The New Novell?
Can Novell get their act together, or will they change tactics again? I honestly don't think this will work for Novell. The primary reason? Who will they market their products to? How many serious business applications run on the Linux platform? How in the world can you convince major companies to switch if their applications won't run on it? How will Novell convince developers that they need to make their apps work on the Linux, or open-source platform? They've got a very tough hill to climb.
Novell, the former undisputed leader in proprietary networking software, is banking on Linux and open source to rescue its business from years of decline. Where once it seemed fated for obscurity, Novell is determined to regain its former status by transforming itself into one of the industry's leading open source vendors.
Novell first aligned itself with the open source community when it launched its collaborative development site, forge.novell.com, in early 2003. But it wasn't until Novell purchased open source desktop software vendor Ximian in August 2003 that the company's new direction began to solidify in the public eye. Then in January 2004, Novell acquired SuSE, the leading Linux vendor in Europe and the No. 2 player worldwide, after Red Hat.
But even though it seems to be holding all the right cards, Novell faces tough odds. In recent years, tough competition from Microsoft and dwindling support from third-party developers have caused Novell's once-loyal base to look elsewhere for infrastructure needs. Unless it can win back the loyalty of the industry, Novell's new, Linux-centric message could fall on deaf ears.
Read the full article here: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;637146750;fp;16;fpid;0