BoE Wealth Management upgrades to Novell NetWare 5.1

Novell Business Expert partner, Universal Lan Technologies (ULT), has just completed one of the country`s first upgrade installations of Novell`s NetWare 5.1 network operating system at BoE Wealth Management. The upgrade advances BoE`s current IPX-based network to a pure IP environment - a strategic evolution for the company`s growth and expansion into eCommerce.

The evaluation of BoE`s NetWare 4.1network operating system led to the installation of the NetWare 5.1 solution, based on NDS as the network services platform. The nationwide rollout of the solution links employees to eight servers and increases system manageability, performance and reliability. The decision to install the upgraded operating system meets the BoE protocol strategy to switch to a true IP network.

"BoE has been using the NetWare solutions for several years, basing our directory services on Novell. We were very impressed with the 5.1 upgraded operating system and saw the installation as a natural progression to increase the speed and efficiency of the network," comments BoE IT assistant general manager, Bradley Mehl.

"I strongly believe in Novell - their products and where they are positioned in the marketplace. Novell has been the backbone of networks for many years. We have had a strong relationship with BoE for several years and worked together on the upgrade decision - Novell was the logical choice," says ULT director, Pierre Slabber.

The decision to rollout a pure IP network and the subsequent choice of NetWare 5.1, was undertaken to eliminate unnecessary protocol traffic on the network, according to Gideon le Roux, technical engineer at ULT. The installation was completed over a two-month period to minimise downtime on the BoE network. The more Internet-aware companies are becoming, the more we are seeing a move to true IP networks." The IP protocol allows a greater degree of control and throughput on a network making it more manageable, faster and more secure.

The NetWare 5.1 installation is in line with the ULT strategy. There are many national corporations that have existing agreements with Novell and ULT would like to maintain and enhance existing and new clients in a joint marketing effort with the vendor. "There are many national corporations that have existing agreements with Novell and use Novell products - we would like to see them improving the strengths and benefits of those solutions," continues Slabber.

ULT is as a solutions integrator with a product portfolio including Novell, Microsoft, IBM and Compaq. ULT has held Novell accreditation since 1991 and opted for Business Expert status just over a year ago to approach larger corporates and install more complex solutions.