3Com lures partners with discount push
Vendor aims to double size of wireless channel
3Com intends to double the size of its wireless channel by offering strongly discounted products, in a bid to take on Cisco-owned Linksys in the home-working and small-business wireless arena.
The move comes as 3Com launches its OfficeConnect Wireless 11g Firewall Router, aimed at providing wireless connectivity to teleworkers and the small office/home office market.
By September this year 3Com hopes to have added another 40 European resellers to its wireless Preferred Partner Programme, and has claimed it will reward sales with strong product discounting and marketing support.
Partners will be able to generate additional consultancy revenues through site surveys and building wireless local area network (Lan) environments, 3Com has claimed. Despite exiting the enterprise networking reseller market three years ago, 3Com said the channel will be key to turning around its flagging sales.
"Resellers are our ears and eyes in the field," said Angelo Lamme, EMEA product marketing manager for wireless and security at the company.
The firm is also likely to combine its security and wireless reseller programmes in response to growing product convergence, according to Tara Mullally, international channel manager at 3Com.
The vendor has said resellers that achieve certification for the wireless partner programme will be offered "heavy discounts" on larger sales.
Mullally said resellers looking to break into the wireless enterprise market will find the OfficeConnect Wireless 11g Firewall Router an attractive offering.
John Pateman, networks and telecoms sales manager at 3Com reseller Compusys, agreed. "I think 3Com is getting its act together now. This product is a class winner," he said. "It should really sell if it goes out with all guns blazing, but 3Com needs to put enough marketing budget behind it."
Compusys also said government encouragement and regulation around home working will also help drive sales, with enterprises needing to extend the office network into the home.
The OfficeConnect Wireless 11g Firewall Router combines an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) modem, four 10/100 Ethernet Lan ports, a router, an 802.11g wireless access point, a firewall and a four-port switch, allowing 128 people to access a single ADSL line via wireless with speeds of up to 54Mbps.