Novell Not Dumping Netware

jerel writes "eWeek describes how Novell will still develop and support NetWare. The eWeek article quotes Bruce Lowry, a top spokesman for Novell as saying, 'The bottom line is no. The whole thing with Linux is an additive thing. We're not dumping NetWare, we're adding Linux.' NetWare 7.0 will allow users to either upgrade to the latest version of the NetWare kernel or move to Linux." I guess this answers any lingering doubts going around.

Comments

UnixWare

[conway]

Novell has already tried this unix strategy with Unixware. They purchased the original unix team from USL (Unix System Labs), (which was there from AT&T) and had them work on Unixware.
It turned out however, that the Novell sales team only knew how to sell Netware, and Unixware got nowhere. (Wow, that almost rhymes! :) )

After about 5 years they sold the group to HP, to work on HP-UX, which kept them for another 5 years or so, and then closed the site and lay everyone off. (After they successfully ported HP-UX to the Itanium platform). C'est la vie.

Novell jobs

[Anonymous Coward]

Netware has been in decline here in the UK for years. My first two contracts were in companies which used Netware 3, and who were starting to be introduced to the wonders of NT4 by newly MCSE'd MS visionaries....
Some servers were migrated to Netware 4, but NT was on the up.
After the IT jobs crash, you're lucky to even see any Netware skilled jobs available, and if you do, the rate is comical (this also applies to Windows and Cisco though).
Where I am now, we use Win 2000 Server for File and Print and Application serving. It really has been very good. It's been so long since I worked with anything Novell, I can't see why I would want to go down that road again now.
We use Linux for our Trading desktop OS and SUN as a very stable backend. All works very nicely so far.
Us techies can always appreciate a well design OS like Netware, but we also live in the real world....I don't care that F&P services are faster on Netware, I care more about the speed of our network or any other bottleneck of_the_day.

Our core IT policy is dictated by our parent company, you should have heard them when we switched from SUN to Linux (although they have just done the same thing)! You should also hear them laugh if Novell is mentioned....

Good luck Novell, but for me you're out of the running (at least while I'm in this job!).

NetWare is good

[candyuk]

Novell's core strategy has been to leverage it's existing technology (NetWare and eDirectory) to get the company into more profitable markets. That doesn't mean that NetWare is a dead or dying product. In fact NetWare 6 has been a big seller for the company. However idiot analysts (Gartner et al) don't know anything about any technology that doesn't have a mouse and pretty gui. You can't run Word on NetWare so many people don't care about the OS. More importantly NetWare is widely interoperable so that security authentication, resource sharing and other services function on almost any platform going. Imagine a world where HR could input the name of a new employee into the Personnel system with a start date. The network security system would detect that new employee and create a login account, email address and file share without any user intervention. Then imagine that all these functions use software from different vendors. Thats what Novell brings to the table. Put that in your bigoted pipes and smoke it.

Some points

[wowbagger]

Some points that I feel need to be made:

• Netware is more than the Netware kernel - is is the sum of the kernel plus the various services. Novell can continue to develop Netware the services without developing Netware the kernel.
• "Develop and support" really does not mean much - it could just as easily mean they will continue to take tech support calls for Netware kernel based systems, and will continue to develop apps for it.
• "Develop and support" is to reassure PHBs that going with Novell is a good idea, even if the actual plan is to stop development on the Netware Kernel in the future.
• Currently, Netware only runs on x86. Consider what happens when the Netware services are available as daemons under Linux - Novell could offer Netware as services under Linux on the IBM zSeries machines. This would be the dream for a lot of IT managers - one Power4 or Power5 4-module (8 processor) zSeries machine with the manly-man I/O system that the zSeries has, logically partitioned into web servers, Novell file and NDS servers, database servers (with either Oracle or DB/2, running under either Linux or OS/400), in a reconfigurable box with IBM's support on the hardware. Need more OOMPH - call IBM and they unlock more for you. Need less OOMPH - don't pay for what you don't use.
• Given the previous point, and given the migration to 64 bit CPUs, there will inevitably come a point where, if you want a given capability in Netware services you will HAVE to run them under a 64 bit kernel - i.e. Linux rather than the x86 Netware kernel.

The only tricky thing is the difference in file system semantics between the Netware way of doing things and the Unix way - in Netware, if you have read access to /foo/bar/baz/poit/narf, you implicitly have file scan access to the directories above it to the extent of being able to see your file. In Unix, you could have full access and ownership of /foo/bar/baz/poit/narf but have no access to the intervening directories, and not be able to access your file.

This is important, as the Netware model makes a sysadmin's life easier - he can focus on who owns what files, rather than worrying about the directory structure.

However, file systems like XFS allow for extra metadata to be stored, so in theory a user space daemon could provide Netware file semantics on a Unix file system.

Everything is stable??

[bimmergeek]

?? We're going well as a company and all's stable ?? I don't think so. Novell is not a stable company.

Read Novell's web site, particularly paying attention to their Investor Relations section. There are two places to spend some time: Novell's financial statements over the past five years and their statement of risk factors. (All data quoted here taken from Novell's web site)

Just in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, Novell has seen no growth in net profit. Novell's income has essentially been flat at ~ $1.1B since 1997. During Internet Boom year 1999, Novell did post a surge of about $200M and then dropped back to the $1B revenue waterline.

NET PROFIT DECLINES
From 1997 - 2002, Novell has had difficulty generating net profits.
1997 -$78.3M
1998 +$101M
1999 +$190M
2000 -$49M
2001 -$272.8M
2002 -$246M.

REDUCTION IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BUDGET:
Since 1998, Novell has spent progressively less money on product development. In 1998, Novell spent $235M on development and in 2002 spent $169M on development. R&D costs declined in all intervening years.

REDUCTION IN SALES AND MARKETING:
Marketing budgets have been essentially cut each year since 1998, with a large spike in 2000, during which $495M was spent. In 2002, Novell spent $358M on marketing.

STOCK PRICE:
Novell's share price has steadily shed value since January 2000, when NOVL traded at ~$40/share. It's share price as I write is $3.47.

STATEMENT OF RISK:
The current statement of risk on the Novell site is substantially more tame than when I originally researched Novell the first of this year. But check it out. Novell has substantial barriers to prosperity in the IT industry.

ANALYSIS:
Novell has steadily lost traction in the market over the last four years. Their decisions to decrease spending in product development and sales & marketing is puzzling when compared to their statement of risk: how can they confront the dominance of larger competitors by spending less money on new product development and less money on getting the word out to companies about their products? Oh sure, you can claim they are spnding their money "smarter" but that's a weak claim because Microsoft can outspend nearly any company it chooses to go head to head with, and a lightweight competitor like Novell stands no chance (anyone remember Netscape?).

Is Novell's emphasis on Linux a lighthearted attempt to piss off SCO? No - Novell cannot be so trivial with its short supply of cash. The Linux move is an attempt to ride the coat tails of OSS in an effort to drive down product development costs. They cannot gain traction in networking and messaging so they are seeking to capitalize on the growth of Linux.

An interesting strategy but this is an approach that has more to do with survival and protecting an asset base than it has to do with innovative competition.

Novell may not be flopping around on the dock gasping for air but it definitely appears to be in the fisherman's boat, heading into shore.