Novell News

There’s been a lot of coverage of the recent Massachusetts decision to adopt open standards-based document formats as the state’s document model for the future. We see this as a positive step, consistent with the broader move in the technology industry toward open standards, open source and interoperability. Needless to say, not everyone is pleased. There’s an alarmist article from Fox News a couple of days back that suggests all sorts of dire results if Massachusetts proceeds with its plan. The author is the executive director for a group called Americans for Technology Leadership. A quick review of their website shows that the sole founding member of this group from the software sector is Microsoft.I’ve been a dedicated OpenOffice user for some time now, and the interoperability features in the product (including the ability to save and exchange documents in Microsoft compatible formats) have made using it a breeze, whether inside Novell on interacting with outside parties. Try it for yourself.

Novell’s latest developer resource, DeveloperNet, contains a host of information and tools to help corporate developers introduce or expand their use of open source technologies within the enterprise. For example, new software developer kits (SDKs) released this quarter include: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server SP2, Novell Linux Desktop SP2, GroupWise Web Service (SOAP), File System Services for SUSE Linux and several others. DeveloperNet is also encouraging participants to freely create and edit Web page content with its new wiki tool. The goal is to create a forum where users can quickly and easily share their real-world experiences. Thus far, more than 300 additions and/or modifications have been made. Also on the developer front, it’s always nice to hear independent confirmation of the value of Novell’s compatibility certification programs. Listen to the beginning of this interview with the CEO of InsynQ on the value of YES Certified status for his company.

Microsoft and JBoss underscored this week the importance of interoperability for customers. You should know that Novell has been a leader in interoperability, helping customers integrate, secure and manage heterogeneous environments — including Windows and JBoss. Novell provides integration with Microsoft environments, including support for Active Directory in our identity management technology, and supports JBoss on Linux. We believe yesterday’s announcement is further evidence that the market clearly seeks this kind of interoperability and supports Novell’s strategy.By the way, the Novell-JBoss partnership is strong as ever, enabling customers to rapidly deploy joint solutions to solve business-critical challenges. Whether it’s us or someone else, we like it when someone improves interoperability and delivers more freedom of choice for customers.

Novell is pleased to see that Red Hat, IBM and TCS are following our lead with regard to the importance of EAL certification for Linux. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 in February 2005 was the first operating system to achieve EAL4+ certification. In fact, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 is still the only operating system to be certified at this level, and will remain the only operating system certified at this level for at least the next year.

There is no doubt that technology remains a significant investment for most organizations. Too often, the conversation comes down to one final question: How can we save on software expenses? Novell’s Top ten ways to reduce software costs offers some practical advice, from establishing software standards to leveraging upgrades rights and, of course, avoiding software hugging at all costs.

Novell announced a $200 million share repurchase program today, to run over the next year (see details). It’s a good use of the cash, and now’s a good time. As you might imagine, we’re continuing to look at opportunities to enhance shareholder value.

This is starting to resemble a freshman mixer without the lemonade and pretzels, so it’s time to wrap up these introductions. I’m Kevan Barney, senior PR manager handling platforms for Novell. That means desktop, data center and workgroup solutions including SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Open Enterprise Server and Novell Linux Desktop, among other things. You wouldn’t know it from my mostly boyish looks (hey, I’ve heard some people get gray hair in high school), but I’ve been doing PR in one form or another for more than 17 years, with the last 15 being all high tech. Mostly corporate, with a few years of high-octane, Internet-boom agency experience thrown in.My six-and-a-half years with Novell have given me a front-row seat to internal changes as well as a slew of external pronouncements of Novell’s demise, issued by competitors, industry watchers and even some of you folks in the media. Obviously, all have been premature and greatly exaggerated. When you really look at us closely, you see what’s kept us going for more than 20 years as a billion-dollar-plus company and is driving the innovative market direction you see now. So here’s hoping this blog and our other ongoing conversations help you get a closer look at what Novell is all about, and shed a little bit of light on why you and the rest of the world should care (which, of course, you should).

As the newest member of the Novell PR team, I only joined the company a little over a month ago. My name is Susan Morton. In my role as a PR manager, I cover resource management and collaboration as well as SUSE Linux and the openSUSE project. The first few weeks have all been a blur learning about the company and seeing the launch of new initiatives like Software for the open enterprise. I’ve been doing PR for about 12 years with a variety of clients and different organizations — from household names to small technology start-ups that have long since been acquired. My first experience in PR was for an Army research center, but that is a story for another day. Overall, it is amazing how much everything has changed. I remember fondly when I thought faxing was timely news distribution. And now, today marks my first blog posting.

Before anyone gets the impression that Bruce is the only one who does any work on the PR team (particularly Bruce himself), I better add my post and introduce myself. I’m Rod Anderson, and I am a public relations manager at Novell, overseeing the PR for security, identity and access management, and our channel activities. I have been working with Novell for just over four years now and have seen many changes in the company, and I’m excited with the direction we are headed.I have about 12 years of public relations experience–almost exclusively in technology and mostly with agencies prior to Novell. I have worked in New York; Toledo, Ohio; and Seattle (no, not in Redmond) before settling here in Utah. It’s been quite a ride so far in a dynamic industry where every day has the potential to bring something different. It’s a far cry from my roots on a small farm in Southern Alberta. Although, some days the idea of driving a tractor all day can be pretty appealing.If you haven’t seen the BrainShare announcement that two of our main identity and access management products are now in beta, head over to the press release to get a peek at a couple of our product launches you will see in the coming months.

Brainshare Barcelona was a great event this year, and I want to thank all of the press and analysts who took time out of their busy schedules to join us, our customers, and our partners. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet all of you at the event or the social activities. I heard a lot of good things, like being able to meet and talk to customers about their experiences, about how our positioning framework gave us a better way to talk about how we solving problems for customers, and some very constructive feedback on how we could do things better. As the Chief Marketing Officer for Novell, this is the best part of these events- the dialogue between Novell and the “Novell watchers”, because it gives us a good barometer and validation of our progress in the market. I hope to see many of you again soon, and perhaps in Salt Lake City in the spring. Don’t miss my keynote at JBoss World in Barcelona on October 12 – another good reason to come back to a wonderful city!