3Com has issued a battle-cry to Cisco as it leaps back into the EMEA enterprise networking channel with its first H3C brand accreditation.

Enterprise router and switching outfit H3C challenges Cisco for top honours in its native China, but has minimal presence elsewhere. 3Com acquired H3C outright from joint-venture partner Huawei in 2007 and, following a product refresh, is looking to make a splash globally.

BT and Datcom in France, and South African Lefatshe, are the first resellers to gain authorised H3C Enterprise Partner status in EMEA.

But Mike Ansley, vice president of 3Com EMEA, revealed that the vendor is on course to sign up three UK VARs, including one Cisco partner, over the next quarter.

“We are rolling out a channel strategy to support the H3C brand and have a vision to create a very narrow, highly-scaled channel,” he said.

H3C has recently clinched deals with several large European end-users, including SNCF in France and the Russian Savings Bank. Ansley claimed the growth in customer references, alongside its recent progress in Gartner’s magic quadrant, is making H3C an easier sell.

“Partners want to tie up with a vendor they think will be successful,” he said. “A year ago partners would not pick up the phone, but now they are calling me.”

Scott Fletcher, managing director of Cisco Gold partner ANS, said many UK resellers would still be smarting from 3Com’s sudden exit from the enterprise market in 2001.

“It upset a lot of our customers so we wouldn’t touch 3Com ever again.”