Novell's Race Against Time 381
DiamondGeezer writes "The Guardian newspaper in the UK reports in 'It's a race against time' that Novell is on a knife-edge financially and competitively, having placed a huge one-way bet in the success of its Linux strategy. But there's no guarantee of success: its revenue from Linux licensing is puny, and it faces a crowded market of Linux distros. Novell may be getting some positive press now that it's gone full tilt for Linux, but let's remember the reasons why: because of mis-steps of its previous management (especially the disastrous acquisition of WordPerfect in the mid 1990s) and its failure to grow its Netware business (with more than a little help from Microsoft), it's now having to re-engineer itself for Linux."
Re:The problem is Utah (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Novel's Netware failure is their own fault... (Score:4, Informative)
Odd how quickly people forget these facts. Best part is, Microsoft technically still owes them royalties on every XP disk sold, but Novell isn't forcing it anymore.
Re:Novel's Netware failure is their own fault... (Score:4, Informative)
Novell dead? Not by a longshot (Score:5, Informative)
Novel Linux (Score:5, Informative)
For anyone serious about an enterprise level linux novel is the only real choice.
Re:Novel's Netware failure is their own fault... (Score:4, Informative)
Novell, in my opinion, started to fall apart once it got all crazy with Bordermanager, Groupwise and the other "add-ons" that worked against this legendary stability (Apache for Netware? Ugh). I haven't spent much time using Bordermanager myself, but I can't recall ever seeing an install that was stable in the truest sense of the word.
I know, I know, this isn't a file server world anymore, but it's kind of sad to see what happened to an OS that used to just sit there and run indefinitely while hundreds of users hammered away at it. There is a good reason why the old IT urban legend of the server being drywalled in for years before anyone noticed was running Netware.
Re:Sad but true. (Score:3, Informative)
Outside North America, RedHat isn't nearly so dominant even in the server sector.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong (Score:5, Informative)
Second:
"it is getting excited about the version of KDE that will accompany SuSE Linux 10 next year. This is based on Mono, another Novell takeover, which aims to provide a development environment that will run Java and Microsoft.net on Linux"
KDE has nothing to do with Mono. The author probably meant Ximian Gnome, but that doesn't even make the statement true, and wtf does Mono have to do with Java?
SuSE + Ximian + Mono + Novell = Good prospects in my book. Granted Novell management has a long history of screwing things up, but this product line looks pretty promising. In fact, full disclosure I put my money where my mouth is and purchased some amount of Novell stock.
Re:Questions on viability of NLD (Score:5, Informative)
After doing some research, I discovered that there is some good news for Novell:
Europe's Largest Railway Selects Novell's SUSE LINUX for Large Scale Server Migration [yahoo.com]
However, there is also some bad news:
Novell's Credibility 'Beginning To Wane' [forbes.com]
Bunk, my BSD boxes are 1000+ days NOW (Score:5, Informative)
My FreeBSD 4.x boxes are over 1000+ days of uptime now with real load with real business logic running on them.
Re:Sad but true. (Score:5, Informative)
A few years ago I worked on a worldwide directory services project, and the suits brought the notorious Microsoft shill Gartner onboard. Only one of the partner companies involved (out of almost 40) was a Novell shop. What platform did they suggest? eDirectory. After using AD, eDirectory and OpenLDAP in varying implementations I can vouch for the power and effectiveness of the Novell tools.
ZENworks is a best of breed desktop management suite. Throw than on top of Novell's file and print tools. Add in the clustering support. The web based management tools. The handful of open source tools(Apache, PHP, MySQL, rsync) that now come with Netware. Taken together it's a very powerful, very valuable package. I can support more PC's using less staff with Netware than any other OS.
Now what sucks about Netware? Lack of developers. Every time I sit in a meeting, some asshole wants me to add yet another W2K3/SQL box for their product. Given Netware's market share I can't blame them. No-one is ever going to write another NLM.
