Telkom has decided to terminate its long-standing relationship with Novell in favour of Microsoft`s software offering, which will cost Novell its R10 million per annum contract.
The Microsoft Windows 2000 solution will replace Telkom`s current Novell-based network operating system (NOS), directory services and Netware solution. Telkom says the decision is based on the need to simplify systems management and reduce total cost of ownership.
Telkom expects a saving of R25 million per annum once the new system is up and running.
Windows 2000 will be rolled out over three years, converting Telkom`s desktop and workgroup software to one standard. Jyoti Desai, Telkom`s managing executive of IT, says Telkom made the decision after extensive evaluation of proposals from both Microsoft and Novell.
"As new technologies emerge, Telkom continually evaluates our technology in terms of functionality, cost, strategy and product offering. It is all about what is best for Telkom in our drive to streamline processes and to become competitive," explains Desai.
Telkom`s announcement that it was evaluating Microsoft`s operating system and software earlier this year sparked a war of words between the competing software houses.
At the time, Richard Beytagh, MD of Novell SA, announced publicly that he believed that such a move would not be easy or cost-effective for the company`s 30 000 users: "Besides requiring new hardware, Windows 2000 is still an untested environment, and the Active Directory currently holds zero percent of the market share. For a company the size of Telkom to place its operations on something that is as untested as Windows 2000 would be irresponsible, to say the least.
"Novell products, on the other hand, have been servicing Telkom`s needs for some eight years and continue to perform extremely well, saving Telkom millions of rand in terms of the services they provide. If it can be proven that Microsoft products outperform and provide more than Novell can, I will be happy concede the account. But, we are not on an even playing field here, we cannot compete with products that are given away for free."
Under the guidance of Telkom`s executive of IT Planning, Andy Mills, the project will kick off with a year-long design, architecture, test and pilot phase. Thereafter, the solution will be implemented over two years, provided Microsoft adheres to the acceptance criteria of performance, training, integration, user impact, reliability, availability and system management.
"We will be negotiating a three-year committal contract with Microsoft, with the option to extend it for two more years at the same cost. Telkom will benefit from this reduced maintenance cost, which is about R45 million less than our current contract over the same period," says Desai.
The products that Microsoft will provide include Windows 2000 Professional on the desktop, Office 2000 as the standard desktop application, and Windows 2000 Server/Advanced Server as the NOS, replacing current NT4 and Netware servers.
MS Exchange will replace the Novell GroupWise messaging system on the server side and Outlook will be used on the desktop.
"This conversion will have no immediate impact on Telkom and its employees. However, in the long-term, there will be a change in the electronic mail environment," Desai says.
Beytagh refused to comment until he knew more about the deal. Microsoft`s MD Mark Hill was unavailable for comment at time of publication.
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