3Com Bridges Gap With Crossbeam

Through a two-year deal set to be unveiled this week, 3Com plans to offer Crossbeam's security switches under its own brand name, targeting medium to large enterprises globally except in China and Japan.

The companies are also finalizing a cooperative development agreement that will likely lead to the integration of VPN and firewall features into 3Com's network switch and router lines, said Anik Bose, vice president of corporate development at 3Com, Marlborough, Mass.

"A lot of issues around security management are now being addressed at the network level," Bose said.

Crossbeam's switches integrate third-party security software with switching and load-balancing features, reducing the number of appliances required to support security applications on the network, said Peter George, president and CEO of Crossbeam, Concord, Mass. The only way to secure a network is to add depth of defense via multiple applications, which can result in hundreds of appliances on the network, he said.

Managing that number of appliances can be a battle, said Shaun Steel, sales manager at Valcom Computer Center, a solution provider in Salt Lake City.

"Customers don't like having that many appliances. They like to have it all in one box," Steel said.

The Crossbeam switches come preloaded with firewall, VPN, intrusion-detection and virus-scanning applications from partners such as Check Point Software Technologies, Internet Security Systems and Trend Micro. Customers can then activate the software they want by buying the appropriate keys, George said.

3Com plans to begin selling the C30 switch via a select group of partners this month, with rollout to the broader channel slated for March, Bose said. In December, 3Com will add Crossbeam's higher-end X45 to its lineup. List prices for the C30 start at $24,000, while the X45 starts at $40,000.