Frost & Sullivan Recognizes TippingPoint Market Share Gain in Intrusion Prevention Systems Market

United Arab Emirates, Dubai- August 7, 2006. TippingPoint, a division of 3Com, announced today that it is the recipient of the 2006 Market Penetration Leadership Award for the Intrusion Detection and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS) market from Frost & Sullivan, a leading global consulting company. This award is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated excellence in capturing market share within its industry.  This is the second consecutive year TippingPoint received the award.

"TippingPoint has consistently seen stellar growth numbers year over year, and had the highest growth of any company in the IDS and IPS market," said Robert Ayoub, senior security analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "According to our research, TippingPoint posted market share gains of more than 80 percent from 2004 to 2005."

Ayoub added, "TippingPoint was one of the first companies to introduce a line of devices geared at inline prevention.  While many competitors originally scoffed at the notion of inline prevention, TippingPoint has consistently provided a product that not only delivers on the promise to provide fast and accurate prevention capabilities, but also has gained the distribution channels and headcount necessary to play against other larger, global players."

"We believe that TippingPoint has a well thought, long-term vision with a game plan as to how IPS can be used in the future to incorporate attack control, access control, and application control.  This strategy includes using today's IPS as a foundation to bring best of breed security, control, visibility, and speed to existing networks and applications without requiring equipment replacement."  

To choose the recipient of this award, the analyst team tracks market share gain, increase in sales, and brand awareness within the industry. This is accomplished through numerous interviews with market participants, end-user studies, and extensive secondary research.

Additionally, there are specific criteria used to determine final competitor rankings within the industry. The recipient of this award has excelled based on one or more of the following criteria:

  • Competitive pricing strategies--perceived customer value versus price;

  • Strong sales force strategy--number of sales people (direct and indirect), sales force specialization, efficiency in distribution, ability to train and educate, and strong customer service;

  • Ability to establish brand awareness through promotional activities and advertising;

  • Strategic alliances that expand customer base (increase distribution, marketing and sales resources, and global expansion); and

  • Product innovation--satisfying unmet needs, creating new needs, and developing new technologies.

"It is an honor and privilege to win this award. Frost & Sullivan has been tracking the intrusion prevention market since inception and their analysis of the security market is in-depth," said TippingPoint Vice President of Marketing Greg Fitzgerald. "We feel our success is due to our unparalleled focus on IPS, and the innovative offerings that we have launched, such as our recent Quarantine Protection and our TippingPoint X505 integrated security appliance."

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About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

About TippingPoint, a division of 3Com
TippingPoint, a division of 3Com, is the leading provider of network-based intrusion prevention systems. The TippingPoint IPS is the most decorated in its industry. For a full list of awards, visit http://www.tippingpoint.com/products_certifications.html. Our innovative approach offers customers unmatched network-based security with ultra-high performance, scalability and reliability. TippingPoint is based in Austin, Texas, and can be contacted through its Web site at www.tippingpoint.com or by telephone at 1-888-TRUE-IPS.

About 3Com Corporation
3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS) is a leading provider of secure, converged voice and data networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes.  3Com offers a broad line of innovative products backed by world class sales, service and support, which excel at delivering business value for its customers.  Through its TippingPoint division, 3Com is the leading provider of network-based intrusion prevention systems that deliver in-depth application protection, infrastructure protection, and performance protection.  3Com also is the majority owner of Huawei-3Com Co., Ltd. (H-3C), a China-based joint venture formed by 3Com and Huawei in November 2003.  H-3C brings innovative and cost-effective product development and manufacturing and a strong footprint in one of the world's most dynamic markets.  For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.

Copyright 2006 3Com Corporation.  3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks and TippingPoint is a trademark of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries.  All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective holders.

© Press Release 2006