Sydney, Australia, 4/4/2006 – Hewlett-Packard (HP) today announces the appointment of Avnet Partner Solutions, a leading value-added distributor, to manage their Developer and Solution Partner Program (DSPP) in Australia. Avnet Partner Solutions will be responsible for recruiting and assisting Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and specialist System Integrators (SIs) to work with HP technology, including HP Integrity servers, HP Proliant and HP StorageWorks.

HP’s DSPP engages industry-leading ISVs to strengthen and expand HP’s solution offerings to customers and channel partners. Avnet Partner Solutions will assist with the certification of software packages developed on HP infrastructure. HP’s over 140 DSPP partners will have access to Avnet’s state-of-the-art Integration Centre and the Novell Authorised Testing Centre in Sydney, providing local resources to support the full lifecycle of HP’s relationship with ISVs.

Avnet has appointed a Business Development manager dedicated to working with the ISVs and specialist SI’s to develop profitable sales and marketing plans. Value-added services, including marketing, financial, sales and technical support will be offered to maximise return on investment.

“This partnership is an opportunity for HP to drive growth for Australian ISVs and channel partners, and build strong, long-term and reliable relationships in the Australian market,” says Russell Shooter, Director Commercial Accounts, Solutions Partners and Alliances, HP Australia.

“We selected Avnet Partner Solutions due to their commitment to HP’s business, their understanding of the subtleties of the ISV market, as well as their global vendor relationships.”

The partnership provides HP with the opportunity to leverage Avnet Partner Solutions’ current work with Oracle and Novell SuSE on ISV development to expand HP’s business.

“Avnet is ideally positioned to help HP take this program to the next level. This exciting new stage in our relationship with HP will allow us to leverage our global experience, as well as draw on our local skills and knowledge, to help DSPP members create business and service opportunities within the channel,” says Colin McKenna, Vice-President and Country Manager Australia, Avnet Partner Solutions.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2005, HP revenue totalled $83.3 billion. More information about HP is available at www.hp.com.au.

About Avnet Partner Solutions Australia

Avnet Partner Solutions Australia is an industry-leading, value-added distributor and provider of enterprise servers, storage, software and services. Avnet Partner Solutions Australia provides solutions from industry-leading manufacturers, including HP, Oracle, Enteraysys Networks and Novell’s Suse Linux, to drive growth for partners and manufacturers. Avnet partner Solutions is a division of Avnet Technology Solutions operating group of Avnet Inc. Avnet Partner Solutions is a division of Avnet Pacific Pty Limited, and a part of the Avnet Technology Solutions operating group of Avnet Inc. (NYSE:AVT) For more information visit www.avnetpartnersolutions.com.au

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