3Com Honored by CIO Magazine as a 1999 Web Business 50/50 Winner; 3Com One of Three Companies to Be Recognized for Both Its Internet and Intranet Sites.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 1999--

3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS) today announced it was selected by CIO Magazine as a 1999 CIO Web Business 50/50 winner for its online business excellence.

3Com was one of only three companies recognized for both its Internet (www.3com.com) and its corporate intranet (3Community) sites.

Each year CIO Magazine recognizes 50 Internet and 50 intranet/extranet sites that go beyond customary Web commerce practices to deliver outstanding business value. The third-annual CIO award program distinguishes organizations around the world that have taken a distinct approach toward the use of the Internet or intranet in their business.

"This year's winners show that more and more operational capability, direct customer contact and bottom-line business value is migrating to the Web," says CIO Editorial Director Lew McCreary. "It's impossible to ignore the depth of the transformation that's occurring in enterprises of every shape and size."

Winners are selected by a panel of CIO magazine editors, writers, art designers and Web development experts. The panel of judges evaluates hundreds of nominated sites for their ability to use innovative Web techniques to deliver greater business value. In particular, the panel focuses on finding sites that successfully integrate creative design and high-quality technical attributes.

The judges measure how well the blend of technology and design contributes to the organization's overall business objectives as well as the site's ability to meet the needs of the target audience.

"3Com's E-Business initiatives, including our external and internal Web presence, are fundamentally transforming the way 3Com conducts business globally," said Janice Roberts, senior vice president of Global Marketing and Business Development, 3Com.

"Being recognized by CIO Magazine for our Web and our intranet site gives another example that 3Com's E-Business activities are successfully providing critical information and functionality to a number of different audiences worldwide, including our customers, suppliers, employees, resellers, distributors, shareholders, prospective investors and customers, reporters and analysts."

An integral part of 3Com's global E-Business initiatives, 3Com's Web site is now evolving into a portal or destination Web site for potentially hundreds of millions of users. The site allows 3Com to conduct business and connect people worldwide to company and product information. 3Com's site is one of the most popular data networking Web sites on the Internet, receiving more than 30 million hits per week, including 500,000 unique visitors.

One of the unique aspects of 3Com's Web site includes a 3Com(R) Knowledgebase Web service, a self-service database of technical information that helps users diagnose and receive answers to installation, configuration and upgrade questions pertaining to 3Com products. In addition, 3Com has a Y2K portion of the site that features Y2K compliance status for almost all of 3Com's current and existing product lines, including product lines that were acquired through acquisitions.

The Y2K portion of the 3Com Web site, unveiled in July '98, enables customers to find any 3Com product -- searching either by product brand name or by specific item number on the product -- and obtain the level of Y2K readiness for each product. In addition, the site gives visitors the ability to print their own certification documents for each product. The site gives any 3Com customer real-time access to specific information they need to complete a first- or a second-level audit for their Y2K certification program.

3Com's 3Community intranet site was recognized as a top 50 intranet site because it is an essential part of the way 3Com conducts business within the company. It is the gateway to hundreds of internal Web resources and data repositories that connect more than 13,000 employees worldwide. 3Community operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day to allow employees throughout the world to connect across time and space to collaborate in ways that were not possible before.

Some applications and tools found on 3Community include virtual sales kits for 3Com products, a company phone directory, a 3Com stock price ticker, on-line expense reporting, a 3Com job postings database, and a company store that sells 3Com products such as 3Com's Palm(TM) family of connected organizers. The human resources site contains guidance for new employees and for optimizing performance, information on benefits and compensation, and various online processes and forms.

As a communications tool, 3Community is an essential resource for employees, providing up-to-the-minute information on organizational and product announcements. In addition, 3Com Chairman and CEO Eric Benhamou holds a quarterly CEO Forum, which is a real-time, interactive employee meeting on 3Community that is broadcast using streaming video to employees throughout the company.

With the advent of the 21st century, the use of Web technology has become an essential component of any organization's strategic plan. CIO honors the 100 sites that have raised the caliber for online quality and challenged other organizations to uncover the potential of the Net. Complete coverage of the 1999 CIO Web Business 50/50 Awards is featured in the July 1, 1999 issue of CIO and at www.cio.com.

About CIO

CIO Communications, Inc. was formed in 1987 to help chief information officers (CIOs), information technology (IT) executives and other senior management executives succeed in their enterprises through the use of information technology.

In addition to publishing the award-winning magazine, the company also produces the www.cio.com Web site and develops and produces CIO Executives Programs -- a series of conference that provides educational and networking opportunities for corporate and government executives who want to expand their knowledge of technology, business management issues and innovative products and services.

CIO Magazine is a publication of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company.

About 3Com Corporation

With nearly 300 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people to information in more ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. 3Com -- More connected.(TM) For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.

Note to Editors: 3Com is a registered trademark and Palm and More connected are trademarks of 3Com Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.