More belt-tightening moves

Summary: Novell's 5-year contract is estimated at about $135 million, compromises existing staff

BACK IN APRIL we saw Novell offshoring GNU/Linux developers (mostly Germany-based) to Taiwan. It's a sacrifice, but Ron Hovsepian's family wants his huge bonuses. In last night's financial report Novell bragged to investors about cost reductions and this might be it. Novell's CFO spoke about needing to reduce expenses further, according to the transcript of the call. Around the same time we find this ACS-Novell press release (also located here).

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS) and Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) today announced a strategic partnership to expand their core technical capabilities and suite of services. As part of the partnership, Novell will outsource part of its internal IT operations to ACS, which will also provide SAP consulting and applications development and maintenance system integration services as part of a $135 million, five-year contract. ACS will also partner with Novell to enhance its global data center operations and will purchase at least $30 million in Novell products during the first three years of the partnership.

There are already articles about it:

Novell, ACS form outsourcing, supply partnership

[...]

The outsourcing partnership involves shifting service delivery from the 156 employees of Novell Information Services and Technology group in Provo, Utah. A release from both companies does not outline where ACS will then outsource this work, but Novell officials expect “significant cost savings.”

There is this talk about "cost saving" again. More in this British Web site:

ACS AND NOVELL LAUNCH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

SAYS AS PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP, NOVELL WILL OUTSOURCE PART OF ITS INTERNAL it operations to ACS

And more from the British press:

Novell, having reported its second quarter financial results yesterday after Wall Street closed, said it had inked a deal with Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services to have that outsourcer take over its ERP systems and related data center in Provo, Utah.

This is a 5-year contract weighing about $135 million. ⬆