3Com: Onus Is On Us To Regain Partner Confidence

Conley said 3Com's series of past missteps forced him to decide he could no longer continue as a 3Com-exclusive VAR and, as a result, he's added partnerships with other networking and communications companies and technologies like Alcatel-Lucent, AltiGen Communications and open-source VoIP player Asterisk.

"We're still representing 3Com but I just can't have all of my eggs in that basket based on the decisions they're making," Conley said. "I'm sad. I'm just sad that it's come to this point."

And Conley is not alone.

"I can safely say that all partners out there that are with 3Com are considering a backup plan," said Don Gulling, president of Ocala, Fla.-based Verteks Consulting, a 3Com partner for roughly a decade. "It's pretty scary right now."

Even Bob Dechant, 3Com's senior vice president of worldwide sales, said of the vendor's channel program, "Clearly, it's not where we want it to be." But being a vendor [that] sees the vast majority of its sales come through the channel, Dechant said he's bent on making improvements in programs to make 3Com a more attractive partner option.

"It could always be better," he said. "I think the onus is on us. The onus is on us to get this message out we're looking for commitment [from partners] to take that journey with us, and some are going to do it and some are not. At various points in time, everyone evaluates who their strategic partners are."

Dechant said 3Com's new partner program will focus on four key areas: offering a compelling product portfolio today; delivering on that portfolio tomorrow; building the financial model to drive the business; and creating the right relationships.

Gulling noted that his 3Com business continues to thrive. He said Verteks did around $1 million in 3Com business in 2007, with one deal topping the $500,000 mark and a few other deals that hit roughly $70,000 and $80,000 for switching. That $1 million was a 35 percent to 50 percent growth over the preceding couple of years, Gulling said. Gulling attributes most of that success to 3Com's field staff.

"For us, it was a good year with 3Com as far as sales, revenue and profits go," he said. "But if it wasn't for the field, there's no way I'd be selling it."

Where the relationship starts to fizzle, both Gulling and Kobuszewski said, is when it comes to access to top executives. Kobuszewski said he's trying to plod on, but 3Com's recent regionalization of its channel operations and the fallout from the Bain deal falling flat have left him with several unanswered questions -- questions he said he can't even get in front of 3Com executives to ask, despite having a conference room in CXtec's Syracuse headquarters named after 3Com founder Robert Metcalf.

Kobuszewski said since Tidd's ousting, he hasn't heard "a speck" from 3Com in terms of its plans for CXtec's continued success. "The lack of that speaks volumes," he said.

Next: 3Com Works To Right Wrongs