OES on SuSE changes everything. You get all of the Novell tools, all of the open source tools, a worldwide developer base, plus the goodies from Ximian. It's a huge win. Not only do I get Linux, from the servers to the desktop, but I get the tools to manage every box.
It's not too late. The better tools can still win, but only if people knee deep in Microsoft solutions will bother looking at them.
Re:Still miss NDS (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Wrong wrong wrong wrong (Score:4, Informative)
From the Mono frontpage [mono-project.com]:
Mono is a platform for running and developing modern applications, based on the ECMA/ISO Standards. Mono can run existing programs targeting the
And also, from the Mono Java page [mono-project.com]:
Execution of Java code in Mono today is done with IKVM (http://www.ikvm.net [ikvm.net]) the Java virtual machine that runs on top of the Common Language Infrastructure.
Today IKVM is fully supported by Mono and its part of the standard Mono package distribution. As it stands today, it is able to run popular applications like Eclipse and Derby.
Re:No (Score:3, Informative)
Well, it offers a lot for desktop users... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Questions on viability of NLD (Score:5, Informative)
I think this statement would be more accurate if you dated it 2000.
Novell have bled on the top line (actual cash vs expense) since 2k (and probably before, but I only have figures back to 2k). 2k4 was a small turnaound with 65m in operating profit.
Having said that, they still have a small war chest [yahoo.com], with 1.5b cash+equivalents, and short term liabilities of 700K. So they are solvent and good to go for a little while longer. Long term debt is not too high, but I can't find any info on its due dates.
Their real danger now is being lost in the crowd.
Re:The problem is Utah (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Wrong wrong wrong wrong (Score:1, Informative)
Mono can run Java apps using IKVM. It is of course not complete, but that doesn't change that fact. Apps like Eclipse and JBoss work in Mono.
Re:Requisite Suse Rules post (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Doesn't Suse use RPMs? (Score:3, Informative)
I have put RHEL and Fedora on a number of boxes without problem. My company is about to put RHEL on about twenty thousand servers (no joke). So I have to call bullshit or amateur hour on you.
Revenue will be their biggest challenge (Score:5, Informative)
NetWare is still pretty expensive on the server. A 50-user copy is about $150 a seat on CDW retail ($7,500), about $50 a seat under a licensing agreement ($2,500).
SuSE is $999 per server with no client licenses fees.
Figuring NetWare to be about 50% of Novell's one billion in revenue, that means Novell would stand to lose more that 25% of their total revenue assuming everyone switched to SuSE. Novell might make this up with SuSE/Ximian desktop revenue, but I see large amounts of revenue from Linux on the desktop as being a long time in the making.
The estimates for SuSE revenue for 2003 were for about $40 million in revenue. As near as I can tell Ximan never really made any money to speak of.
So, if I haven't bored anyone to death yet, Novell NetWare is a $500 million revenue stream, SuSE is a $40 million revenue stream. Novell needs to very carefully transition from NetWare to SuSE if they want to keep revenue even. They can also grow by taking customers from Microsoft or Red Hat. But, it appears to me that Novell will have to shrink about 25% in size in order to remain profitable in the short term. Red Hat, with a more mature Linux strategy, only made $100 million in the last four quarters.
None of this is a bad thing, and I wish Novell the best of luck. I used to work there, and I still have friends there. Just doing the math though it seems like they will need to get smaller before they get bigger again.
not an urban legend (Score:1, Informative)
http://slashdot.org/articles/01/04/10/1846258.sht
Re:Novell's Linux certification? (Score:2, Informative)
There is already a Novell certification for Linux, it's called the Novell Certified Linux Engineer (CLE).
The certification is adapted from a SuSE Linux certification programme, but with more LDAP/eDirectory and Netware/Linux interoperation coverage (e.g. hinting that they'll be skilled to migrate from Netware to Linux).
