In today's economy, enterprises are faced with unprecedented budget pressures and increasing demands for uncompromising network performance, uptime and security.

3Com is addressing this market need by taking its broad, fresh portfolio of H3C edge-to-data-center solutions to the world.

"Our experience in achieving market leadership over the last few years in China has made it clear there is a significant need to take the cost and complexity out of building enterprise networks,"

said Bob Mao, chief executive officer, 3Com.

"This demand for the 'no-compromise network' is clearly global and runs from small enterprises to large multinationals. Customers are ready for an alternative to the outdated and proprietary offerings that are too costly to purchase and difficult to manage. We have validated our approach by introducing H3C outside of China in select markets in Asia Pacific, Latin America and EMEA and we are encouraged by the receptiveness large enterprises have shown in adopting the new H3C enterprise portfolio."

"There is more scrutiny of enterprise networking vendors by IT leaders than ever before as they make getting more value from their networking investment a top priority," said Mark Fabbi, vice president - distinguished analyst, Gartner.

"Enterprises are searching for vendor options to provide lower TCO and easier management and deployment while fulfilling their need for continued high performance and reliability."

At the foundation of 3Com's enterprise networking strategy is a mandate to deliver unmatched price/performance and a new approach to customer relationships.

Three tenets drive this strategy:

1. Design solutions that lower TCO: The H3C portfolio of solutions has been designed and built over the last four years, incorporating the latest in merchant silicon and energy efficiency, as well as a common management platform;

2. Architect future-proof products: The H3C solutions are based on open standards and leverage common hardware and software systems to help solve today's problems while allowing the flexibility to adapt to future technology enhancements;

3. Deliver a new level of customer intimacy: 3Com has made responsiveness and flexibility a priority, underscored by the stability of a $1.3 billion, profitable, global organization. Elite partners authorized to sell H3C products will also help elevate the level of customer service and support.