Novell highlights Linux direction

Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell, devoted the opening keynote at BrainShare Europe in Barcelona today to addressing questions about the company`s Linux strategy, in a bid to add to the impetus of the company`s resurgence.

Early signs are that the market is paying attention. The conference registered 2 300 attendants, a 33% increase since the last European BrainShare. Thirty-six countries are in attendance and delegates have access to 75 wirelessly networked laptops and desktops, loaded with Novell SUSE Linux and OpenOffice.org productivity suites.

Messman pointed out that Novell`s vision of "One Net" implied that the company wasn`t interested only in selling NetWare, SUSE Linux and a mass of applications and services. He said Novell`s decades-long history in serving the enterprise meant it had the knowledge to integrate platforms of all kinds, qualifying this by adding that, at BrainShare at least, the company "doesn`t do Windows".

IDC has determined that Linux server shipments grew 50% year-on-year in 2003, that it will be the same for this year and that by 2007, 30% of server shipments will be Linux-based. In the same year, the research house has said, Linux desktops will show a compound annual growth rate of 44%.

This backdrop of growth has spurred excitement around Novell`s new Linux focus and propelled the company into a leadership position, according to analysts at Meta Group`s recent Metamorphosis conference. Novell`s revenue was up 7% in the third quarter this year, with net income at $23 million. Its partnerships increased by 92% in the same period; with HP, IBM and Oracle among them.

But delegates had questions beyond excitement and flexibility: Does Novell have the capacity to support a mass-movement? Is Linux legally and enterprise-viable? What is the company`s OSS roadmap? Why continue with a re-branded NetWare product?

Messman said Novell employs 800 support staff in seven support centres. Comprehensive training and certification mean customers that migrate will be comfortably supported. Business and technical consulting experience, both in-house and through partners, assure customers of the same.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 platform, the first to be built on the 2.6 Linux kernel which supports more processors, set a new world record in performance for transaction procession on non-clustered servers, says Novell. The platform supports class-based kernel resource management and features a common code base for development on all platforms. Novell`s resource management solutions and configuration and admin tool are compatible with other management tools like OpenView or Tivoli. ZenWorks enables central deployment and updates.

Novell`s indemnification programme means customers can deploy Linux with peace of mind, said Messman. The company`s OSS development methodology helps customers develop their own software at low cost and risk.

As concerns Novell`s future direction, Messman introduced the concept of identity-driven solutions, founded on a service-oriented architecture for service-enabled, identity-aware applications and infrastructure. Solutions include ZenWorks, eDirectory, Novell extend and collaboration solutions. "While the idea is revolutionary, the implementation is evolutionary," said Messman. "We built a roadmap on things we already have."

Messman ended his presentation by assuring NetWare customers that the product will continue, in the form of Open Enterprise Server. "It is not going away. While it continues [on a dual kernel], it simultaneously provides a gentle way for companies to be introduced to Linux in the enterprise."