CDW Achieves Companywide Gold Certification from Cisco Systems, Inc.
July 25 2007 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDWC), a leading provider of technology
products and services to business, government and education, today
announced it has achieved companywide Gold Certification from
Cisco�. CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), the company�s subsidiary
serving government, education and healthcare customers, and Berbee
Information Networks, acquired by CDW last September, had achieved
Cisco Gold Certification within their own operations in prior
years. The Cisco� Channel Partner Program is designed to reward
channel partners for the value they deliver to customers. Gold
Certification reflects the highest breadth of skills across key
technologies and a partner�s ability to deliver integrated
networking solutions. The Cisco Channel Partner program provides
CDW with the resource framework to develop an expertise to sell,
plan, design, implement and operate Cisco networking solutions. To
earn Gold Certification, CDW had to meet or surpass the stringent
personnel, training, customer satisfaction, specialization and
post-sales support requirements set forth by Cisco. In 2007, for
the first time, the Gold Certification extends to all of CDW
Corporation�s business units. �We are committed to creating the
tools, training and programs that help drive channel partner
profitability and broader, deeper Cisco solutions for our joint
customers,� said Keith Goodwin, vice president, Worldwide Channels
for Cisco. �CDW holds specializations in routing and switching,
storage and wireless, as well as Master Specializations in security
and unified communications. CDW is an Advanced Technology Partner
(ATP) in network hosted storage, rich media and outdoor wireless
mesh, so they have secured the training, skills and knowledge to
play a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of Cisco
technology solutions.� Cisco Gold Certification provides CDW with
the resources to augment its existing Cisco offerings with services
and integrated solutions that customers will value, and it allows
CDW to expand customer support options. Moreover, CDW will have
additional resources available to improve its delivery of advanced
Cisco solutions to customers, including: Expanded Technical
Training: As a Cisco Gold partner, CDW maintains multiple Cisco
technology specializations among its team of 820 on-staff engineers
and advanced technology specialists. Cisco Gold enables CDW to
further expand its technical expertise in multiple integrated
technologies through a structured training program, to more fully
address customer needs Access to Training and Product Information:
Cisco Gold Certification also provides top-level validation of
CDW�s advanced technology skills, up-to-date knowledge about Cisco
products and Cisco Lifecycle Services support capabilities. To
further enhance those capabilities, Cisco Gold resources also
include increased access to the Cisco technical support teams, as
well as access to password-protected Web sites with real-time
product and training information Expanded Customer Satisfaction
Tools: As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, CDW enjoys several
benefits -- most notably, access to the latest Cisco customer
satisfaction tool, Partner Access onLine (PAL). The new PAL tool is
based on the same technology that Cisco uses to monitor and improve
its own customer satisfaction In line with CDW�s commitment to
respond with urgency to its customers� pressing technology needs,
the company met Cisco�s strict requirements for customer problem
resolution � providing technical services and achieving problem
resolution within one hour of receiving a customer inquiry and
responding within 24 hours to each request for on-site assistance.
These rigorous support requirements highlight CDW�s commitment to
supporting its customers and their mission-critical IT
infrastructures in the public and private sectors alike. Affinity
Bank, a statewide bank based in Ventura, California, recently
selected a wide-area network (WAN) optimization solution based on
Cisco equipment and software provided with pre- and post-sale
advice and implementation support from CDW. As well as avoiding
bandwidth costs and enhancing disaster recovery capabilities, the
WAN optimization enables more robust Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) infrastructure and videoconferencing. �The Cisco solution
provided through CDW is already delivering significant performance
improvements,� said David Grant, chief information officer at
Affinity Bank. �CDW�s team helped us evaluate the range of
appropriate solutions and then coordinated delivery and
installation, quickly ironing out any issues with the vendors.
Their expertise, service and assistance are invaluable to us. We
are pleased that CDW achieved Gold Certification with Cisco, for
the excellence it reflects and the benefits if offers us as a Cisco
and CDW customer.� �This companywide Cisco Gold Certification
underscores the depth of CDW�s technical expertise and the value of
our professional services to customers in both the public and
corporate sectors,� said Kenneth Grimsley, CDW vice president of
strategic sales. �Achieving Cisco Gold Certified partner status
demonstrates that CDW meets or exceeds Cisco�s stringent standards
for performance as well as our customers� needs. We provide a host
of value-added resources to fortify our solutions capability �
particularly through the assistance our technology specialists
provide to customers in assessment, design, configuration and
implementation.� About CDW CDW�, ranked No. 342 on the FORTUNE 500,
is a leading provider of technology solutions for business,
government and education. CDW is a principal source of technology
products and services including top name brands such as Acer,
Adobe, APC, Apple, Cisco, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft,
Panasonic, Quantum, Samsung, Sony, Symantec, ViewSonic and Xerox.
CDW's direct model offers customers one-on-one relationships with
knowledgeable account managers and access to approximately 820
on-staff engineers and advanced technology specialists who
customize solutions for customers� complex technology needs. CDW
also provides same-day product shipping and post-sales technical
support. CDW was founded in 1984 and as of June 30, 2007, employed
approximately 5,880 coworkers. In 2006, the company generated sales
of $6.8 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com. Where You Can
Find Additional Information In connection with the proposed merger
between CDW and a subsidiary of VH Holdings, Inc., CDW filed with
the SEC, and has furnished to its shareholders, a definitive proxy
statement soliciting proxies for the meeting of its shareholders to
be held with respect to the Merger on August 9, 2007. CDW
SHAREHOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT CAREFULLY
BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. CDW shareholders and
other interested parties can obtain, without charge, a copy of the
proxy statement and other relevant documents filed with the SEC
from the SEC�s website at http://www.sec.gov. CDW shareholders and
other interested parties can also obtain, without charge, a copy of
the proxy statement and other relevant documents by directing a
request by mail or telephone to CDW Corporation, 200 N. Milwaukee
Ave., Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061, Attention: Corporate Secretary,
telephone: (847) 465-6000, or from CDW�s website,
http://www.cdw.com. CDW and certain of its directors, executive
officers and other members of management and employees may, under
SEC rules, be deemed to be �participants� in the solicitation of
proxies from shareholders of CDW with respect to the proposed
transaction. Information regarding the persons who may be
considered �participants� in the solicitation of proxies is set
forth in the definitive proxy statement described above. Statements
about the expected timing, completion and effects of the proposed
merger between CDW and a subsidiary of VH Holdings, Inc. and all
other statements in this filing other than historical facts,
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, each of which is qualified in its
entirety by reference to the following cautionary statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and are
based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions,
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
CDW may not be able to complete the proposed merger because of a
number of factors, including, among other things, the failure to
obtain shareholder approval, the failure of financing or the
failure to satisfy other closing conditions. Other risks and
uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements are
described in the reports filed by CDW with the SEC under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including without
limitation CDW�s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2006, and the definitive proxy statement dated July
13, 2007, relating to the special meeting of shareholders to be
held to vote on the merger agreement. For more information about
CDW: Visit CDW on the Internet at http://www.cdw.com. Contact CDW
Investor Relations via the Internet at investorrelations@cdw.com or
by telephone at 847-419-6328. CDW is a registered trademark and
CDW@work is a trademark of CDW Corporation. Other company and
product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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