Arrow Aims To Aggressively Bolster IoT Business With Acquisition Of eInfochips

Arrow Electronics said Tuesday it plans to acquire design and managed services player eInfochips as the distributor looks to dramatically expand its Internet of Things strategy and offerings.

Michael Long, chairman, president and CEO of Centennial, Colo.-based Arrow, said in a statement that the acquisition will add over 1,500 IoT solution architects, engineers and software development resources to the distributor's arsenal.

’Upon close of this acquisition, eInfochips advances our IoT strategy, expands our offerings, and moves us into the rapidly growing IoT services market," he said. "As a result, we will deliver complex and connected IoT solutions and technologies across multiple cloud platforms."

[Related: Securing Industrial Control Systems Becomes Critical As Manufacturers Add IoT In 2018]

The price of the transaction, which is expected to close this month, was not disclosed.

San Jose, Calif.-based eInfochips specializes in IoT and cloud frameworks, as well as turnkey product development, intelligent automation and device life-cycle management – particularly in vertical markets such as retail, medical and home automation.

Arrow, meanwhile, has touted its expertise around components and peripherals as a core differntiator for its IoT platform. The company's "Sensor to Sunset" comprehensive IoT portfolio aims to fill in the gaps of connected solutions by providing solution providers and customers the tools they need – from sensors, wireless connectivity, gateways and analytics to security.

EInfochips' expertise and resourceswill flesh out these existing offerings with new tools around engineering, solutions architecture, embedded software development, mobile device connectivity, security and app development, according to Arrow. Arrow will also look to tap into eInfochips' management services portfolio, which includes big data analytics.

As the distribution market heats up around IoT-based solutions, Arrow is working to aggressively expand its IoT business with new services and channel initiatives.

The company in March told CRN that it would roll out a partner program dedicated to a "new and different breed of channel partner that's looking to penetrate the market for industrial IT, and specifically IoT, in a big way."

"Internally, we're fostering referral relationships, cross-selling initiatives, the kind of bundled and red-marked solutions that enable our people to tell a more complete story as it pertains to IoT," Sean Kerins, president of Arrow's Enterprise Computing Solutions (ECS) business, told CRN during an earlier interview.