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Technology Stocks : 3Com Corporation (COMS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mehrdad Arya who wrote (32414)	7/14/1999 10:07:00 PM
From: Captain Jack	Respond to of 45548

If you read this it may give insight why COMS is doing zero in the mkt. Three of the top four officers are from COMS. Says alot about Eric--- he stays,, Jul. 14, 1999 (CTI NEWS, Vol. 3, No. 14 via COMTEX) -- Little did Mick Jagger know when he belted out the hit "Start Me Up" in 1981 that it not only would mark the kickoff of every football game in the world, it also could be the anthem for all the new high- tech companies who hope to be "running hot." But odds are most start-ups will find Jagger's voice haunting them if they "can't compete with the riders in the other heats." Some analysts are super-sure that industry consolidation will chew up start-ups faster than they can sprout up. Art Schoeller, analyst with the Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Group [IT], says that three years from now there will be 40 percent fewer companies in the general CTI-related sector. His view is seconded by analyst Robert Mirani of the Boston-based Yankee Group. "Art and I usually agree, and I would agree that you will see shrinkage in this Web interaction space by at least half," Mirani says. "They'll get swallowed up by a lot of the existing call center companies, or quite frankly they just go under." Although life as a start-up could "make a grown man cry" as Jagger sang, there is life after death in the start-up world, says Christopher B. Ward, director of marketing communications for Framingham, Mass.-based Natural MicroSystems [NMSS]. "I guess it depends on your definition of survival," Ward says. "A start-up getting bought by Cisco - is that survival? Some guys may think so. The technology lives on." Ward says start-ups are an essential element in the high-tech food chain. "In the whole high-tech industry across the board, start-ups have to a large degree been the lifeblood of innovation," Ward says. "They continue to be the ones pushing the envelope on leading-edge technologies." One start-up to boldly jump into the ring is San Francisco-based Flexion Systems. Flexion is going for the all-in-one communications system. It should have the first of its product family for the small business market available in August. "Telephony services are profoundly different today from as little as five years ago," says Flexion CEO and founder Andrew Bale. "Yet the business requirement for ubiquity and true 24:7 global accessibility to the sophistication and reliability of the telephone network hasn't changed at all. In actuality, however, there's a profound change on the horizon that will change the rules for a lot of different groups." Like three of Flexion's top four officers, Bale comes over from 3Com [COMS]. Bale was CTO for 3Com's remote access products division, driving product strategy worldwide. VP of Sales and Marketing Gary Marsden was International Sales Director for 3Com, and Head of Product Operations Andrew Cottrell worked at 3Com as well. Bale's vision for Flexion stresses simplicity above all else, but the company is also ready to start a price war, promising the ubiquity of traditional telephony solutions at a cost almost half that of a traditional PBX. Flexion's target customers - small and medium businesses - spend up to $445 billion annually on IT products and services, according to the Yankee Group. Those companies account for 98 percent of all U.S. businesses, as well as representing about 50 percent of the Gross National Product. Based on market research, focus groups and field trials, Flexion is banking that small businesses typically don't have the IT expertise or support required to use the majority of products available today. The Flexion product claims to manage itself, or is designed for a communications service provider or channel partner to manage proactively - allowing them to monitor the customer's voice and data network, in addition to the product itself. It will include PBX, voice mail and integrated messaging, Internet access and e-commerce. (Andrew Bale, Flexion, 650/378-1306; Robert Mirani, Yankee Group, 617/956-5000, ext. 238; Art Schoeller, Gartner Group, 203/316- 1211; Christopher B. Ward, Natural MicroSystems, 508/271-1243.) Flexion Systems At A Glance Founded: March 1998 Product Release: August 1999 Employees: 30 Address: 1840 Gateway Dr. Second Floor San Mateo, CA 94404 Tel: 650/378-1306 Fax: 650/378-1307 Web site: www.flexion.com Chairman: Alan Lamb CEO: Andrew Bale Financial status: Raised more than $6 million from Newbridge Networks, Celtic House and Skypoint Ventures. Strategic relationships: Microsoft Corp. and Newbridge Networks Source: Flexion Systems

To: Mehrdad Arya who wrote (32414)	7/14/1999 10:17:00 PM
From: Tim McGee	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

This is one of the more absurd statements on this board. If this is your perspective, then clearly it is you that have been lucky investing. Just because Cisco was lucky to take the right path does not qualify them for accolades. Cisco and many others were very aware that their product would be central towards driving the internet. This was obvious to non-internet people as early as 3 years ago. 3Com made a poor decision not to go after this market and let control of major accounts slip b/c of it. Tim