Groundswell of Support for Leading Networking Platform Includes Integration by IBM, Compaq, Oracle, Lucent, Check Point and Cabletron

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, BrainShare '99 ¾ March 22, 1999 ¾ Novell, Inc. today announced new milestones in the widespread industry adoption of NetWare, Novell's industry-leading server operating system and Novell Directory Services® (NDS™), the world's leading cross-platform directory technology for managing the complexity of today's networks. Recognizing the opportunity to offer new and better products and services to their customers, nearly 30 companies will announce support for NDS and the NetWare platform at BrainShare '99. These new partnerships complement existing relationships with additional industry leaders that have stated support for NDS over the past 12 months.

The following summary highlights some of these new relationships. For more details, please refer to related press releases from the partner companies (available in the Novell Press Room).

• Cabletron Systems — This new relationship outlines a commitment from Novell and Cabletron to deliver standards-compliant, directory-enabled networking (DEN) products that will reduce cost of network ownership and administration for enterprise customers, while significantly improving manageability and the quality of network service.

• Check Point Software — Check Point is NDS-enabling their Firewall-1 and VPN-1 products, and have gained the "YES, Tested and Approved" certification for NDS. Novell and Check Point customers can now seamlessly manage security policies across an enterprise within a single, hierarchical NDS directory. Novell has also joined Check Point's Open Platform for Secure Enterprise Connectivity (OPSEC).

• Compaq — Compaq announced support for Novell Directory Services and is committed to helping customers quickly realize the maximum benefits from NDS by providing scalable and robust server platforms for the industry's most widely adopted, full-service directory. Compaq is a key partner for Novell in developing NDS v8 and our Billion Object Tree demonstration.

• IBM — IBM and Novell today announced they will offer IBM WebSphere, a secure, Java-based programming platform to help design and deploy high-performance Web applications, with NetWare. With the integration of IBM WebSphere and NetWare, software developers can now leverage an open programming model to write and rapidly deploy Web-based applications on multiple platforms at reduced costs.

• Lucent Technologies — Lucent and Novell announced they are working together to provide customers with cross-platform IP management solutions based on Lucent's QIP. QIP enables centralized, dynamic IP name and address management across multiple platforms. Lucent has licensed and will be including NDS with QIP, to provide robust, fully distributed solutions on NetWare, NT, and numerous flavors of UNIX in the future. Novell and Lucent will take the lead in the development of next generation standards-based solutions for IP management.

• Oracle Corporation — Oracle and Novell announced an expanded bundling agreement that includes a five-user version of Oracle WebDB with NetWare. This new bundle enables small and mid-sized companies to easily develop self-service Web applications and data-driven Web sites with very little training.

As directory services become the foundation for personalized Web-based applications, industry-leading companies are turning to Novell for a robust directory solution that offers unparalleled security, scalability and management capabilities. A common theme among the companies choosing to partner with Novell is the ability to better understand and meet customer needs with new products and services through the development of directory-enabled networks and applications.

"The momentum behind NDS continues to build as leading companies recognize the power of directory-enabled applications to open new market opportunities through better customer information, and increased customer loyalty and retention," said Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO at Novell. "The strategic NDS partnerships we have announced today, and over the past few months, reinforce our belief that Internet applications built around a robust directory will enable companies to develop more personal, and profitable, relationships with their customers ¾ a competitive advantage that companies cannot afford to ignore."

Eighty percent of the Fortune 1000 companies currently using directory services to manage and secure their networks already rely on NDS, according to a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC). Analysts expect that in 2000, revenue for directory services products will reach $5 billion ¾ five times the amount of directory services revenue for 1998

About Novell Directory Services

Novell's directory technology, NDS, is the world's leading directory service. It is the unifying, cross-platform infrastructure for managing, securing, accessing and developing to all major components of a network. NDS supports more APIs, tools, standards and protocols than any other directory service. The advanced functionality in NDS offers a strong development foundation for delivering secure, manageable network applications. The market-proven and powerful structure of NDS streamlines administrative tasks to minimize management time and expense.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL) is the world's leading provider of directory-enabled networking software. Novell solutions give businesses total control of their private networks and the Internet, simplifying the management of user access and identity. Novell's worldwide channel, consulting, developer, education and technical support programs are the most extensive in the network computing industry.

For information on Novell's complete range of products and services, contact Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272), or visit Novell's Web site at www.novell.com. Press may access Novell announcements and company information on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

Novell, NetWare and Novell Directory Services are registered trademarks, and NDS is a trademarks of Novell, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holder.

Press Contacts:
John Pilmer
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (801) 222-5109
Internet: jpilmer@novell.com

Nan Stillinger
Cunningham Communication Inc.
Phone: 650-858-3772
Internet: nstillinger@ccipr.com