Having been hit with a lawsuit by Cisco Systems, the global industry leader, Ren Zhengfei, CEO of China’s Huawei Technologies, was concerned about the impact on the partnership agreement he had been crafting with Bruce Clafin, the head of Cisco’s long-time rival, 3Com. Would Clafin go ahead with their alliance?

Bruce Clafin, CEO of 3Com, was also required to consider his position vis-a-vis the alliance with Huawei and the Cisco suit. He was now being criticized widely for contemplating an alliance with an alleged counterfeiter. Should he continue with this partnership under fire?