RE: OT: 3Com to be sold to HP for $2.7b

Great information! Thanks Tony!

From: Anthony Faria [mailto:tfaria72_at_gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 12:36 PM
To: Nathan Richie
Cc: groupstudy
Subject: Re: OT: 3Com to be sold to HP for $2.7b

Nathan,

Just a fyi I asked our SE he gave me this info on the warranty.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/warranty/English/LH2DEN__.html
covers all 29xx,35xx,37xx and 45xx

So cisco does the same on its equipment. Smartnet is so you can get next day
or sooner.
I know this is all way off topic but I hope it can be of some use.

Tony
On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 9:01 AM, Nathan Richie
<nathanr_at_boice.net<mailto:nathanr_at_boice.net>> wrote:
Interestingly enough, one of my clients just had a meeting with HP about a
week ago. The HP rep was trying to push them towards the Procurve. My client
said he was told:

1) That HP is now #2 in the switching market
2) That there are no support cost ever for the Procurves (I assume he is only
referring to the access layer switches)
2) That they have a lifetime replacement program. If the switch ever goes
bad, that HP will replace it for free. If the switch is EOL, they will
replace it for free with a suitable current model.

My client said they were "considering" using them in their access closets. I
told him that I understood that he had to make a business decision on this but
then I decided to provide him some food for thought.

1) Is that a sustainable business model? HP would only makes a profit on the
initial sale of the switch, so anytime that they have to provide technical
support or replace the switch, they are going to be losing money. What
happens when they are no longer able to fund this replacement program?
2) If this is such a great business model, why do they not provide the same
type of support & replacement program for their servers?

Now with this 3com accusation, it leads me to wonder if the Procurve is so
good, then why acquire 3Com?

Thoughts, comments, or rude remarks? :)

Regards,

Nathan Richie

-----Original Message-----
From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com<mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com>
[mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com<mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com>] On Behalf Of Andy
Mueller
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 11:29 AM
To: Anthony Faria
Cc: Muhammad Nasim; Shaughn Smith; groupstudy
Subject: Re: OT: 3Com to be sold to HP for $2.7b

Could it be similar to the Linksys-Cisco deal? Maybe they are planning
to break into the home market with a new lineup of all-in-one appliances
featuring NAS/wireless, etc? Just speculating. I don't understand what
3com could offer them on an enterprise level. The ProCurve is an
enterprise switch, 3com really hasn't been in that space. It is a very
interesting deal though, guess time will tell.

