Avnet, Inc. and Farnell Global have announced a strategic partnership with Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, to deliver enterprise-grade embedded and Edge solutions powered by Ubuntu Pro for Devices.
By combining Avnet’s strength in high-volume distribution with Farnell’s focus on high-service and smaller-quantity customers, this collaboration gives customers a direct path to deploy the Linux distribution on validated Avnet hardware, backed by deep engineering expertise and a long-term security maintenance commitment.
Ubuntu Pro for Devices delivers up to 10 years of security maintenance, compliance tooling, and device management for embedded devices running Ubuntu. The subscription covers security maintenance for the operating system and open source frameworks and toolchains like Python, ROS and others typically used by IoT developers on Ubuntu. Now available through Avnet, Ubuntu Pro for Devices empowers businesses to achieve compliance with regulations like the EU Cyber Resilience Act.
Through this partnership customers can work with Witekio, Avnet’s embedded software engineering subsidiary, to get solutions to market quickly with Ubuntu board bring-up, driver development, connectivity integration, middleware development and system optimisation across the full product lifecycle. Witekio can also assist existing Ubuntu users with long term support (LTS) migrations, custom builds and performance enhancements, helping to extend the life of legacy devices and bring complex systems to production faster.
“Avnet is committed to provide customers with complete production-ready platforms backed by industry-leading support,” said Jennifer Skinner-Gray, Senior Director, Supplier Technology Enablement at Avnet. “Our partnership with Canonical and the deep embedded Linux expertise from our Witekio team gives developers and OEMs the foundation they need to confidently deliver reliable, secure and scalable products.”
Customer benefits include:
- Ubuntu Pro via Avnet and Farnell Global – access the world’s most widely used Linux distribution, fully supported and production-ready
- Accelerated time to market – pre-validated software and hardware combinations reduce development timelines
- Simplified sourcing – hardware and OS available from a single supplier
- End-to-end engineering – Witekio provides integration, customisation, and lifecycle support
- Enterprise security – up to 10 years of updates, compliance, and hardening profiles (FIPS, CIS, DISA-STIG, CRA) and live kernel patching for kernel security fixes without reboots.
- Lower development costs – eliminate custom OS tuning and reduce engineering overhead
- High reliability – certified OS and vetted hardware ensure dependable performance
- Scalable platforms – consistent environment from prototyping through deployment
- Coordinated support – hardware and software backed by Avnet and Canonical
- Optimised for Edge and IoT – ready for modern connected and intelligent devices
“Avnet is a trusted name in hardware, and this partnership brings Ubuntu Pro into the embedded space at scale,” said Joe Dulin, VP of Devices Sales at Canonical. “Together, we’re enabling innovators to build reliable and securely designed products that are made to last, with full support from prototype to production.”
