Distributor Arrow Electronics is now offering its VARs and solution providers a managed service program for selling Sun Microsystems solutions.

The new managed service program is being offered through the MOCA Group of Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions, the company announced Oct. 9 at its annual Net@Work Partner forum in San Antonio, Texas.

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With the managed services program, VARs and solution providers will be able to offer a 24-hour-a-day remote-monitoring service for Sun solutions. VARs will also have access to customized services, better service reach that extends from the network through the application, dedicated engineers, and resources and maintenance services.

"We think this helps give a little more focus to our resellers," Richard Severa, president of the MOCA group, said. "This gives them an opportunity to add managed services to their portfolio."

In addition to the new managed services program for Sun, Arrow, of Melville, N.Y., announced that it has updated its Web-based training and management portal for VARs.

Click here to read more about Arrow's new business unit that uses Sun's storage solutions.

Called Vortex, the portal will now offer VARs several new features, including a change and credit tool, which can track Sun contract changes as well as credit information.

In addition, the portal contains a new budgetary tool to provide estimates, an invoice and billing feature for contracts, and a forecasting tool feature that will allow VARs to work with the MOCA service group to provide a record of their Sun sales.

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The managed service program with Sun has already started, and VARs and system integrators will be able to access the management portal later in October, company officials said.