3Com targets enterprises too

Over the years, networking major 3Com has created generations of dependable products. Today, in its new avatar, 3Com will continue to bring in new products that validate its brand promise—doing what is possible through hard work and innovation, and delivering practical products and solutions, says Gaurav Patra

This is the right time to focus on the enterprise, because with increased automation one of the major developments in enterprises is the increasing need for IT, says VIJAY YADAV

In today’s fast changing technology space, customers demand new alternatives and improved price/performance ratios. They want low costs, pay-as-they-grow options, and the best value for their investment.

Which is why 3Com is focusing on offering innovative, feature-rich products and solutions at low cost of acquisition and ownership. The networking major is trying to redefine the way networks are built, and is well-positioned to lead the industry through a challenging economy. The company’s focus is now on the enterprise segment, and large service providers who are directly feeding enterprise customers.

Earlier, 3Com promoted itself as the service providers’ vendor. However, the company is now focusing more on the enterprise segment without discontinuing the service provider business. Vijay Yadav, the newly appointed country manager, India & SAARC, 3Com, says that large communication service providers will remain one of the focus areas. He believes that the service providers will continue to play a dominant role as far as voice services are concerned. "When we say we are focused on the enterprise, we mean the functionality of the enterprise. Service providers are building the enterprise network for them. In terms of markets and goals, we will continue what we were doing earlier," says Yadav. This means that if a service provider is building an enterprise network, it will be a focus area for 3Com.

The company has an enterprise division that takes care of this business. "I think this is the right time to focus on the enterprise, because with increased automation, one of the major developments in enterprises is the increasing need for IT," opines Yadav. The constraint on resources has also to be considered. "Buyers have started looking for high value in ease of use, scalability and management of infrastructure—but within the framework of resource constraints."

As usual, 3Com has structured its operations around the needs of the market. Yadav points out that on one hand there is a requirement for high value products, and on the other there are less resources available. This means the market is suited for products from vendors who offer open scalable systems which are easy to use. Going by the trend, it is also true that organisations can no longer uphold proprietary solutions. Earlier, the focus was more on better connectivity and productivity. However, as connectivity has become all-pervasive, enterprises need to integrate their dealers, resellers and channels. Standards are becoming more important, so those organisations having the ability to provide scalable, reliable, robust and cost-effective solutions will rule the market. This is what 3Com is focusing on with its solutions that address both the voice and data communications space. To tap the opportunities here, Yadav says that 3Com will leverage its core strengths: technology and channels.

As part of the new strategy, the company has already identified countries and areas which are still growing in terms of revenues, and has decided to put more resources there. Right now India is one of these markets that the networking major is concentrating on.

Areas of focus

The company is now focusing on some specific areas like Gigabit Ethernet, wireless and VoIP as the next generation converged communication platform. From the product perspective, the company has identified three segments of growth. "We have built Gigabit on the core. Apart from this, there are mobility, wireless and voice products. We are expecting growth from all three segments in India," says Yadav. He further informs that 3Com has the leadership position in the Gigabit core switch segment, and is a leading solutions company in 802.11b & g wireless products, which are backward compatible. Since it has good products and couples them with services, 3Com expects to get more business. The services range from sales and logistics support to telephonic and e-mail support.

As far as Gigabit is concerned, 3Com is expecting business to come from the core switching area. In this regard the company has recently announced the launch of a core Gigabit switching product.

Wireless is another major thrust area for 3Com. As per studies, wireless is not picking up in India and the market is very small. However, 3Com feels otherwise. Yadav insists there is a huge opportunity in this space, and the interest in wireless is phenomenal. "Specifically, from both the 3Com and service provider perspective, wireless is a key area for growth. For the success of wireless, two enablers are considered very critical. The first area is services, the second is channel partners—and in both 3Com scores over the competition," he says. 3Com has a long-term approach for this segment, and the company believes this is an area which will also drive the growth of the high-volume products segment.

As far as wireless LAN is concerned, not much is happening at the enterprise level. It is believed that service providers are gearing up to take this as an opportunity and provide wireless services to end-customers. 3Com is also seeing an opportunity in this space. "To deliver voice services there are a number of service providers who will build enterprise networks. 3Com products are focused towards enterprises. The service provider is a very important channel for us, and also a growth area," says Yadav.

As far as focus on service providers is concerned, 3Com has two very important differentiators. They have experience in the service provider space, and they have their own set of services. The demand is also there, but it is coupled with certain hurdles. 3Com is geared to face those hurdles to establish its dominance in this area. Comments Yadav, "We need to address certain issues. The channel is already there for our support. That is why we strongly believe that our wireless business will pick up."

VoIP is another area on which 3Com is focusing, and the company expects large enterprises and service providers to drive this segment in the days to come. According to Yadav, 3Com provides cost-effective, scalable, open-standard solutions in this segment as well.

Enterprises of all sizes have the goal of reliable and cost-effective voice and data operations that maximise productivity. Faced with today’s economic challenges, many enterprises no longer have the luxury of operating disparate networks, so it makes sense to migrate to one network to streamline voice and data operations. Research clearly shows that IP telephony in the enterprise lowers the total cost of network ownership. Yet, while cost savings are important, the real long-term value proposition of IP telephony is the ability to add new applications that improve employee flexibility and productivity. Suggests Yadav, "Companies can significantly enhance business communication through the deployment of new IP-enabled services and applications such as unified messaging, centralised voice mail, IP-based conferencing, and IP-based call centres."

3Com offers one of the industry’s broadest suites of IP telephony solutions to serve enterprises of all sizes. By combining and extending technologies, including the carrier class 3Com VCX V 7000 (voice core exchange) soft-switch and NBX platform, the company delivers an IP architecture design and application capable of creating a return on investment that could result in substantial savings per user per year.

The company’s voice solutions allow customers to migrate to IP telephony at their own pace, whether based on comfort level with the technology or depreciation schedules of legacy voice equipment. 3Com IP telephony solutions are open and standard-oriented, so customers can re-use legacy PBX phones and key service units in an IP telephony network at some sites, replace legacy systems with IP telephones at other locations, and deploy centralised call control and common applications across the entire network. Additionally, 3Com’s open systems architecture allows third-party voice applications to be easily added.

To further strengthen its position in the Indian market, the company is in the process of recruiting more engineers and sales staff. It is also trying to narrow the gap between the demand for and supply of enterprise products by introducing new offerings in the Indian market. With all these initiatives, one can look forward to seeing a resurgent 3Com in the near future.