3Com Launches New Consulting Business Focusing On the Fastest Growing Technologies in Enterprise Networking - 3Com Consulting Services - Company Operations

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Sept 6, 1999

3Com Corporation Tuesday announced the formation of 3Com Consulting Services to offer customers a comprehensive, innovative set of networking solutions that will tap the best of 3Com's networking business, the company's channel partners and new collaborative partnerships with diverse vendors.

"We are creating a network consulting practice that is built upon the many years of practical experience we have had in helping customers develop leading-edge, end-to-end solutions," said Bruce Claflin, 3Com's president and chief operating officer. "The time is right to formalize and leverage our expertise to grow this network consulting practice."

Many of 3Com's long time customers have benefited from the company's comprehensive suite of networking services and welcome this new offering.

"I think 3Com will continue to be successful in the network consulting business," said Roger Hall, network manager for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. "I started working with 3Com in 1990, when I had four PCs networked, and I've been using 3Com products ever since. Now I've got 130 buildings in the city networked together on a 3Com ATM Metropolitan Area Network. You can't grow a network like this without a very close relationship with the people at your primary network vendor. Really, 3Com has been doing network consulting with us all along."

3Com Collaborators and Channel Partner Relationships

3Com has been building its consulting business by leveraging the talent of its own people and the strategic relationships they have developed with solution vendors and various consulting firms -- including the high-end business process re-engineering consulting companies -- to be their networking technology partner of choice. From these collaborations, 3Com's customers will benefit from new business solutions based on the latest engineering innovations and specialized, cross-disciplined teams of the best people available.

In addition, 3Com Consulting Services will actively team with service-enabled resellers in the delivery of these solutions. 3Com already works with channel partners by referring the implementation of network solutions to them, and this practice will continue to grow as a result of the company's new consulting business. More diverse and more innovative solutions developed by 3Com Consulting Services will be "blueprinted" for channel delivery, giving channel partners even more opportunities to offer their customers state-of-the art networks.

"With this strategy, we are not tied to one consulting company or integration firm to deliver our solutions," said Claflin. "This approach allows us to have direct touch with our key customers and partners. It is important to many customers as they feel more confident knowing that 3Com has invested in its own people to implement these cutting-edge network solutions. We believe this is a personalized, pervasive, user-centric approach that allows customers to create tangible, bottom line value. Our competitors can't match this approach."

Chu Chang, 3Com Consulting Services' vice president and general manager who for 19 years has built successful professional service businesses at Fortune 500 companies, added: "We consciously selected this method of working as it allows 3Com to incubate solutions and methodologies for our key partners. This will help accelerate market and user acceptance of emerging technologies and open up new product and solution opportunities for resellers without them having to invest in driving the market."

3Com's strategy of engaging its channel partners, consultants and system integrators in the consulting process will be key to differentiating the company from its competitors in the network consulting space.

"We are very excited about 3Com bringing networking solutions business to the channel," said Jeff Neumeister, senior director, service delivery for Ingram Micro Inc., the world's largest wholesale distributor of technology products and services. "We believe that 3Com will actively engage its channel partners and provide new opportunities to help us further grow our service business with 3Com's technology solutions. This is a win-win relationship for all parties concerned."

Increasingly, businesses are facing a variety of networking technology options, while at the same time having to cut costs and manage scarce human talent. As a result, more companies are now turning to outside consulting companies to help plan and implement comprehensive network solutions.

"3Com's newly announced network consulting and design initiative is well timed to compete in a marketplace that International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts will represent a $22 billion opportunity by 2002," said Richard Dean, senior research analyst at IDC. "Leveraging some of its own core technological competencies along with the skills of its implementation partners, 3Com is positioning itself to offer its clients a robust end-to-end network solution."

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