On Thu, 2009-11-12 at 08:16 -0800, Anthony Faria wrote:
> I have to disagree here I have seen 5 implementations of it near me. I see
> it picking up at least in my area. About the huwei code if they get to many
> customers on it I gurantee they will sue them. IBM and HP lack the core
> switching dept. This is really new but you will see more growth soon. That
> is why HP looked at foundry then bought 3com. Just my opinion no disrespect
> intended.
>
> Tony
>
> On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 7:58 AM, Muhammad Nasim
<muhammad.nasim_at_gmail.com<mailto:muhammad.nasim_at_gmail.com>>wrote:
>
> > I don't think so Cisco UCS is a success yet or it will be surpass HP or
IBM
> > in this arena, yes we can hope that Cisco will do but instead I am not
> > seeing any compaines interested in buying at least in middle-east
> >
> > Just my 2 cents : )
> >
> >
> > 2009/11/12 Anthony Faria <tfaria72_at_gmail.com<mailto:tfaria72_at_gmail.com>>
> >
> > This is in response to UCS. The server market will die if HP and the
others
> >> do not adapt or find a way to put the server right on the backplane of
> >> the
> >> switch. Cisco kind of pulled the rug out of their feet now the server
> >> companies a scrambling to purchase companies. It will take a little time
> >> but
> >> this is the way it is going with VM. It wont be long I think.
> >>
> >> Tony
> >>
> >> On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 10:49 PM, Shaughn Smith
<shaughn.s_at_cvnnet.co.za<mailto:shaughn.s_at_cvnnet.co.za>
> >> >wrote:
> >>
> >> > Found this interesting
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > 3Com to be sold to HP for $2.7b
> >> >
> >> > Computer giant takes aim at Cisco's network business
> >> >
> >> > Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co.
> >> > <http://finance.boston.com/boston?Page=QUOTE&Ticker=HPQ> will buy
> >> > network equipment maker 3Com Corp. of Marlborough for $2.7 billion in
a
> >> > head-on challenge to Cisco Systems Inc.
> >> > <http://finance.boston.com/boston?Page=QUOTE&Ticker=CSCO> , which
> >> > dominates the network business. The deal will position HP to attack
the
> >> > heart of Cisco's market, and it comes only a week after Cisco teamed
up
> >> > with data storage titan EMC Corp.
> >> > <http://finance.boston.com/boston?Page=QUOTE&Ticker=EMC> of Hopkinton
> >> > to invade HP's stronghold in server computers and storage.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > "This is going to rock the networking world,'' said 3Com's president,
> >> > Ronald Sege, adding that HP's global sales force could quickly expand
> >> > 3Com's market share.
> >> >
> >> > 3Com is the second major Massachusetts tech company in the past month
to
> >> > be acquired by a Silicon Valley firm, as the tech sector reacts to
> >> > decreased business spending with a wave of consolidation deals. In
> >> > October, Cisco said it will pay $2.9 billion to acquire
Tewksbury-based
> >> > Starent Networks, a maker of network gear for cellular telephone
> >> > systems.
> >> >
> >> > Just last week, Cisco teamed up with EMC in a joint venture to combine
> >> > their computing, storage, and networking products in a play for HP's
> >> > core business, enterprise computing equipment. Cisco just started
making
> >> > server computers this year.
> >> >
> >> > Tech giants are using mergers and alliances to quickly offer one-stop
> >> > shopping to companies looking to save money by buying all their
network
> >> > products from a single vendor, instead of assembling corporate data
> >> > centers one piece at a time. "It improves the efficiency, it improves
> >> > the speed of deployment, and it drives costs down,'' said Abner
> >> > Germanow, a networking analyst at IDC Corp. in Framingham.
> >> >
> >> > The 3Com purchase lets HP fill holes in its product mix far quicker
than
> >> > it could by developing its own product line from scratch. Although it
is
> >> > one of the world's leading makers of computer servers for big
business,
> >> > HP has offered only a limited range of networking hardware. Most of
that
> >> > has been at the "edge'' of the network, like the switches that connect
a
> >> > roomful of PCs and printers to a corporate system. Cisco dominates the
> >> > "core'' market - switches and routers that distribute the massive
> >> > amounts of data streaming into the network. With 3Com, HP gets a
> >> > ready-made line of core network products to sell.
> >> >
> >> > Buying 3Com "gives us critical mass in a very important market,'' said
> >> > David Donatelli, a former top EMC executive who made a surprise move
to
> >> > HP in April. Donatelli will oversee 3Com in his new role as HP's
> >> > executive vice president of enterprise servers and networking, and is
> >> > slated to take over HP's storage operations in April, when his
> >> > noncompete agreement with EMC expires. That will put him on the
> >> > frontline of HP's rivalry with the Cisco-EMC joint venture.
> >> >
> >> > The deal illustrates 3Com's return to prominence after a dramatic
> >> > decline earlier in the decade. 3Com was cofounded in 1979 by Bob
> >> > Metcalfe, one of the inventors of Ethernet, a networking technology
that
> >> > has since become a global standard. 3Com was originally based in Santa
> >> > Clara, Calif., and its line of Ethernet products made it one of the
most
> >> > successful technology firms of the 1990s, employing as many as 12,000
> >> > workers at its peak.
> >> >
> >> > Tough competition from Cisco and the 2001 collapse of the first
Internet
> >> > boom devastated 3Com. The company ceded the enterprise networking
market
> >> > to Cisco and slashed thousands of jobs.
> >> >
> >> > 3Com now employs about 5,300 workers worldwide, including about 300 in
> >> > Massachusetts. Sege said he did not know how the HP acquisition would
> >> > affect local 3Com workers.
> >> >
> >> > In 2003, a much diminished 3Com relocated to Marlborough. At about the
> >> > same time, the company launched H3C, a joint venture with Chinese
> >> > networking company Huawei Technologies.
> >> >
> >> > H3C's stable of Chinese engineers developed new high-end networking
gear
> >> > that was embraced by fast-growing Chinese companies, and has since
> >> > attracted customers in Europe and Latin America. 3Com claims that 300
of
> >> > China's 500 largest businesses use its products, along with US
> >> > institutions like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
and
> >> > the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
> >> >
> >> > In 2006, 3Com bought out Huawei's stake in H3C. The following year,
> >> > investment firm Bain Capital teamed up with Huawei on a $2.2 billion
bid
> >> > to acquire 3Com.
> >> >
> >> > But federal regulators blocked the bid because 3Com owns TippingPoint,
a
> >> > maker of network security gear used by the US Department of Defense.
> >> >
> >> > The regulators noted Huawei's close ties to the Chinese government and
> >> > worried that Huawei might help Chinese intelligence officials
circumvent
> >> > TippingPoint technology.
> >> >
> >> > After the Bain-Huawei deal fell apart early last year, 3Com focused on
> >> > developing a new line of core switches and routers that it claims will
> >> > outperform Cisco gear while using much less electricity.
> >> >
> >> > HP's Donatelli said that once the deal is completed, his company's
> >> > 300,000 workers will exclusively use 3Com gear for networking needs.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > CCIE # 23962
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
> >> >
> >> >
Received on Thu Nov 12 2009 - 12:53:46 ART