Tech Talk 4 by Ken Baker
Turning On a Dime
The Release Cycle of Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition Keeps Partners in the Loop
April 2008
Features
- Tech Talk 01 With all your data in your OpenOffice.org Base database, how do you access it to help make decisions? Query your database to help you analyze your data
- Tech Talk 02 If you didn't make it to BrainShare or just want a recap of the keynote messages this article is for you. The Novell executives walk you through the latest and greatest in Novell strategy and technology.
- Tech Talk 03 Attention Web enterprise developers: Mono is ready to take on the Microsoft-dominated ASP.NET stack. You can now deploy your software on Linux-based servers without the powers that be feeling a thing.
- Tech Talk 04 Lengthy release cycles are a thing of the past. We want to know what you want, and we want to deliver it to you now.
Departments
- Proof Point As a non-profit organization, Sesame Workshop has a small IT staff with a big job. They've found the extra help they need with Novell ZENworks Asset Management and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
- Trend Talk Are tightening budgets forcing you to consider other options? Start considering other office productivity suites (and some are online offerings) to release the strangle hold proprietary vendors might have on you-and your budget.
This includes the ability to configure and manage the suite’s open source components from within the management GUI, as well as simplified administration for all suite components.
But one of the most asked-about additions planned for this release is Novell Storage Services support. Support for this in the suite was delayed because of issues with the common install. The suite’s development team is working hard to resolve these issues, so customers can soon take full advantage of the benefits Novell Storage Services delivers.
Survey Says
While enhancements for releases beyond the two discussed in this article are not completely decided, you can expect to see technology updates from the latest versions of GroupWise and Novell Open Enterprise Server 2. You can also expect these releases to feature enhancements based on direct partner and customer feedback.
In fact, to help make sure that releases align as closely as possible to partner and customer needs, Novell is conducting a survey of partners who have been selling Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition (or who attended BrainShare sessions on the solution). The survey solicits feedback on certain suite features, asking partners to rate their importance in relation to their customers’ needs and environments. The survey will also provide partners with the opportunity to suggest new features, changes or additions to the solution that Novell might not yet have considered.
In the Loop
Partners who haven't already received the survey can still make their voices heard by e-mailing their feedback or suggestions for future releases to smallbusinessfutures@novell.com. The Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition development team actively monitors this mailbox to inform their efforts as they update and evolve the suite.
Novell realizes that the success of Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition depends on its ability to meet the needs of the small-business community. And speaking of community, Novell plans to create a small-business community workspace with blogs, wikis and community input to help shape the solution?s future. It?s all about keeping the small business partners and customers in the loop. Creating the ultimate desktop-to-server small-business solution is an ongoing process, and Novell intends to make sure its partners and customers are active participants along the way.
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Our agile release cycle not only allows us to improve this solution with the latest technologies every three to four months, but it also allows us to continually improve and enhance it based on the feedback we receive.