"A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon is a member of a profession that came into popularity in the Middle Ages. Jesters are always thought to have typically worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern." [Source: Wikipedia]

Although it is arguable, Novell's biggest announcement last week was the beta of GroupWise. From the unenthusiastic press release:

GroupWise offers a wide range of new functionality and collaboration tools to give users the most integrated and connected work environment available today.

This announcement was significant enough to receive some press coverage [1, 2, 3, 4].

How is Novell's GroupWise getting along? Don't ask Novell because its spinner would say it's fantastic. In reality, however, it's Microsoft which is killing Novell, its supposable partner. Here is one example from the news:

When Chiquita Brands International decided to move its 4,000 Novell GroupWise e-mail users to Microsoft Exchange two years ago, it wanted to avoid hiring new staff to handle the increased complexity of Microsoft's e-mail software. So it looked to remote e-mail management services from Azaleos, which moved Chiquita to an on-premises deployment of Exchange that Azaleos oversees from its headquarters in Seattle.

Microsoft is also shaving GroupWise off of Lincolnshire County Council.

Lincolnshire County Council is shifting thousands of workers from Novell to Microsoft systems as part of an IT overhaul.

The revamp will see the council migrate 5,500 staff from Novell Netware and Groupwise to Microsoft Windows and Exchange, as well as build a new wide area network and expand its range of thin clients, as it seeks to cut costs and make its IT easier to maintain and manage.

Let us now forget that Novell constantly attributes its current 'success' -- however bogus it may be -- to Microsoft.

It is rather amusing to find Novell getting kicked in the shin by Microsoft-funded analysts, whom Microsoft has regularly paid for anti-GNU/Linux benchmarks. Those same analysts are now dissing GroupWise out in public, leading to the article "The demise of GroupWise?"

The beta version includes a dashboard that lets users customize their workspace but an Info-Tech analyst notes there’s nothing earth-shattering. Find out what mashup features it has

[...]

As IDC Canada research analyst Kevin Restivo pointed out, “It’s not a matter of product functionality—it’s a Novell business issue. People increasingly want to buy from one supplier, and so it may look easier to go with Microsoft or IBM.”

All bow to IDC, one of Microsoft's favourite disinformation arms [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. We shall write some more about it shortly. IDG and IDC are pretty much the same establishment and IDG does a lot of GNU/Linux coverage, little of which is flattering. it's part of a very broad media crisis with catastrophic effects on the issue of trust. ⬆

___ [1] GroupWise open beta launched by Novell

The programme is available as a free download and offers customers and partners an integrated solution combining traditional e-mail and calendaring functionality in a personal dashboard with team workspaces and Web 2.0 resources such as wikis, blogs and RSS feeds.

[2] Novell releases open beta version of GroupWise

Novell has announced an open beta version of its latest collaboration system GroupWise, as customers demand advanced networking solutions.

[3] Novell throws open GroupWise beta

Software giant Novell has launched an open beta, or testing, version of its GroupWise collaboration software, saying the software would combine traditional collaboration functionality with updated Web 2.0-style additions.

[4] Novell releases GroupWise 8 beta (also here)

Kent Erickson, senior vice president and general manager of Novell's workgroup solutions arm, said organisations are looking for collaboration tools that keep their employees focused on driving business forward, and their systems running smoothly, without increasing costs.