In this blog I look beyond the obvious and try to find out why people and companies do what they do - and what it means for the rest of us. 
At first I didn’t really get it, but now I do. I didn’t think that HP bought H3C – the “joint venture” (not really) between Huawei and 3Com a few years ago.
After reading the official presentation, it does include H3C and as such, makes piles of sense. Here is why:
- Forget 3Com as you know them, they don’t bring jack to the table as far as I can see. The key here is H3C. H3C has AMAZING piles of fantastic technology and products – from core switching that rivals – and dare I say – surpasses Cisco in many ways, to video surveillance technologies, face recognition, closed circuit TV stuff, security products – and oh, by the way, how about an extra 1/2 billion dollars in STORAGE gear sold only in China – plus another $1B in network/security revenue.
- 3Com was the public company entity that had exclusive rights to sell the H3C stuff in the Americas and Europe, while H3C maintained rights to sell in Asia Pacific. 3Com didn’t sell anything from H3C, except old crappy 3Com stuff. That’s why this deal is so sweet – even though H3C sold nothing into the Americas or European markets (to speak of) – the company STILL sold over $1B! Imagine what can happen when you take this stellar set of products and technologies and put it into the hands of HP’s global sales force. 3Com’s TippingPoint security stuff is good stuff – mostly because 3Com proper left them alone.
I’ve been to the H3C facility in Hangzhou (considered one of the nicest cities in all of China, FYI) – and it is nothing short of impressive. Matter of fact, that’s where I was sitting at 6pm in a conference room in a meeting when music started playing through the loudspeakers. It was most distracting. After 5 minutes I asked my host why it was happening, and he told me that they needed to do this periodically to remind employees to EAT!!! Apparently there is an issue with people dying at their desks getting work done while forgetting to eat. It was both frightening and impressive. It’s a culture of success – and HP just became the proud new parent of it.
The issues that H3C faced were all about being able to bring their products into foreign markets that they simply don’t understand. 3Com was supposed to do that, but they couldn’t/didn’t. HP can and will – and it will be way cool to watch.
I always thought IBM would be the one who really started a war with Cisco, but it’s clear that HP has decided it is going to be the one. Who said IT was boring?? Oh yeah, it was me……well, not anymore!
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[...] via HP and 3Com is a much bigger deal than you think. [...]
I was invited to visit the H3C facility in Hanzhou several years ago. A number of things impressed me:
1.The contrast between the old city and the new industrial section was very pronounced- both architecturally and culturally.
2.I have never drank so much tea in my life; 3 hour meetings in a West Lake tea house, experiencing 14 varieties of tea, served in tall glasses, accompanied by mixed nuts and fruit. Thoughts of Nixon and 1972 came to mind.
3.The executive briefing center was something to behold. Every imaginable switch and router on display with the décor of an ultra modern museum. It was clear to me that they were building a product portfolio that was intended to be sold throughout the world eventually.
4.The employees were very passionate and assertive; for them this was more than a job and paycheck, it was a life’s purpose. They were also exceptionally gracious hosts. They struck me as the kind of people that would work 24 hours a day to get the product out the door while sticking to very high quality standards. I witnessed bedding (not beds) throughout the facilities. People would sleep briefly then go back to work.
Looks like the HP sales team will be quickly armed with product. They should be prepared to entertain requests to offer assistance in the field, in any theatre.
Hi, I’m Susan from China. Could you please share your opinion on the future of H3C’s storage line. Infect HP has its own ip storage, and bought Lefthand last year. Some people guess that HP would cut H3C’s storage line. What’s your opinion?
——Ni Hao. H3C does not have a lot of their own IP in storage, they use things from Falconstor and others. The H3C storage business is primarily a channel operation – and I don’t think that changes. HP will put more technologies into the H3C channel – such as LeftHand and Ibrix, etc. and H3C will find that any of their IP (current or in process) will find a welcome home back at HP. So I don’t think that HP is looking to “cut” the H3C storage line – instead they will probably rationalize it from a business perspective and find the best set of products/technologies at the best price for the market. Great question! Steve
Thank you for your answer.
Best regards!
Susan