Full Description

3Com Corporation (3Com), incorporated on June 4, 1979, is a global enterprise networking solutions provider. 3Com has three global product and solutions brands: H3C, 3Com, and TippingPoint that offer networking and security solutions to enterprises large and small. The H3C enterprise networking portfolio includes products that span from the data center to the edge of the network and is targeted at large enterprises. TippingPoint features network-based intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and network access control (NAC) solutions that deliver application, infrastructure and performance protection. Its portfolio of products and solutions enable customers to manage business-critical voice, data, video and other networking technologies in a secure network environment. 3Com’s portfolio of products and services enable customers to deploy and manage data, voice, video and other advanced networking technologies in a secure network environment.

During the fiscal year ended May 29, 2009, the Company was organized in two primary businesses: Networking Business and TippingPoint Security Business. Its Networking Business consists of the sales regions as operating segments, including China-based, Asia Pacific Region excluding China-based sales region (Japan and Hong Kong SAR) (APR), Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LAT), and North America (NA) regions.

The H3C Portfolio for Large Enterprises

H3C networking products address the needs of the large enterprise market and these products are classified in four categories: networking- local area network (LAN) switches, router and network management software; security-firewalls; emerging technology- Internet protocol (IP) storage and IP video surveillance, and services. The Company offers a number of fixed-configuration and modular chassis switches. H3C’s Comware Operating System, found in all H3C enterprise solutions, provides a common platform to expedite network deployment and streamline staff training and system management. Its principal switch products are Data Center/Core Routing Switches, Multi-Service Switches, Flex-chassis switches, Layer 3 Gigabit Stackable Switches and Layer 2 and Layer 3 Intelligent and Resilient Switches.

The Company’s routers, in combination with its other networking infrastructure products, provide a means of transporting converged data and voice traffic across an Internet protocol wide area network (IP WAN), while preserving the quality of service (QoS) required for mission-critical applications. Its H3C portfolio includes router products from carrier-class core routers to modular routers to small business access routers. H3C router products are classified as SR, MSR and AR Series Routers.

H3C’s Web-based Intelligent Management Center (IMC) platform offers enterprises a network management solution that integrates applications, resources and users. H3C security solutions are designed to provide real-time protection, ensure continuity, and improve network availability and control. The H3C SecPath F-Series and SecBlade VPN Firewall are virtualized firewalls that combine multi-core processors and the full feature set of 3Com’s Comware operating system with networking protocol support.

The Company’s H3C brand is a developer of IP storage area network (IP SAN) offerings. IP SAN is a third-generation storage technology, and is based on the advanced architecture and open standard IP protocol. 3Com service offerings for its 3Com and H3C solutions cover key aspects of support that customers need to keep their data networking solutions operating effectively, including telephone support, hardware replacement, software updates, dedicated on-site engineers and spare parts. It maintains five directly operated global enterprise support centers offering assistance in 13 languages.

The 3Com Portfolio for Small and Medium-Size Businesses

The Company’s 3Com-branded solutions provide networking solutions for its customer base. It offers a range of fixed-configuration and modular Ethernet switches. It includes offerings, such as the 3Com Switch 5500, Switch 4500 and Switch 4200 families, as well as its OfficeConnect and Baseline series switches targeted at small businesses and branch offices of larger organizations. It offers wireless networking products and solutions that provide users with anytime, anywhere network access. It offers routing solutions that bring enterprise-class WAN routing features, redundancy and performance to the regional offices of large enterprise customers and to the headquarters of medium-size businesses. It also offers router products, which provide fixed configuration solutions to securely connect small offices and remote offices of large enterprises. TippingPoint Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) technology and its DigitalVaccine service automatically provides updated attack filters. 3Com has a line of unified security platforms that protect small and medium-size enterprises from a myriad of threats.

The Company offers a portfolio of IP telephony products that work together to deliver applications, including dial tone, IP messaging, IP presence, IP conferencing, IP mobility and IP customer contact center services. 3Com provides its channel partners and customers a single point of accountability for service performance.

TippingPoint Security Products

The Company’s security products include IPS; security services and network access control. Its TippingPoint line of IPSs is designed to analyze incoming data to prevent viruses and malicious traffic from entering the network. The TippingPoint IPS offers total packet inspection, reviewing all data processed through it for viruses and other malicious traffic to provide application protection, performance protection and infrastructure protection.

The Company provides a real-time update service, called the Digital Vaccine service, which automatically and rapidly delivers vulnerability filters against the security threats. Its TippingPoint Network Access Control (NAC) Enforcer offering provides NAC features that enable enterprises to enforce device and user policies to ensure endpoint compliance. NAC enables enterprises to verify the identity of users before allowing them to access different levels of the network.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Inc., Alcatel Lucent, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., Enterasys Networks, Inc., Extreme Networks, Inc., F5 Networks, Inc., Nortel Networks, Hewlett-Packard, Juniper Networks, Inc., Allied Telsis, Inc., Buffalo Inc., Digital China, Hitachi, Huawei, ZTE Corporation, IBM, Juniper Networks, Inc., McAfee, Inc., Sourcefire, Inc., Symantec Corporation, D-Link Systems, Inc. and NETGEAR, Inc.