• Second largest authority in the UK invests in comprehensive range of Novell products and services
• New infrastructure will support remote working and improved access to services for citizens and employees
• Secure web services platform created to deliver eGovernment services to 715,000 citizens
• Novell chosen as long-term strategic IT partner for Leeds City Council

Bracknell, UK — July 26 2005 — Novell today announced one of its largest ever UK customer contracts with Leeds City Council. The second largest metropolitan authority in the UK has invested in a comprehensive range of Novell products and consulting services to help improve internal business processes for 33,000 employees and create a platform for the delivery of eGovernment services to 715,000 citizens serviced by the Council.

Leeds City Council provides a broad range of services for citizens including housing, education, financial and social services. The sheer breadth of services along with a large number of staff and offices, had led to different departments developing IT systems independently in an organic way. In order to introduce a more “joined up” approach and meet service delivery targets, the authority took the decision to review its technology requirements.

“We had a number of business drivers for investing in new IT systems,” explains Phil Bevan, Business Impact Manager for the Programme. “The government has set well-publicised targets for getting public sector services online by 2005 and in order to deliver content, Leeds City Council needed a secure way of making information and applications available over the Internet. Another consideration is that the local authority would like to take the lead in offering staff flexible working. Again, secure access is an important consideration if employees need to use network resources outside normal working hours or from remote locations.”

Anthony Burnham, Programme Manager for Leeds City Council picks up the story, saying that; “From a technical perspective, we have over 300 offices around the region with many different departments and found we were running up to 850 different applications across 140 servers. Interoperability and ease-of-management were a priority for whatever solution we chose to use.”

A comprehensive solution

From an internal perspective, interoperability and IT management has been improved by NetWare and ZENworks, both of which consolidate existing resources and automate basic processes. NetWare is a reliable, secure operating platform which can integrate with existing software, whether it is Windows, UNIX or Linux. Components of NetWare offer clustering services alongside an HP storage area network (SAN) solution, which has eliminated downtime and provides ample storage to keep pace with rapid growth.

To manage more than 10,000 desktops, the council relies on Novell ZENworks, a resource management tool, which allows IT staff to update software, fix minor technical issues and add computer patches to protect against viruses. New software can be distributed around the network in a matter of minutes, rather than having to spend weeks manually installing applications.

Taken together exteNd and Nsure create a secure web portal where employees can access a range of applications and internal information from any web browser. This includes e-mail, SAP Human Resources, financial systems and a Customer Relationship Management database. As well as staff from widely dispersed offices being able to access the same resources, a trial version of this system proved particularly useful for senior managers from the point of view of controlling their workload and enjoying a better work-life balance.

Delivery of eGovernment services will also use the Novell secure web portal. This is currently at a pilot stage and specific applications will include access for housing maintenance contractors and a service for Education Leeds, a company which manages schools and colleges in the region. Citizens will be able to apply for planning permission, council property or order leisure tickets online.

“We want to be at the forefront of delivering eGovernment in the UK,” continues Anthony Burnham. “Novell has shown a lot of foresight, anticipating our needs and providing the best technology for us to meet our goals. We are very happy working in partnership with Novell and it is vital that we have a credible partner we can work with long term so that Leeds City Council can take a strategic approach to our technology infrastructure.”

Tony Dunn, Sales Director for Novell concludes that: “UK local authorities are faced with a number of IT challenges – there is pressure for them to deliver services online, however with involvement in so many areas of public life, it is important to find interoperable technology that is easy to integrate across different departments. Leeds City Council has adopted an innovative web services platform that is helping improve productivity internally and will provide a secure, effective interface for citizens and their local authority.”

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of infrastructure software and services to over 50,000 customers in 43 countries. With more than 20 years of experience in data center, workgroup and desktop solutions, Novell's 6,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world are meeting customer requirements for identity-driven computing and Linux solutions. By providing enterprise-class software and support for commercial and open source software, Novell delivers increased operating flexibility and choice at a lower total cost of ownership. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.

Novell is a registered trademark; exteNd, Nsure and Nterprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux AG. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Beth Guest
Text 100 Public Relations
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