3Com broadens high-performance, enterprise communications portfolio to offer new end-to-end solutions

3Com Corporation today expanded its enterprise communications solutions portfolio with wide area network (WAN) router solutions designed to solve enterprise customers` issues with premium-priced, proprietary systems that are highly complex and costly to manage and support.

As part of an aggressive, open standards-based approach to meet enterprise customers` requirements for end-to-end infrastructure, applications and network management, 3Com is broadening its high-performance infrastructure solutions with the introduction of the 3Com Router 5000 family, the starting point for a wider range of new router solutions that support enterprise voice and data applications.

3Com will also add to its network management offerings with the new 3Com Network Administrator, which includes a router manager application and the capability for larger enterprises to perform bulk administration for more efficient operations.

"By extending its market presence with today`s announcement, 3Com is one of only a few vendors that can deliver the feature-rich, high-performance, end-to-end solutions to the enterprise market," said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, vice-president, product management, 3Com Corporation.

"Enterprise customers, channel partners and managed service providers are increasingly expressing frustration with over-priced approaches and proprietary roadblocks that increase total cost of ownership. 3Com offers a new choice of the most competitive, state-of-the-art router solutions to enable CIOs and network managers to enhance business network functionality, increase efficiency and help improve a company`s bottom line."

"3Com is starting to change the expectations for router solutions - particularly, reducing the complexity of ordering by bundling maximum memory and software to improve customer satisfaction while offering outstanding price/performance of new WAN products," said Nick Lippis, president, Lippis Consulting. "For enterprise customers, 3Com is delivering on its commitment to enterprise communications solutions with advanced functionality at a lower cost of ownership - a value proposition that gets the attention of CIOs."

The 3Com Router 5000 family is a set of mid-range routers, the first in a range of 3Com routers designed to offer enhanced wide area network (WAN) and secure Internet services to large, mid-sized and smaller enterprises in order to drive integrated communications among multiple sites. As full-functioned routers to control traffic flows between sites on a WAN, the 3Com routers support quality of service (QoS) and traffic prioritisation, necessary for converged voice networks, and include advanced VPN (virtual private network) and encryption support for tight security.

Easy to order and configure with standard software and memory already included, the 3Com Router 5000 series is designed primarily for medium-sized headquarters and branch offices within an enterprise. The 3Com Router 5000 series` value to enterprise customers includes lower cost, easier-to-use user interfaces and standards-based support, in addition to taking advantage of 3Com`s tier-one capabilities, which include voice/data integration, and global service and support. These WAN routers fit extremely well into 3Com`s solutions for key target market segments, including education, healthcare, government and retail banking.

The new 3Com Network Administrator allows network managers to perform key administrative functions such as bulk configuration backup and software agent updates. The application integrates seamlessly with HP OpenView, allowing powerful management of both large 3Com and heterogeneous networks. It also includes 3Com Router Manager, allowing users to perform element management of the new 3Com router family.

The 3Com VCX V7000 IP Telephony Solution, 3Com SuperStack 3 NBX and NBX 100 Communications System telephony products have created a new requirement for WAN solutions and the quality of service that the voice traffic requires across a WAN. The new 3Com Router 5000s help address the quality of service and WAN needs of customers that have taken steps to improve integrated communications. The routers also complement 3Com`s already broad portfolio of enterprise local area network (LAN) infrastructure solutions, featuring the new 3Com Switch 7700, a high-performance modular switch for enterprise core applications, as well as the innovative XRN technology that enhances network availability and business continuity.

The 3Com Router 5000 series is expected to ship in October. The 3Com Router 5009 is expected to be priced at $1 395 (US list). The 3Com Router 5231 is expected to be priced at $2 495 (US list). The 3Com Router 5640 is expected to be priced at $3 995 (US list) and the 3Com Router 5680 is expected to be priced at $6 495 (US list). 3Com Network Administrator is expected to ship in November and to be priced at $4 995 (US).