Novell Puts Developers on Network Fast Track with Previews,
Software Development Kits for Key 1996 Technologies
Delivers on Schedule Pre-releases of Green River
and NetWare Distributed Print Services APIs
PROVO, Utah -- January 9, 1995 -- Novell, Inc. In December
finished 1995 by providing top developers with previews of key network
technologies that will shape the future of NetWare in 1996, including the
code-named Net2000 application programming interface, NetWare®
Distributed Print Services® (NDPS®), and Green River -- code name for
the next major release of the NetWare® 4 operating system scheduled
for summer 1996.
At two December conferences, Novell delivered on its fall 1995
promises to assist independent software vendors and corporate
developers by pre-releasing Green River and NDPS. Novell also used the
conferences to receive developer input for both near-term and future
technology planning.
Over 60 developers at the December Partner Summit in Monterey,
California received an alpha Software Developer's Kit (SDK) for Green
River and a review of the robust set of network services that Novell will
open to developers through its code-named Net2000 initiative. Net2000 is
a key element of Novell's strategy to enable the Smart Global Network by
providing developers with a universal interface to network services. It
will provide the network interfaces, infrastructure and core services
necessary to build, manage and deploy business logic, content,
extended services and resources across applications, applets, objects,
components and devices throughout the network.
A separate group of 130 developers met in Provo, Utah in
December to preview and receive the Alpha SDK for NetWare Distributed
Print Services (NDPS), a critical component of Green River that will
support control and management of print services across distributed
networks. NDPS provides a rich set of printing options and information
that virtually guarantees trouble-free printing, using a distributed
database within the NetWare Directory Service (NDS) to deliver
transparent access to printing resources. Novell partnered with
Hewlett-Packard and Xerox to create NDPS, which will be available to
customers in the Summer 1996.
As a follow-up to the Partner Summit, Novell Corporate Developer
Relations is hosting an opportunity for strategic developers to sit down
with the Net2000 team to discuss and give live
feedback on Net2000 architecture, infrastructure, components and
interfaces. This invitation-only Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting will
take place in Utah on Feb. 15-16.
"This will be a developer-to-developer meeting designed to
provide insight for both groups into the Net2000 initiative," said Gary
Mueller, vice president of corporate developer relations. "The meeting
demonstrates our commitment to assisting developers as they develop to
our technology."
The Summit Partners Speak Out
"The Partner's Summit reinforced Novell's new strategy and focus
on networking services, and demonstrated the Company's commitment to
seek input on new technology from its partners. Being in the technology
strategy loop early enables us to focus on our future 4GL tool strategy
and further enhance our existing NetWare development tools such as
ManageWare and NetBasic -- and these enhancements will translate into
greater productivity for our customers," stated Sean Moshir, president
and CEO of HiTecSoft Corporation.
"I am impressed with Novell's strict focus on networking, and the
Company's efforts to foster relationships that fit this strategy," stated
Tom George, senior product marketing manager, Gupta Corporation.
"Net2000, in particular, builds on Novell's core competency and provides
significant business opportunities for partners by allowing us to extend
and market new value in our network applications."
"Our customers are Novell's customers and it is our mutual goal to
provide the best development tools in the marketplace," stated Eric
Siverts, sales manager for Base Technology, Inc. "As a strategic
business partner, the major expected benefit to Base Technology will be
increased sales of our NLM Software Development Kits by participating
in Novell's co-operative advertising, direct marketing, Technology
Roadshows and Brainshare programs."
NetWare Distributed Print Services Conference Kudos
"It is exciting to see the growing interest from developers who
attended the NetWare Distributed Print Services Developer's
Conference," said Linda North, Network Solution Product Manager of
Hewlett-Packard. "As part of HP's 'Operation Camouflage', NDPS is
critical to providing our shared NetWare customers with transparent
network printing."
"As a leading printer vendor, we have worked together with
Novell to define an advanced printing service in response to the needs of
customers," said Jim Baroody, Xerox product manager. "Xerox is
pleased that our NDPS-enabled products will be supported by
applications from the key industry participants at this conference."
"We consult with Novell OEMs and customers so we're very
eager to learn more about NDPS," said Bill Hogan, product manager at
Auco, Inc. "We definitely feel Novell's Smart Global Network strategy is
the right direction for Novell and we expect our business to increase as
they execute on it."
"The pre-release NDPS APIs we received at the conference will
give us an early start in
adding new printing capabilities to our applications. NDPS provides a
powerful new framework for developing advanced network printing and
publishing systems," said Jean-Cristophe Bandini, chief technical officer,
Tumbleweed Software Corporation. "As the developers of Novell's
Envoy portable document software and complementary products, such
as Tumbleweed's Publishing Essentials, Tumbleweed Software intends
to utilize NDPS to offer next-generation network publishing solutions.
Novell Continues to Deliver on Road Map Strategy
In addition to bringing developers early into the development loop
at the Partner Summit and the upcoming developer SIG, Novell will deliver
Net2000 alpha interface specifications at its BrainShare® conference in
March, 1996. This deliverable will include: specifications for naming,
communication and security; architecture documents; and OCX
components to demonstrate access to current services. The complete
Net2000 SDK is scheduled for shipment by the end of 1996.
Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) is the world's leading network software
provider. Novell software provides the infrastructure for a networked
world, enabling our customers to connect with other people and the
information they need, anytime and anyplace. Novell partners with other
technology and market leaders to help customers make networks a part
of their everyday lives.
Novell and NetWare are registered marks; NetWare Directory
Services, NDS and DeveloperNet are trademarks; and BrainShare is a
service mark of Novell, Inc.
Press Contact:
Catherine Stewart
Novell, Inc.
201-443-6264
cstewart@novell.com
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