Article

As a satisfied Novell customer since 1992, I felt very comfortable with the NetWare environment, but Linux was brand new to me. With Novell going down the Linux path, I found myself at the crossroads, not knowing whether to go down the Linux path, or the Microsoft path. Before I could make an informed decision, I first needed to learn more about Novell's strategic direction and to become familiar with Linux, and Novell's new Linux-based products. I did not want to make this decision alone. However, I thought that I was the last Novell Customer remaining in New England, that was until I met other New England Users at Customer Appreciation Night at BrainShare 2007.

Once I returned home from BrainShare, I met with my Novell Sales Rep and Beth Gile, of EOS Systems, a Novell Platinum Partner to discuss my concerns and issues and what could be done to get Novell customers together in the New England Region. After several meetings, the Waltham Novell User Group was formed.

We held our very first meeting in July 2007, with four members in attendance. The Waltham NUG now has 80+ members, 30 of which regularly attend our monthly meetings. Members drive from as far away as Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut to attend these meetings.

The topics of our meetings have/will include open forum discussions, member presented case studies, presentations and demos on existing and beta Novell products, presentations of industry trends and futures, and presentations by vendors on their software and hardware products that work in the Novell NetWare and Linux environments.

Some of the upcoming meetings will cover Clusters and Virtualization of SUSE 10 and OES 2 servers, GroupWise Bonsai, Wide Area File Acceleration Hardware, Industry Trends and the Future Direction of Portals and Collaboration.

If you have not joined this Waltham NUG, and you reside in MA, NH, ME, RI or CT, please consider joining. Even though there is no cost to join, the old adage "You only get what you pay for" does not apply here. Besides gaining valuable information by attending these meetings, members are reaching out to one another outside of the meetings to further discussions started at meetings.

To join this NUG, please email your request to rbarry@geiconsultants.com and I will gladly add you to the membership.