3Com Creates New Channel Authorization Program for Global Distribution of H3C Enterprise Networking Portfolio

Opens new market opportunities for partners to meet customer demands for broad, well-tested, innovative enterprise products targeting larger enterprises

May 11, 2009—3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) today announced that it will leverage the strengths of its expanded sales teams and authorized, highly qualified channel partners to deliver a new level of customer intimacy and bring the business benefits of its high-performance, edge-to-data center portfolio of H3C enterprise networking solutions to large enterprise customers around the world.

Among the first companies to become 3Com authorized H3C Enterprise Partners in EMEA are BT France, Datcom and Lefatshe.  Additional authorized partners will be announced worldwide in the coming weeks.

“The H3C portfolio is the first new entry into the global enterprise networking market in many years and its price/performance innovations set it apart from the rest of the industry,” said Ron Sege, president and chief operating officer of 3Com. “The time is ripe for a new global offering in the enterprise networking space and 3Com will partner with those organizations that share our commitment to raising the bar on the level of service and responsiveness large enterprises should expect from their networking vendor.  The program is designed to help global enterprises realize the many benefits of deploying H3C solutions while creating new revenue opportunities for 3Com and our partners.”

3Com has designed the H3C Enterprise Partner authorization process to assure a level of expertise in selling and supporting enterprise networking solutions that span the network from the edge to the data center.  H3C Enterprise Partners will have trusted advisor relationships with large enterprises and a track record for delivering high-quality solutions.  In return, these partners will participate in higher-margin sales opportunities.

“We are finding that more than ever, large enterprise customers need to deliver on-going network performance and uptime, but often find that most networking products are old or too costly to manage,” said Julien Champigny Director of BT Services Networks, France.   “With the H3C enterprise product portfolio, we now have a fresh set of ‘tools in our bag’ to solve our customers’ problems today, while giving the flexible platforms to leverage future technology.  And, we believe we’ll have a healthier business as a result.”

This new authorization program will be of interest to VARs and System Integrators whose enterprise customers expect them to recommend the best possible solutions for their business needs, delivering maximum value along with best-in-class performance and the lowest possible TCO.  These partners will collaborate with 3Com’s enterprise-focused sales teams to provide customers with a new level of responsiveness and enterprise networking expertise.  Additionally, partners will have the opportunity to earn higher margins on the H3C product portfolio. 

The introduction of the new H3C authorization program complements the 3Com Focus Partner Program.  3Com remains committed to its Focus Partners and the program remains unchanged.  Focus Partners will continue to have access to the same portfolio of 3Com-branded products they do today, as well as those on the product roadmap, and all partner benefits continue unchanged.