# CDW

CDW Corporation is an American multi-brand provider of innovative information technology services, serving business, government, education, and healthcare sectors across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Headquartered in Vernon Hills, Illinois, CDW employs over 15,000 professionals and supports a diverse customer base of 250,000 organizations. As a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 index, CDW generated $21 billion in annual net sales in 2023.
In addition to its core business, CDW operates a specialized division, CDW-G, which focuses exclusively on providing IT solutions to U.S. governmental entities, including K-12 schools, universities, non-profit healthcare organizations, and local, state, and federal governments. CDW helps customers navigate the complexities of an increasingly digital world, addressing challenges such as AI (artificial intelligence), cloud security, data storage, and cybersecurity. The company serves businesses of all sizes—from startups and small businesses to large corporations—ensuring they optimize the value and security of their technology investments.

## History

CDW was originally incorporated in 1984 as "MPK Computing" by its founder Michael Krasny. The idea was born when Krasny took a small ad in a free-circulation newspaper to sell his computer and printer. It later became Computer Discount Warehouse and then simply CDW.
In 2005, CDW launched BizTech magazine, which it publishes on quarterly basis.
In early 2006, CDW opened a 513,000-square-foot (47,700 m$^2$) distribution center in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The Vernon Hills, Illinois distribution center is roughly 450,000 square feet (42,000 m$^2$). In October 2006 CDW acquired Berbee, a top tier reseller of IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft products and services. It was CDW's second major acquisition after purchasing Micro Warehouse in September 2003.
On 12 October 2007, Chicago based private equity firms Madison Dearborn Partners and Providence Equity Partners completed a $7 billion acquisition of CDW. It went public again through an initial public offering on the NASDAQ market on July 2, 2013, under the name CDW Corporation (the parent company since 2010). CDW LLC and CDW Finance Corporation are wholly owned subsidiaries.
CDW operates in Canada as CDW Canada Incorporated, based in Etobicoke, Ontario. CDW Canada was recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute as one of the best workplaces in Canada in 2011, ranked 25th in the category of large and multinational companies.
As of 2018, CDW ranked 189th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.
On December 18, 2023, CDW became a component of the Nasdaq-100 index.

### Acquisitions

Berbee Information Networks Corporation, an American company specializing in IT, was purchased by CDW in 2006. Prior to that it was a privately held company headquartered in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Berbee was founded in 1993 by James G. Berbee and grew to over 300 million USD in revenue and more than 800 employees. Berbee's IT solutions included network infrastructure, systems and storage, productivity applications, communication and collaboration, application development, and security. Its data centers delivered hosted applications, co-location, and managed services. Berbee had offices in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In October 2006, Berbee accepted an $175 million all-cash acquisition offer from CDW. It became a division of CDW and is now known as CDW Advanced Technology Services. The Berbee Voice-Over IP software product group, creator of the InformaCast family of IP notification solutions, was spun off to form the new company Singlewire Software in April, 2009.
On 3 August 2015 the company announced that it had acquired the remaining 65% of Kelway Ltd., a London based multinational business with significant presence in the IT sector. Eight months earlier, CDW had bought a 35 percent stake in Kelway.
In 2021, CDW announced the acquisition of Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc. The acquisition was completed later that year.