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Might There Be Staffing/Skill Shortages at Novell, Despite Looming Layoffs?

Don't support Novell until support is repaired

YaST bootIt would be somewhat impolite to slam Novell amidst their little bash (BrainShare), but the following could hardly escape without comment before the weekend. We already know about workforce reductions at Novell, as well as a staff exodus. So what can one conclude when gaps in Novell's support services are reported?

Novell customers have hard time finding training



[...]

Johnson, a Novell user since 1989, said the migration fit well with his company, which had already started using open source software about a year before Novell's 2003 decision to move to Linux.

That success, however, has created new problems. Metropolitan Bank Group has trouble finding adequate training for its IT workers in Novell and open source applications. The bank is also often hard-pressed to find qualified workers with adequate technical knowledge of the products.

It was a problem that had many attendees nodding in agreement at the annual Novell Brainshare 2008 conference, which is being held in the US.


Remember that Novell increasingly strives to enter a space where support is king and cash comes from maintenance services. Is SUSE the way to go then? Or might Oracle and Red Hat be better options?

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