Novell eDirectory - Full Service Directory

Business Values

Managing change. Growing your company.

In the coming months and years, you will be extending your network to accommodate the growth of your business, and to take advantage of emerging technologies. However, as your company grows and you purchase and deploy new network technologies, you risk adding complexity at the expense of productivity—unless your network features the full service directory, Novell eDirectory.

Novell eDirectory is the network management tool that cuts across technologies and geographies. It works on NetWare®, Windows NT* Server and Solaris* Unix*as well as Linux and IBM AIX*, among others. Over 500 developers are presently eDirectory-enabling their products, and eDirectory intelligence will soon be in network routers, switches and other network devices.

Novell eDirectory makes the network available to authorized users anywhere, regardless of the clients they're using. They can log on from the home office, a branch office, or anywhere on the road and access their own familiar applications and desktop configuration—even if they're using someone else's computer!

Novell is building Novell eDirectory intelligence into other products such as ZENworks®, ManageWise® and Novell BorderManager™, thus extending the power of Novell eDirectory to provide remote software distribution, desktop management, traffic prioritization, network analysis and network protection. The result is dramatically reduced support and troubleshooting requirements, plus enhanced security and performance for Internet-enabled networks.

Scalability to Handle the Biggest Networks (Including the Internet)

Everybody thinks the Internet is the magic bullet. Everyone expects overnight success with Internet-based solutions. They don't realize that you already had your hands full long before having to take on Internet responsibilities. So, absent divine intervention, how can you stay ahead of the curve? How can you implement Internet solutions while enhancing network performance, increasing uptime and improving support?

Novell eDirectory is the answer. It simplifies the management of network users, information, applications and network devices. And it creates seamless interoperability between platforms. More than any other directory, eDirectory supports de facto and industry standards—LDAP among them—so it can communicate with applications and other directories across the network or the Internet. And because it can be partitioned and replicated in multiple locations on the network, eDirectory is incredibly scalable, and it protects you—there is no single point of failure. In fact, it can handle more than one billion objects.

Scalability, or lack of it, has never had a greater impact than it does now. Companies are collaborating electronically with suppliers and partners; they are extending their networks to mobile workers and customers; and they are adding e-commerce capabilities of all kinds. If you assume that your business is going to expand and the 200 million+ people on the Internet today will grow exponentially in the coming years, doesn't it make sense to get the directory that can handle whatever load comes your way?

Making Life easier for IT Staff and Network Users

Without a full service directory, end users have a hard time remembering multiple passwords and logging on to various operating systems and applications. And you hear about it. Without a full service directory, network administrators have to key in the same old data about users every time they make a move within the organization. If some guy named Roger gets a promotion, for example, the network administrator has to re-key all of Roger's data to re-establish his network access rights just because he moved down the hall and took on a few more responsibilities. And, of course, you hear about it.

By contrast, with Novell eDirectory, users log in from anywhere using a single password and user id. What's more, their personal identity goes where they go, and so do their rights. No need to have a network administrator tagging along to do menial labor. The whole process is automated and efficient. Administrators are happy. End users are happy. You're happy.

How do You Spell Competitive Edge?

We spell it eDirectory. It is stable, reliable and mature—with a five-year track record and millions of loyal users. And, unlike other directories that are either primitive or proprietary—or both—it is standards-based and can scale up to handle any business growth or e-commerce technologies that come its way.

Chances are you rely on many IT vendors to provide best-of-breed solutions. Your staff manages and controls a wide variety of operating systems, workstations, servers, telephone systems, routers, applications and utilities—not to mention end users with job descriptions and personalities that run the gamut. eDirectory integrates these systems, components and people as if they were designed (or born) to work together. In short, Novell eDirectory is the overarching management tool that's been missing all along.

Networking is beginning to live up to its promise. It is getting to the point where you can actually run your multivendor network instead of having it run you. And you can extend the life of your current infrastructure while adding new technologies and users. But in order to do all of the above, you need a three-letter, full-service component. For more information about Novell eDirectory, please check out the rest of this website, then call your nearest Novell reseller.