Marketing Program to Enhance Solution Sales for Hitachi Resellers.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Enterprise Storage Solutions, a division of the North American Computer Products group of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW) has created a turnkey marketing program for Hitachi Data Systems' (HDS) resellers designed to increase solution sales. The HDS EmpowerNow program focuses on key areas impacting end users including storage management, email archiving for regulatory compliance and module initiatives, such as tiered storage, for small and medium businesses.

EmpowerNow is a set of integrated lead generation, product training and demonstration tools designed to help HDS resellers with solution sales. The program has several customizable components that HDS resellers can build into their outbound marketing activities including onsite and online sales and customer training, direct mail and e-mail marketing campaigns and solutions kits.

Arrow has conceptualized and already designed the campaign components, which HDS pre-approved for co-op funding, so resellers can begin their customized marketing programs immediately.

"Resellers working with Arrow have an advantage. EmpowerNow provides them with complete marketing campaigns, which can be implemented quickly and at a minimal cost," said Lance Sedlak, director of marketing, Enterprise Storage, Arrow Electronics. "They can deliver competitive programs to help them approach their customers with real business solutions without investing in a dedicated marketing staff."

HDS-focused demonstrations in the Arrow Enterprise Solutions Labs also are available to participating HDS resellers. To help resellers address customers' specific requirements, Arrow and HDS also offer access to qualified lab engineers who can deliver demonstrations or assist in creating custom demonstration solutions if proof-of-concept is required.

"The EmpowerNow campaigns are in line with this year's HDS key initiatives, and provide our channel partners with easy to implement marketing tools," said Thomas Valiante, vice president, Americas Channel Sales, Hitachi Data Systems. "The purpose and real benefit of the program is to keep resellers ahead of the curve in meeting their customers' needs."

Specific HDS solutions and products addressing the identified initiatives include HDS HiCommand Storage Services Manager for storage management, Thunder 9500V for compliance issues and tiered storage addressing small and medium businesses needs. The EmpowerNow program allows resellers to use one or several of the developed marketing campaigns, which highlight these HDS solutions.

"We saw a real increase in new business appointments and sales after the launch of an EmpowerNow campaign," said Seth Weinstein, CEO, Key Bridge Technology. "It provided us with a cost-effective and high-end campaign that made an impact with our potential customers."

The HDS EmpowerNow program is available to all of Arrow's HDS authorized resellers.

About the North American Computer Products Group of Arrow Electronics

The North American Computer Products group of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW) is a leading distributor of enterprise and embedded computing systems to resellers and OEM customers in North America. Based in Englewood, Colo., the group is comprised of four divisions that make up Enterprise Computing Solutions (Support Net, SBM, MOCA, Enterprise Storage Solutions) and OEM Computing Solutions, which serves industrial OEMs and intellectual property-based companies. Visit all of our divisions at www.arrownacp.com.

Arrow Electronics is a major global provider of products, services, and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and computer products.