Avnet’s (AVT) Technology Solutions distribution unit has secured authorization to integrate Hitachi’s Unified Compute platform solutions, consisting of VMware (VMW) vSphere and Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) Unified Computing System (UCS) technology.

The designation comes under Hitachi’s TrueNorth partner program and, according to the vendor, Avnet is the first partner to gain authorization to architect and integrate the Hitachi UC platform in North America. Hitachi said Avnet’s integration services will help channel partners speed time-to-market by providing complete converged data center solutions.

According to the companies, the integrated solutions can include Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP), Hitachi Unified Storage (HUS), Hitachi Unified Storage VM (HUS VM), Cisco Unified Fabric network, and Cisco UCS, as either a Cisco Validated Design or certified reference architecture. The compute, network and storage resources featured are natively integrated with vSphere and each component is certified for interoperability.

Avnet already maintains Cisco UCS B-Series Authorized Configurator (UBAC) and Cisco Unified Computing System C-Series Authorized Configurator (UCAC) certifications.

“By becoming the only distribution partner providing implementation-ready framework architectures for this solution, Avnet eliminates the complexity that solution providers face in designing and developing solutions from multiple vendors that span the breadth of the data center,” said Randy Wright, ATS Americas Hitachi vice president and general manager. "Avnet will provide the technical capabilities solution providers need, allowing them to spend more time advising their customers on how technology can overcome enterprise-critical business challenges.”

Support will come from Avnet’s dedicated Hitachi solutions group, which is part of the distributor’s Converged and Data Solutions unit and also supports technology from Cisco, EMC (EMC) and NetApp (NTAP). The group provides solutions sales, field sales and technical and product marketing support, with access to pre-sales technical support. Avnet said it will conduct architecture and integration services for Hitachi UCP with vSphere and Cisco UCS solutions at its Global Solutions Center in Chandler, Ariz. Partners using ATS’ services pay for the solutions only after they ship fully integrated, the distributor said.

“Avnet’s renowned track record with converged data center solutions and the Cisco UCS ecosystem, coupled with its solutions distribution expertise, will ensure that our solution providers can shorten their sales cycles and accelerate their time to market,” said Ed Parolisi, Hitachi Infrastructure Solutions GTM vice president, Global Partners and Alliances.