3Com Corporation
A Vision of Pervasive Networking
A Tradition of Innovation and Success
3Com Corporation was founded on June 4, 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area by Bob Metcalfe, the principal inventor of the networking protocol Ethernet.
Today, under the leadership of president and CEO Bruce Claflin, 3Com is positioned to be the leading, tier one networking company of the future. 3Com is focused on offering innovative, feature-rich products and solutions that excel at low cost of acquisition and ownership, while maintaining the lowest cost structure and best asset velocity in the industry. 3Com has structured its operations into two distinct businesses that are focused on leveraging its core strengths:
- 3Com Business Networks division provides practical network infrastructure products and solutions for enterprises and small businesses, and reliable connectivity products that enable computing devices to access computer networks; and
- CommWorks Corporation, a wholly-owned 3Com subsidiary, builds Internet Protocol (IP)-based multi-service networks for the world's largest telecommunications service providers.
Both of these businesses have a unique business model tuned for the dynamics of their target market.
3Com Business Networks
Network Infrastructure
Building on 3Com's success in the networking infrastructure market, 3Com's Business Networks division develops technologies and products to build and manage networks supporting local area network (LAN) switching, web technologies, networked telephony, wireless LANs and gateways. These networking solutions are feature-rich so they can support the increasingly complex and demanding application environments in today's businesses but they are also easy to install, use and operate and are very affordable to own.
3Com brings its technologies to enterprises and small businesses through its worldwide channel of value-added resellers, system integrators and telecommunications service providers.
Enterprise networking
3Com has a unique approach for delivering network capabilities to enterprise customers. In today's challenging economic environment, IT managers increasingly have to do more with constrained resources. For the enterprise network manager, this means looking for smarter ways to use the network while managing the demands of users, applications and limited budgets.
Based on leading-edge 3Com technology, 3Com has developed a new and innovative way to build enterprise LAN cores, which are highly available, scalable and resilient. With lower up front cost and natural evolution of the existing network, 3Com's XRN technology (eXpandable Resilient Networking) helps businesses drive productivity and collaboration across the organization.
Small business networking
3Com's strong position in the small business marketplace stems from its understanding of the needs of small businesses and its ability to provide them with networks that are reliable as well as easy to buy, install and manage. With 3Com's solutions, small businesses can spend less time dealing with technology and more time focusing on their business.
Network Access
3Com provides reliable, high-performance networking access products for enterprises, small/home offices and consumers.
3Com solutions enable intelligent, seamless connectivity across multiple devices and networks. 3Com access products advance the long-standing vision of pervasive networking with:
- Market-leading 3Comâ client desktop and server Ethernet NIC solutions and new Embedded Firewall NIC security solutions;
- Personal systems networking solutions with its new NJ100 Network Jack product (currently in the U.S. market only), and;
- Mobile and wireless access solutions with its LAN+modem PC Cards, 802.11 Wireless LAN PC Cards and USB Adapters, and Bluetooth Wireless PC Cards, USB Adapters and Printing Kits.
3Com network access products are available worldwide to customers through the two-tier distribution channel that leverages the capabilities of 3Com's resellers and channel partners worldwide and direct through PC OEMs such as Gateway, Inc. and IBM. These industry leading companies build 3Com connectivity solutions into their server, desktop and notebook products.
CommWorks
CommWorks Corporation's exclusive focus is on the telecommunications service provider market. The Rolling Meadows, Illinois-based company has built a sizeable business based predominantly on serving the largest carriers around the world: of the 20 largest carriers worldwide, representing 62 percent of the world's public telecom service revenue, 16 are CommWorks' customers.
Regardless of the transport medium - wireline, wireless, broadband or narrowband - or type of traffic - voice, data, fax or video - CommWorks offers service providers an IP platform based on common hardware and softswitch elements that allows them to:
- Reduce operating costs;
- Develop new revenue-generating services;
- Attract additional network traffic;
- Differentiate product offerings; and
- Improve communications for end-users.
The CommWorks architecture makes it possible for service providers to integrate existing infrastructure with innovative technologies to deliver an array of new IP-based enhanced services to their customers. Introduced in 1999, this three-tier packet-based architecture enables service providers to customize solutions independently at each tier to address individual customer needs.
CommWorks builds IP networks for all types of service providers: incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs); interexchange carriers (IXCs); post, telephone and telegraph administrations (PTTs); competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs); Internet service providers (ISPs) and other alternative service providers.
Corporate Profile
3Com is the only networking company that offers a unique blend of practical and innovative technology and way of working that provides our channel partners and customers with high-value, practical-to-use solutions designed for the realities of the customer's world.
3Com is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and has offices around the world. Bruce Claflin is 3Com's president and chief executive officer. During the past two decades, 3Com's team of inventors and engineers has earned over 800 U.S. patents, with over 1120 additional applications pending. Based on this intellectual property portfolio, 3Com has created generations of products that are consistent market share leaders.
Since 3Com's founding in 1979, the world has embraced its vision of pervasive networking.
- Today, almost every personal computer contains a network connection or modem.
- Today, most businesses are fundamentally built around a flow of information carried by a network.
- Today, telecommunications service providers are increasingly using IP-based technologies to deliver new services to their customers and dramatically lower their operating costs.
And today, as in days past, 3Com will continue to establish new levels of innovation and deliver new products that validate our brand promise to our business customers - namely taking what's possible through hard work and innovation and delivering practical products and solutions.
