A beaten down COMS is not out - watch for a very quick turn around by Nov.
3Com Corporation extends No. 1 market share lead in
Ethernet and Fast Ethernet NICs, hubs, and switches
new IDC studies show 3Com as the undisputed leader
--Global data networking leader,
3Com Corp , 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 . |
