Trouble At Arrow: Company Loses Key Executive, Key Vendor

The Englewood, Colo.-based distributor, which has let go of Gilroy, president of its Enterprise Computing Solutions business, also seems to have lost its relationship with at least a part of Symantec Corp., Cupertino, Calif.

Don Richie, president of Sequel Data Systems, Austin, Texas, believes the switch will be good for solution providers.

"I've known Kevin for a long time. He's done a lot of good things. But his background was working for a manufacturer and in distribution, his ideas and things did not seem to mesh with that particular part of the business," Richie said. "In my option, as a partner, I was seeing Arrow trying to act like HP, instead of working and doing the things that distribution does best."

Richie added that Gilroy's announced successor, former Avnet executive Andy Bryant, will bring a different vibe to Arrow.

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"I have nothing but good things to say about Andy. He understands distribution. Until it's proven different, that's a great move," Richie said.

Richie is a former partner of KeyLink Systems, which Arrow bought from Agilysys, and has been critical of Arrow's communications with its customers since the merger.

"My frustration as a partner, and other partners, has been vocal as of late," Richie said. "I went from [Agilysys,] an organization that communicated on a regular basis, involved partners in their thinking and was actively seeking input. Arrow was so focused internally, we heard nothing. You can bold print that. We heard nothing. They may have the world's greatest plans, but the truth is unless we know them and start implementing them, that's of no value. That's where they've been for a while."

Meanwhile, Jeff Albright, founder of Albright Consulting Services, of Evansville, Ind., hasn't seen the same issues as other solution providers, but he said it seems Arrow is committed to improving partner relations.

"I probably get 10 to 15 pertinent, relevant e-mails a week. And at least half a dozen phone calls a week from within Arrow," Albright said.

One solution provider who wished to remain anonymous said part of the reason Arrow is losing share was Gilroy's decision to get rid of Michael Haley, the former head of Arrow ECS's HP business unit.

"Kevin Gilroy decided that Michael wasn't aggressive enough. Michael was a really good guy. He built up a good team," said the solution provider. "Arrow has gone through a lot of turnovers since its merge with Agilysys. For instance, it let many of its service people go and kept the Agilysys service people. However, several of them have left and are being replaced by less experienced people."

Gilroy's relationships with HP, his former employer, also did not turn into success for Arrow, said the solution provider.

"It didn't translate into benefits for us. Everything that's good at Arrow was in place before Kevin came in," said the solution provider.

Meanwhile, Arrow is also about to lose a key vendor partner in Symantec, according to solution providers and other distribution executives said it's well known that Arrow is being dropped as a supplier.

Arrow executives could not be reached for comment, according to a spokesman, who offered the following statement regarding Symantec:

"Our portfolio is always changing. Our Alternative Technology company offers several lines that provide similar solutions. In terms of a comment on Symantec, I'd have to refer you to Symantec."

In response to a query from Everything Channel, Randy Cochran, vice president of channel sales in the Americas for Symantec said in an e-mailed statement, "Symantec evaluates its partner ecosystem on a regular basis and we make changes to maximize our operations and programs. As a result, Symantec terminated its relationship with Arrow in April. We are working closely with Arrow and their partners to ensure its customers receive the highest level of services during the transition."

Symantec's data protection software was replaced in Arrow's Alternative Technology company by software from rival CommVault Systems, of Oceanport, N.J. CommVault had been partnering with other parts of Arrow for about a year.

Ron Miiller, vice president of sales for the Americas at CommVault, said the change is good for his company.

"We're excited about being moved to the Alternative Technology side," Miiller said. "And we're really excited that Arrow is not carrying Symantec because it lets Arrow and us laser-focus on displacing Symantec. Within Alternative Technology, we will be the primary data protection solution."

Gilroy joined Arrow in December 2006, when he joined Cathy Morris as co-president. Morris had served as president for three months after Ed Coleman resigned in September 2006 to become CEO of Gateway Computer.

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