3Com Corporation Wins IBM PartnerWorld Beacon Award for Most Innovative IBM System I Solution

3Com Corporation has been named winner of the “Most Innovative IBM System i Solution” award in the annual IBM PartnerWorld Beacon Awards competition, recognizing IBM Business Partners for their ingenuity, innovation, customer satisfaction and outstanding achievements in providing on demand business solutions.

3Com Corporation teamed with IBM to deliver an innovative, highly differentiated IP Telephony solution for customers. Delivering tight integration of the 3Com VCX™ IP Telephony platform with System i, as well as with Lotus Notes and SameTime applications, provides small and medium business (SMB) customers with an economical, value-added solution that previously would only have been available to large corporations willing to invest significantly in custom integration.

The System i IP Telephony solution enables the customer to use excess capacity on their existing System i server to run IP Telephony applications such as dial tone, messaging and conferencing rather than requiring the purchase of new standalone servers. The solution also uses the same System i management tools customers are familiar with rather than having to learn new management systems and eliminates the need to invest incrementally in IT staff to maintain less reliable, non-System i servers when deploying IP Telephony. With the System i IP Telephony solution, clients experience significantly higher degrees of availability and uptime.

The System i IP Telephony solution is helping reduce the typical sales cycle by as much as 33-50 percent. Although the solution was recently announced in November 2006, IBM and 3Com have secured several clients and are continuing to advance the partnership.

Judges remarked that 3Com Corporation’s solution “showcases the unique benefits of the System i platform and is one of the most innovative solutions on the market for System i. 3Com’s investment, leadership and cross industry solution capabilities make them an invaluable Business Partner.”

“Recognized by the Beacon Awards, 3Com Corporation has worked closely with IBM and its Business Partners to provide clients with innovative solutions that solve real business issues,” said Ravi Marwaha, general manager, IBM Global Business Partners. “3Com Corporation has set the standard for business excellence by delivering unique solutions as well as high customer satisfaction.”

“We are honored that IBM selected 3Com as the most innovative solution for System i,” said Bob Dechant, senior vice president and general manager of 3Com’s Data and Voice Business Unit. “Customers and partners alike have recognized the value and opportunity delivered by the System i IP Telephony solution. By continuing to expand the relationship and unify telephony with business applications, we are creating an even more unique and compelling value proposition in the marketplace.”