SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 1997--Global data
networking leader, 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS), today announced
that its strategy to deliver the highest level of customer
satisfaction in the Ethernet marketplace is succeeding as reflected
in International Data Corporation (IDC) studies.
IDC has released Ethernet and Fast Ethernet market share figures
for 1996 and 3Com is the clear leader in every segment.
"3Com has been voted number one by its most important audience --
customers," said Doug Spreng, executive vice president of 3Com
Interface Products. "IDC's reports suggest that 3Com's product
strategy clearly has the momentum to drive the Ethernet and Fast
Ethernet market, winning more customers than any other vendor.
"3Com's market-leading strategy leverages our core competencies
including engineering high-quality high-performance products; adding
innovation and value with software that sets new standards in
performance and manageability; ensuring compatibility with the
broadest range of computers and operating systems; building reliable
products with state-of-the-art manufacturing; and delivering products
through the strongest sales channel in the industry."
3Com Market Share in Ethernet and Fast Ethernet NICs, Hubs, and
Switches
In the rapidly growing 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet network interface
card (NIC) market, IDC reported that 3Com achieved no. 1 market share
with 40% of cards shipped worldwide, gaining six percentage points in
1996. According to IDC, the worldwide Fast Ethernet NIC market grew
from only 665,000 units/cards in 1995 to over 4.4 million units/cards
in 1996. In the 10Mbps Ethernet NIC market, 3Com's market share
increased to 40%, five times more than the next largest supplier at
8%. Most of the other major Ethernet and Fast Ethernet NIC suppliers
lost share in 1996, while 3Com gained share in all segments.
3Com's success in growing its Fast Ethernet NIC market is due to
customer adoption of 3Com's industry-leading Fast EtherLink(R) and
Fast EtherLink XL network interface cards and 3Com's innovative
DynamicAccess(TM) feature set. 3Com's growth in the Ethernet NIC
market is the result of continued customer loyalty of the
EtherLink III and EtherLink XL family of products.
According to IDC, the Fast Ethernet hub market grew by 486% from
232k ports in 1995 to over 1.3 million ports in 1996. In this market
segment, 3Com was the clear leader with 32% of the ports shipped
worldwide, maintaining a 10 percentage point lead over its nearest
competitor. In the 10Mbps Ethernet hub market, 3Com is again the
market leader with 24% of ports shipped worldwide, the next largest
supplier is at 16%. In managed stackable Ethernet hubs, 3Com is even
further ahead, and grew its market share position to 36%.
3Com's leadership in the NIC and hub market is supported by equally
impressive performance in Ethernet switching. The latest published
figures from IDC for CY1996 show 3Com with 25% market share in LAN
switching ports worldwide.
The company's success in the market is indicative of its
leadership position in stackable LAN switching, where 3Com maintains
33% of the market. Such dynamic growth has been driven by the
success of 3Com's award-winning "Gigabit-Ready" SuperStack(R) II
Switch 1000 and 3000 solutions that have now achieved over 2 million
port shipments. More recent additions to the SuperStack II family
of switches, including the SuperStack II Desktop Switch (now
available for an industry leading price of just $99 per port) have
further strengthened 3Com's presence in this sector.
3Com Brings Innovative Features and Functionality to the Edge
3Com's industry-leading Ethernet and Fast Ethernet NICs offer
DynamicAccess software features that bring intelligence to the edge
of the network by making 3Com NICs active components to optimize
network performance and control.
DynamicAccess features include PACE(TM) class of service
technology enabling users to prioritize multimedia and
business-critical applications, distributed RMON (dRMON) software
that utilizes the NIC to enhance RMON coverage in switched and
100Mbps environments and Fast IP, which accelerates IP traffic.
DynamicAccess features are part of 3Com's broad range of
TranscendWare(TM) software which runs on all 3Com hardware products,
benefiting more than 50 million customers worldwide.
IDC's reports confirm that, "3Com continued to gain market share
and lead the industry in 1996 by focusing on customer needs with
unmatched product performance and ease-of-use, plus innovative
channel programs such as the 3Com Network Ready(TM) program," Spreng
said.
"The 3Com Network Ready program offers customers leading PCs and
servers preconfigured with a 3Com network interface for simple
integration into corporate networks and reduced cost of ownership.
3Com Network Ready partners currently include ten leading PC
Manufacturers and nineteen leading resellers, integrators and PC
suppliers."
3Com has the largest installed base of Ethernet and Fast Ethernet
connections in the industry and also offers a migration path for
those customers looking towards Gigabit Ethernet as the next step in
high-bandwidth networking. 3Com was the first to announce an
end-to-end Gigabit Ethernet solution. While other companies are
delivering pieces of Gigabit technology, 3Com is rolling out server
cards, hubs, switches and routers and has engineered how these
products will work together.
In addition to Ethernet and Fast Ethernet, 3Com offers the greatest
breadth of products supporting ATM, FDDI and Token Ring as well as
products that interconnect these protocols. In addition, the
impending merger between 3Com and US Robotics will result in a
company that is the clear leader in both LAN and WAN.
3Com Corporation has helped more than 50 million people gain
access to critical information through high-speed networks. Designed
to serve large enterprises, service providers, small offices and
homes, 3Com products provide a scaleable architecture to meet the
present and future connectivity needs of today's users. With
research and development on three continents, 3Com is one of the data
networking industry's largest and fastest growing companies. 3Com's
innovative marketing, engineering, sales and support simplify
communication, optimize network reliability and protect customer
investments. For further information, visit our World Wide Web site:
3com.com .
Note to Editors: 3Com, EtherLink, and SuperStack are registered
trademarks of 3Com Corporation. DynamicAccess, 3Com Network Ready,
PACE and TranscendWare are trademarks of 3Com Corporation. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: 3Com Public Relations
Deanna L. Perez, 408/764-5088
deanna_perez@3mail.3com.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET PRODUCT |
