3Com creates margin to win for North American channel partners
New Channel Programs Offer Greater Incentives for Choosing 3Com® Solutions Over HP, Enterasys, Nortel and Cisco
MISSISSAUGA, Ont., September 11, 2002 — 3Com today announced two competitive channel programs designed to raise awareness and further the market penetration of its LAN switching and networked telephony solutions. Available for U.S. and Canadian Focus channel partner members, the programs specifically target resellers and end-users, providing them with attractive incentives to consider and choose 3ComÒ solutions over competitors.
"3Com is offering channel partners and end-user customers new incentives because we believe that, when presented with the option, customers will choose 3Com's solutions," said Nick Tidd, managing director, 3Com Canada. "3Com is well-positioned to capitalize on the enormous market opportunities in the LAN switching and networked telephony segments. 3Com is raising the level of competition among vendors by offering channel partners and customers greater incentives to choose the best data and voice networking solutions on the market."
Making the 3Com Switch from HP, Enterasys, Nortel and Cisco
Effective through November 30, 2002, 3Com's new LAN switching program is targeted at HP, Enterasys, Nortel, and Cisco solutions. 3Com is enticing resellers to have end-user customers consider and purchase 3Com LAN switching solutions, which provide a high-quality option for building their data networks. To qualify, resellers will submit to the end-user customer a 3Com bid for every pending, competitive bid. Resellers are required to show that a bid for a competitive solution was issued to the end-user customer before the 3Com proposal was offered. For end-user customers that choose 3Com LAN switching solutions over any of the designated competitive products, 3Com will pass a 10 percent rebate through the reseller to the customer.
In addition, authorized 3Com resellers will benefit by receiving a 10 percent discount on the product through distribution. Authorized resellers can access all promotional forms and documents at the 3Com Partner Web site.
The promotion applies to the following 3Com LAN switching solutions:
- 3Com® SuperStack® 3 Switch 4400SE
- 3Com Switch 4005 40-Port Copper Fast Ethernet Starter Kit
- 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4900 Family
- 3Com Switch 4050
- 3Com Switch 4060
Helping Nortel Customer Migrate to 3Com's Networked Telephony Solutions
Another competitive program targets Nortel's existing base of PBX customers by offering Nortel Norstar end-user customers an affordable migration path to voice over IP (VoIP). Nortel customers will receive from 3Com NBX Voice Authorized Partners a free CITELlink™ IP Handset Gateway card when they purchase a NBX® 100 Communications System, and up to three free CITELlink cards when they purchase a SuperStack 3 NBX chassis from 3Com. To leverage the promotion, authorized NBX resellers need to show proof of purchase for the NBX system and CITELlink cards, and simply submit the required promotion forms. Resellers will then receive a rebate check to reimburse them for the cost of the CITELlink cards.
The CITELlink IP Handset Gateway, developed by CITEL Technologies, is a 16-port, slide-in card that fits into any available slot in the NBX chassis. The card allows customers to use their existing Nortel Norstar telephones with the NBX systems. By offering a clear migration path, with investment protection, 3Com plans to aggressively drive the adoption of its NBX systems in the market.
These promotions can only be used for specific competitive products and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional pricing and rebates. Prior sales do not apply.
About 3Com Corporation
3Com is a tier-one provider of innovative, practical and high-value networking products for enterprise customers. 3Com is also a leader in Internet protocol (IP) service platforms and access infrastructure for the network service provider market. For further information, please visit ca.3com.com.
