Novell`s dominance of the million-dollar per year Telkom account could be under threat by Microsoft, sparking the latest round in the age-old feud between the two companies.
Telkom`s software installation is worth around $12 million per year for five years, so it is bound to get vendors excited.
The debacle started when Microsoft employees hinted at their company`s strong chance of ousting Novell from its long-standing Telkom installation. Richard Beytagh, Novell SA MD, responded with a strongly-worded press release, accusing Microsoft of monopolistic practices through leveraging its position in the desktop market and bundling products free of charge with its offering.
"While `bundling` may not be illegal in SA, it is illegal in many other countries purely because it promotes monopolistic practice, disables free competition and takes choice away from the customer," Beytagh stated in the release.
He later accused MS of following a similar practice for university accounts, giving free software to previous Novell installations. Software in the bundle that Beytagh believes that MS will not pay for includes Exchange Server, SQL Server, BackOffice and SMS server.
Microsoft SA MD Mark Hill responded that, since Telkom is still evaluating and has not decided what MS products it wants, or if indeed it will take Microsoft`s offering, it was impossible for MS to offer any bundles. "Telkom asked us to pitch a strategy," says Hill. "I think that Novell is just being overprotective of its customers."
Meanwhile, Telkom diplomatically states that it is still evaluating the software - a common practice for large organisations - and has not taken any firm decision yet. "Both suppliers are talking out of turn," says Amanda Singleton, Telkom`s corporate communications group executive, "as we are far from taking a firm decision either way."
Singleton was unable to put a timeframe on the evaluation, but Novell`s Beytagh says that Telkom has rolled out the Microsoft offering in one department where it will be evaluated over the next nine months.
Microsoft will sell on long-term cost savings in maintenance, support and servicing. Hill says that they will have to weigh these cost savings against the rollover costs, and compare them to Novell`s operating costs.
Novell is going for a technology angle. "Our technology performs better. We do things that they can`t do on a great deal less hardware. Our directory is much more scalable and mature. All they [Microsoft] have to offer is long-term savings on maintenance," states Beytagh.
MS and Novell are notorious for their one-upmanship strategies, despite the companies` high level of software compatibility. With arguments revolving around technology and monopoly accusations, they have fought about Netware vs NT, Active Directory vs Novell Directory, network management, and the leveraging of the desktop to sell in the server market.
Beytagh says there is a possibility of a heterogeneous environment in Telkom, with both Novell and MS taking a piece of the pie, while Hill says that Telkom will most likely go one way or the other.
Both vendors affirm that it is the customer`s right to evaluate products, and say that if Telkom takes the competitor`s offering, each in turn will be comfortable with the decision.
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