Re: [olug] OT Novell Linux gamble paying off.

[dan at linder.org]

Bill Brush said:
> After being out at the annual Novell technical conference I can say that I
> think Novell is going to do pretty well with Linux, IF they can
> effectively
> tap into the "buzz" that Linux has right now. [...snip...]

I think the Novell name still has a great deal of respect with the people
who have been in the industry.  It's respectable that they are still
around and keeping Netware afloat in the sea of Microsoft solution
providers.  Their track record of stable network operating systems is
remarkable -- uptimes from their servers in the mid-90's are still
something that only WindowsXP/Windows2003 server are finally able to shoot
for.  With the right marketing, if they can convince the suits that the
Novell+Linux combination makes sense from cost/benefit standpoint then
they will have a fairly easy sell.  If their directory services managment
and plugins are stable when ported to Linux then they will be a big thorn
in Microsofts side for sure.

> That means convincing the
> suits that Linux can help them solve their business issues, while at the
> same time convincing the OSS community that they're not trying to hijack
> Linux for some nefarious purpose.  Their many contributions to the OSS
> code
> base should go a long ways towards accomplishing the latter, but they
> still
> have to accomplish the former.

Their biggest hurdle to overcome in the forseable future is this.  The OSS
community has been bitten too many times by get-rich-quick companies (eg
SCO, LinuxOne, etc) that take the community property, re-brand it, sell it
to the gullible market, and then get out quick.  Hopefully they follow
RedHat's lead and give back patches and other fixes to the community as
readily as they are merged in.

I would guess that most IT people who use Linux have been around the
industry and have had some experience with Novell and Microsoft.  Of the
two, the Linux+Novell solution appeals more to them than the Microsoft
solution if they need a networking solution.  If that Linux/IT person
likes Novell for how they are treating the OSS community then they will be
more inclined to recommend it and be yet another sales force acting on
Novells behalf.  This will truly be their strength against Microsoft --
we'll see how they handle the OSS community and that will correlate
directly to their success or failure in the market.

Dan
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