3Com Enhances IP Telephony for Business with New IP Phones and Advanced Capabilities to Increase Productivity and Strengthen Customer Interactions

Business Wire, May 23, 2005

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. -- Nixon Inc. Deploys 3Com(R) Convergence Solution to Strengthen Its Customer Care Service and Improve Inter-Company Communications

3Com Corporation today announced a comprehensive enhancement to its award-winning Internet Protocol (IP) telephony software designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises reduce costs, increase employee productivity and strengthen customer interactions.

Key features in this new, fifth generation release of the 3Com(R) NBX(R) IP Telephony system, the industry's first IP PBX (private branch exchange), include:

--New automatic call distribution (ACD) option to allow businesses to easily expand their customer care service for up to 199 agents as part of their own in-house operations;

--Support for silent monitor/whisper/barge-in. When used with the ACD feature, supervisors can listen in on an incoming call, silently coach agents while on an active call and interrupt a call in progress if needed by barging into a call;

--Account code dialing and verification to allow professional service companies to more easily track and bill professional staff time;

--Support for the 3Com 3103 Manager large screen, Gigabit-speed phone with personal directory and call logs;

--Support for the 3Com 3100 Entry, a single-line Power over Ethernet (PoE) compliant IP phone designed to be a cost-effective alternative to traditional analog telephones; and

--Support for two cordless IP phones for retail and small office applications.

Nixon Inc., an Encinitas, Calif.-based manufacturer and distributor of men's and women's watches and clothing, turned to one of 3Com's successful Gold channel partners, KME Systems Inc., to help them maximize their existing 3Com NBX system installation, purchased more than six years ago, as Nixon faced increasing customer service and support demands. KME Systems rolled out an upgraded version of the 3Com NBX IP Telephony module along with new 3Com IP phones.

"Nixon Watches has a rapidly growing business that requires us to provide quality service to retailers and keep them in sync with our headquarters and customer service operations," said John Roberts, Nixon Inc. director of operations. "With the help of KME Systems and 3Com, we have been able to strengthen our customer care service and improve inter-company communications in such a way that we've seen a drastic improvement in employee productivity and a reduction in costs to hire additional customer service associates."

3Com Offers Industry's First Competitively-Priced Gigabit Phone

With this release, 3Com offers a total of eight IP phones to complement the 3Com NBX system, including the industry's first competitively-priced Gigabit phone, the new 3Com 3103 Manager IP phone, which increases user productivity by managing up to 12 simultaneous calls. The 3Com 3103 Manager Phone offers a long-term investment as the acceptance of "Gigabit to the desktop" becomes more widely accepted by enterprises. Pass-thru ports on 3Com IP phones also allow users to conserve LAN switching ports. For example, users can connect a personal computer (PC) to the 3Com IP phone, which is connected to the Ethernet port in the wall.

New 3Com 3106C and 3107C cordless IP phones offer an in-building communications solution for mobile enterprise users. Both the 3Com 3106C and 3107C allow mobile workers the opportunity to roam up to 1,000 feet or 305 meters from the base unit giving them greater freedom while conversing within an organization's IP-based network.

"3Com recognizes that small and medium sized businesses have similar communications needs as large enterprises, and want to leverage IP telephony to help them stay competitive and operate their businesses more efficiently," said Peter Brockmann, 3Com senior director of product marketing. "With the fifth generation of our NBX system, 3Com delivers advanced functionality not found in competitors' first-generation offerings that enable our customers to reap the benefits of a converged network."

"The 3Com NBX system offers excellent automatic call distribution features and a more robust portfolio of IP phones allowing many of our clients, including Nixon Watches, to easily implement basic call center functionality resulting in stronger interactions with their customers," said Mark Essayian, president of KME Systems, a 3Com Gold Partner. "3Com brought to the table a converged solution that perfectly fits our clients' needs by reducing costs and improving the ability to easily monitor their IP telephony system as their company grows."

3Com Product Availability and Sales Distribution

The 3Com NBX 5.0 IP Telephony system upgrade is available immediately for an end-user list price of $1,000. The 3Com 3100 Entry IP Phone, 3103 Manager IP Phone, 3106C and 3107C Cordless IP Phones are available immediately and have end-user list prices of $100, $365, $415, and $515, respectively. 3Com sells and markets IP telephony hardware and software and other 3Com-branded products through a network of authorized systems integrators and channel partners worldwide.