You might want to take a look at http://www.novell.com/training/certinfo/cle/ [novell.com] some time :)
Re:Sad but true. (Score:5, Informative)
I just set up a mailserver for an ISP up in Idaho using SuSE 9.2. Spamassassin and Postfix installed without a problem, but when I went to install courier-imap and sasl2, I discovered that they didn't include mysql or postrgres support. Luckily it wasn't hard to download the SRPMS and compile them myslef, but it was still a bit annoying.
I sent them an e-mail requesting that they build the rpms to support that, and we'll just have to wait to see if they do.
That said, one of the things I love most about SuSE is yast, which has a wonderful n-curses based tool for when you are logged in via SSH. It really is spectacular. The best thing about it is that people who aren't all that linux savvy can still use yast to configure the box without too much difficulty.
Re:Sad but true. (Score:3, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Well, it offers a lot for desktop users... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Questions on viability of NLD (Score:3, Informative)
As for dumping users - that's exactly what Red Hat is not doing. They've replaced 'public' release with superior one (Fedora Core). It's rock-solid and does all I need it to on my network(s) internally. Exposed machines run Enterprise version, less than $2K for 3 year subscription per server hasn't really left big dent in my company's bank balance.
Novell Still doesn't quite get it (Score:2, Informative)
My first problem is with support. Navigating around Novell's site trying to find a SuSE forum is painful and getting SuSE infomation is difficult at best. I find myself staying away from Novel and looking elsewhere. They need to seperate Novell's propriatary software from SuSE searches and set up a SuSE only support area with forums.
Next, I have a real problem with their custom setup for Apache. The documentation offered is the Apache Org docs for configuration which has nothing to do with what SuSE does. SuSE seperates the http.conf file into many many smaller files that are called from the main file. It is very difficult to navigate and remember which file something needs to go in. Apache consolidated their 3 setup files into one. SuSE does the oppsite and makes it a dozen or so files and then does not document it. I don't want to consult a map to figure out where a directive goes. This is dumb. Stick with the standards.
Next is my problem with Evolution and its support of Palm Pilot. They claim support but then do not supply conduits for the calendar or address book. Huh? Red Hat does, Mandrake does. SuSE owns Eximian and they don't. Really ignorant and frustrating.
Anyway, this indicates to me that there is some sort of breakdown at Novell with SuSE and Linux in general. They seem to not have figured out how to both serve the SuSE linux community and integrate this into their other offerings.
I love SuSE mainly for YaST and the workstation look and feel. But I am probably going to return to RH and Fedora because I just don't think Novell understands linux yet. They know they need it but they don't know what to do with it.
Re:Questions on viability of NLD (Score:3, Informative)
The cash flows statement looked good, with general operating bringing in 440M in the first quarter, most comming from net income. Unless things take a big turn for the worse, that's plenty to service/retire the debt. I don't have the time to dig deeper, but at first glance, this doesn't look like a company on the ropes.
Preaching to the choir (Score:3, Informative)
"Look," I tell them, "imagine one logical grouping for the History department. They can have History file server volumes scattered across multiple file servers, priters assigned to History, and users assigned to History who each can have his own personal drive mappings, History department drive mappings, and drive mappings inherited from Humanities, one level higher in the tree. Users or user groups from some completely different part of the NDS tree, say in ITdept, can then be given administrative rights over History. Or over Humanities, in which case that user will also have rights over History..."
At this point their eyes glaze over...
Re:Novell's Linux certification? (Score:3, Informative)
I had to take it twice and I have about 10 years of Linux experience with 7 of those being a Sr Linux admin for two companies.
Re:still kicking! (Score:3, Informative)
Its core functionality includes Application Management, Imaging Services, Remote Control, Inventory and Workstation Management -- all policy-based and manageable through NDS/eDirectory.
I won't go into ZENworks for Servers, Handhelds, Linux Management, Patch Management, etc. that the full suite offers...