Asus signs Avnet for AMD push

Avnet Computer and Components has signed on as Asus’ latest distributor.

The AMD-specialist will now offer a select range of the vendor’s AMD-based motherboards and three new notebook models.

Avnet computer and components division regional sales manager, Michael Yee, said the deal was aimed at leveraging Asus’ global knowledge and expertise.

“Resellers and whitebook builders don’t have big R&D budgets,” he said. “So we’re trying to offer the AMD-based Asus models as an alternative for the whitebox community.”

To-date Asus’ Intel-based notebooks had largely played in the consumer and low-end corporate space, Yee said. With new AMD-based models Avnet would look exploit opportunities in the gamer, education and high-end corporate markets.

According to Yee, AMD sales at the distributor had been strong of late with dual-core based chips in particular experiencing 140 per cent growth year on year.

Explaining the decision to appoint an additional distributor, Asus country manager, Ted Chen, said a dedicated AMD player was now needed.

"There is a lot of potential in AMD and Avnet has its own channel so can enlarge our piechart,” he said. “There is consensus amongst all our distributors to work together in a joint [growth] strategy.”

Currently Asus components are distributed by Acheiva, Cellnet and Synnex and its notebooks by Ingram, Synnex and Cellnet.

Asus was also scaling up its support infrastructure to support its planned notebook and components business growth, Chen said.

Expansion of its Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland service centres is underway and the vendor is also moving to a larger sales and marketing office in Sydney.

To sell resellers on the merits of the new partnership, Avnet would hold launch events in Sydney and Melbourne in conjunction with Asus and AMD, Yee said. A range of promotional programs were also planned for channel partners.