Webb Consulting and Northern Collaborative Technologies collaborated to deliver 3Com Partner Access, a Lotus Domino-based extranet solution that brings information, training programs and more to 125,000 3Com channel partners operating in 100 countries. The solution, which features innovative use of Lotus Domino content management, workflow and security features, earned Webb Consulting and Northern Collaborative Technologies a 2003 Lotus Beacon Award for Excellence in Partnering. The pair also received the honor for their ability to offer complementary skills to help 3Com improve market share in many regions while saving the customer hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

No HTML skills required for Partner Access users
We created the extranet using Lotus Domino technology for under $100K. . . . We are able to do things with Lotus Domino that are prohibitively expensive and complex to achieve with other platforms.

3Com now relies on Partner Access as its prime communication vehicle for its international network of service providers, resellers and distributors, and uses the extranet to deliver up-to-the minute information on its products, services, training offerings and more. With content changing daily, and requiring continual translation into more than a dozen languages, Partner Access would seem to require round-the-clock administrative, security and programming staff. In fact, as Andrew Pollack of Northern Collaborative Technologies puts it, "Because the design of Partner Access is based on IBM Lotus Notes and Domino technology, security management is fully automated. As a result, 3Com needs no full-time security administrators or IT intervention on a regular basis. What's more, Partner Access is designed to be easy to use for those who have no HTML, authoring or content management skills. Marketing people can add and remove items, links, menus and adjust security levels, with no programming skills or knowledge."

High level of responsiveness; low cost of ownership
Because of a high level of automation and user profiling, 3Com is able to target marketing, sales and technical information to their partners in a highly individualized manner, which includes providing content in the reseller’s local language. “Since the launch of the site, we have received favorable response from our partners on the ease-of-use, personalization and customizations,” said Janice Foley, Education Program Manager for 3Com. And, according to 3Com, they can do it all at an enormous cost savings. “This implementation has greatly reduced our operating costs as we no longer need as many people to update web pages. We’re also able to leverage content globally without having to reinvent the wheel,” said Foley.

In the past, because 3Com marketing staff had to request web page updates from their IT department, the process could take up to two weeks. Translations of content for various international markets could drag out as long as three weeks. Now, because of Lotus Notes and Domino forms-driven content entry and security profiling, regional content owners can update and translate information, such as marketing toolkits or product briefs, and post it the same day. “We’ve eliminated the middleman – so the marketing person can deal directly with the reseller,” explained Pollack.

Lotus Notes and Domino found to be the most efficient platform
The Partner Access system was originally designed using Lotus technologies and launched in 1997. Since that time it has been continually updated and enhanced. On several occasions, however, 3Com has investigated moving the extranet to a technology platform other than Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino. “3Com found that to reproduce Partner Access using another solution would require a multi-million dollar investment,” noted Pollack. “We created the extranet using Lotus Domino technology for under $100K, one-tenth that cost, and we’re providing a level of functionality that, until recently, wasn’t available using other technologies. We’re able to do things with Lotus Domino that are prohibitively expensive and complex to achieve with other platforms.”

Laurie Webb, president and owner of Webb Consulting, agrees, “Any other type of platform really can’t provide what Partner Access delivers in terms of ease of use, personalization and content management. Given the costs associated with these features and the savings to 3Com, they haven’t been able to justify a migration off of the Lotus platform in almost seven years.”

“Because the design of Partner Access is based on IBM Lotus Notes and Domino technology, security management is fully automated. As a result, 3Com needs no full-time security administrators or IT intervention on a regular basis."

Delivering customized training worldwide
3Com also uses Partner Access to deliver tailored training programs to its partners, “to the point of customized training down to an individual type of business or company,” according to Foley, so that the resellers have precisely the type of training they need to succeed. Partner Access now offers one-stop shopping for a full range of modular training programs and promotional information, giving 3Com a distinct competitive advantage in its industry.

Future enhancements – Lotus Instant Messaging
Webb Consulting and Northern Collaborative Technologies are continually evaluating ways to offer additional features and services to 3Com and their partners. The latest initiative is to incorporate IBM Lotus Instant Messaging technology into the site for use by strategic partners and employees. “We’re looking at Lotus Instant Messaging for online help desk support and to add value to 3Com’s various partner programs and events,” explained Webb. “We currently receive about 140 emails a day into our help desk, and provide 24x6 support for 3Com. Instant messaging could be used to give partners access to a 3Com sales rep live if they had questions about registration or during a special event.”

Excellence in partnering – secrets of success
What made the Partner Access project such a successful collaboration? According to Webb, it’s mutual respect – and the willingness to work towards shared goals, which may mean ceding tasks to the partner with the greater skill in a particular area. “When you’re partnering, you need to look at your complementary skills and determine up front what the roles and responsibilities are going to be. If you do that ahead of time, it leaves no room for issues down the line. Andrew and I have been working together now for close to seven years. He offers the high-end strategic development skills that 3Com needed for this project. Andrew has always delivered anything that he’s done on time, and quite frankly, he delivers a superior product.”

In his work with Webb Consulting, Pollack had this to say, “The most important thing we’ve been able to produce in the time we’ve worked together is trust. Neither of us is ever concerned whether the customer is treated with respect. No matter what, we’ve been able to keep the customer happy.”