Avnet Intros Finance, Energy and Retail Solution Paths

Building on its successful vertical market solutions strategy, Avnet’s Technology Solutions has announced three new vertical market practices, EnergyPath, FinancialPath and RetailPath, offering a methodology, including playbooks and training designed to help IT solution providers expand their presence in these specific vertical markets.

The new solution paths join healthcare and government in Avnet’s vertical market paths, and follow Avnet’s appointment of Mike Houghton as vice president of vertical market solutions as well as the naming of new market leaders for the new solution paths. Houghton recounted an analogy made by a partner about the program.

“It’s like choosing major in college,” he told Channel Insider. Once you choose your major, Avnet helps you get there. But unlike college, there is no degree. It’s a continuing education effort, and partners can choose their level of commitment to any particular practice.

“It depends on where you want to go,” Houghton said.

Partners can choose how deeply engaged they want to be in any particular vertical. Partners may want to go deeply into one vertical or specialize in three of them.

Avnet will introduce “universities” around EnergyPath, FinancialPath and RetailPath to teach partners the lingo and the industry-specific factors that come into play with solutions built for each of these spaces.  Service offerings include: industry-specific assessment services, cross-platform configuration expertise, Avnet and supplier services, as well as high-value, revenue-generating services ranging from disaster recovery and remote storage management to cloud-based services, Avnet said.

To help the new vertical’s succeed, Avnet has named a slate of industry professionals to help develop curriculum and help partners succeed.

Avnet’s new solution path leaders are:

• EnergyPath practice: Nicole Evans, director, Energy and Utilities Solutions Practice. Evans joins the company from IBM, where she held various roles responsible for the strategic and operational management of IBM’s hardware business in high-growth global markets.
• FinancialPath: Matthew Geer, director, Financial Services Solutions Practice. Geer most recently directed IT strategy development at American Express and previously held senior roles at Bank One and JP Morgan Chase.
• RetailPath: Joe Delgado, director, Retail Practice. Prior to Avnet, Delgado was with IBM for 14 years, where he worked with VARs and ISVs in the retail industry.