Johannesburg, 09 Apr 1998
3Com Corporation, a global leader in network connectivity, has announced it acquired Lanworks Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of PC network boot technologies and products, which are critical components of a complete desktop management environment. The purchase is valued at $13-Million. 3Com will incur a charge of approximately $8.4 million for purchased in-process technology associated with the acquisition in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998. Excluding the charge, the acquisition is not expected to materially impact 3Com`s fiscal 1998 results. "This acquisition significantly increases 3Com`s ability to design and deliver network interface cards (NICs) that bring "managed PC" functionality to both existing and new personal computers," says 3Com SA`s client access business unit manager, Dirk Bosmans. Lanworks Technologies BootWare family of products, installed on more than two million workstations worldwide, includes client-side boot firmware and software, and server-side boot services and management applications. By enabling information system staff to automate initial PC configuration, operating system upgrades and disaster recovery Lanworks network boot technology helps companies reduce the total cost of PC ownership by reducing user downtime, and increasing productivity, Bosmans explains. "Lanworks Technology has been 3Com`s strategic partner in making personal computers more manageable and less expensive to own for the past several years," says Doug Spreng, executive vice president of 3Com Client Access, Interface Products Group. "Together we are creating a new category of product that lets IS staff more efficiently manage, update and support networked PCs. 3Com`s PC OEM and enterprise customers worldwide will benefit from our world-class technology and managed PC solutions. 3Com and Lanworks Deliver Managed PC Boot Agent (MBA) Announced in November 1997, 3Com MBA firmware, developed by Lanworks, supports a rich set of important new and existing boot protocols for enhanced remote PC management configuration. Major computer manufacturers, such as Gateway 2000, have adopted this technology and now include MBA with their PC and network interface products. "The ability to awaken, monitor and update clients remotely is the essence of Gateway`s `down-the-wire` approach to enterprise management," says Jim Collas, senior vice president of Gateway 2000`s Global Products Organisation. "The combined expertise of 3Com and Lanworks is certain to help desktop management evolve to the next level." The MBA firmware supports most major boot protocols including BootP, DHCP, RPL, NetWare NCP, and the new PXE boot protocol defined in the Net PC specification. With MBA firmware available on a PC, a complete range of administrative tasks can be performed from a centralised station without changes to the infrastructure. Available in a number of formats, MBA firmware can be integrated into the NIC; embedded in system BIOS for motherboards; shipped as a field upgradable ROM chip for upgrading existing 3Com NICs with a ROM socket; or delivered as a flash upgrade for existing ROM-chip users. Key MBA firmware features include: * Complete control and policy management of PC software configuration; * Ability to boot PC from centralised boot server; * No user intervention needed to bring misconfigured PC back to life; * Comparison of desktop profiles to a central file to ensure each desktop is optimally configured; * Remote maintenance including the installation of the most current licensed copy of application and system software. Lanworks pioneered the use of network boot technology to give IS managers the necessary tools to manage users` PC desktops cost effectively," says George Kostiuk, founder and president of Lanworks. "Lanworks has created and refined a complete Managed Boot Framework, including the MBA firmware, management applications, and a rich set of application programming interfaces and services for desktop management vendors. By combining with 3Com, we can extend our reach and bring this rich set of capabilities to IS organisations and PC OEMs worldwide."
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