3Com Cuts Global Channel Chief, Regionalizes Partner Program

This year is off to a rocky start for 3Com, the Marlborough, Mass.-based networking vendor looking to recapture some of the luster it held decades ago.

First, the vendor's deal to be acquired by Bain Capital Partners was terminated this week amid national and political security concerns based on its ties with Huawei Technologies, a Chinese networking company with purported ties to the communist government. Second, 3Com has dissolved its worldwide channel program, phasing out worldwide channel chief Nick Tidd and his team and opting for what the vendor calls a more "regional approach" to its channel operations.

Bob Dechant, 3Com's senior vice president of worldwide sales, said 3Com is trying rebuild and re-establish itself in the marketplace by placing more accountability into local and regional markets, as opposed to the worldwide stage. Under the new model, 3Com's regional sales teams will control the channel in their respective geographies.

The ultimate goal, Dechant said, is to get 3Com solutions into key verticals from the mid-sized enterprise on down, as opposed to targeting the large enterprise where Cisco Systems has a market stranglehold and leaves other vendors fighting to play second banana. Dechant said 3Com's target customer-base falls into that midmarket segment and regionalizing the channel brings more attention to them.

"The DNA of that customer is very much regional and local," he said. "It's the most effective use of our resources to put our investments on that level."

Part of the shift includes the recent appointment of John Bazzone to vice president of North American channel sales. Bazzone will take over the role of Tidd in the North American arena. Bazzone, who joined 3Com one quarter ago comes from the sales and marketing side of Wallingford, Conn.-based video streaming vendor VBrick. Before that, Bazzone held positions with Cisco.

"What we're trying to do is build deeper relationships with our key partners and build customer intimacy with our end customers," Dechant said. "We have to do both."

3Com's reorganization is similar to that of Cisco Systems' Linksys division, which last month undertook a similar shift in direction, eliminating its worldwide channel chief position and pushing channel responsibilities out to the heads of its geographic sales teams. Irvine, Calif.-based Linksys cut the role held by Nigel Williams, vice president of Linksys' worldwide channel organization, to give each regional team more control over the channel.

3Com's approach will take a similar track, but 3Com partners wonder where the new direction will lead them.

Frank Kobuszewski, vice president of the technology solutions group at Syracuse, N.Y.-based solution provider CXtec, said he had forged a strong partnership with Tidd and 3Com during Tidd's tenure as head of the channel. He said he's upset to see Tidd go, and also concerned with how his departure and 3Com's restructuring of the channel will affect his company.

"We're not regionalized, so I'm very interested to see what the plan is for the future," he said. "[Tidd] did a hell of a job putting together programs that were successful and changing the ones that weren't."

Kobuszewski said CXtec is a unique type of partner and 3Com under Tidd's leadership embraced the fact that it was different. He said Tidd and his team offered an unmatched level of support.

"We formed a really good partnership," he said. "It's certainly going to be interesting to see what happens next."

Later, Kobuszewski added that "since we're not a regional partner, this doesn't do us much good."

Sean Johnson, business development manager for Hayes Computer Systems, a Tallahassee, Fla.-based solution provider, said he too is taking a wait and see approach. Johnson said he's stood by 3Com through thick and thin and hopes the change will be for good.

"It's going to be a wait and see," Johnson said. "I think it may be good for 3Com to take a new direction. I look forward to seeing some positive changes."

Johnson said 3Com has historically had a channel program he would call solid and he's sticking with them to see if the changes can reinvigorate their position in the market.

"I want to see them make positive changes and remain stable," he said. "I like change. I usually embrace change. Change is good."

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