Summary: Novell's proprietary software under the magnifying glass

Pulse

Novell's Pulse has received a lot of attention upon its debut as a beta [1, 2, 3]. Pulse seems to be proprietary (there is no official word that we can find) and apart from some older coverage that we missed [1, 2], there is this introduction to new users.

IDG has tossed around its old article about Pulse in many of its sites and there are also newer articles from IDG that mention Pulse along the way.

Second, traditional software applications vendors such as Salesforce.com, Spiceworks, Novell, and others are "socializing" their applications and providing mechanisms to enable discussions, chat and so forth while performing the usual tasks of accounting, network management or whatnot.

 

SAP, long one of the most successful makers of business software, is moving into a new market competing against collaboration tools such as Google Wave, Novell Pulse, and Microsoft SharePoint.

ZENworks, NetWare, and Fog Computing

New "white papers" (professional adverts) and vulnerabilities aside [1, 2], Novell has some real news for Windows users.

Novell has announced availability of a new ZENworks Configuration Management virtual appliance. In addition, Novell announced ZENworks enhancements to help customers migrate to Windows7. Additionally, Novell announced a technology preview of ZENworks 11, which integrates endpoint security into a single console with systems management, said the statement.

A Microsoft-oriented Web site writes about Novell in Fog Computing ("Novell Moves Into Management Of Cloud, Virtual Computing Environments") and it links to this CRN report which mentions ZENworks too.

Executing on its strategy to provide workload management tools for virtualization and cloud computing, Novell (NSDQ:NOVL) at its BrainShare conference this week unveiled an addition to its line of ZENworks configuration toolset and gave conference attendees a peek at an upcoming release of the vendor's Identity Manager software.

More here.

Novell is offering Novell Cloud Security Service (NCSS), a Web-based identity and access management solution for cloud service providers in India. NCSS will allow SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS providers to offer their enterprise customers the ability to deploy their existing identity infrastructure in the cloud.

John Donovan from Novell speaks to the press in this IDG report about Fog Computing.

Novell quotes are also contained in this new article about virtual appliances:

These benefits mean virtual appliances are generating plenty of interest, and Novell’s Wiley says the company “is seeing incredible demand for its virtual appliance builder tools.”

Novell's Tom Cecere will speak at SYS-CON's Novell-sponsored event about 'clouds' (unless it's another event that Novell no longer pays to participate in).

Novell continues to trade high because of expectation that it will be sold.

Mail

GroupWise can be seen in the following new video:



Here is the 'Microsoft press' writing about the loss of Novell and Microsoft to Google (Office and GroupWise dumped).

Identity Management

The following new press release (also here) reveals a new relationship between idOnDemand and Novell.

idOnDemand, a security organization dedicated to providing a highly secure single identity for access to enterprise resources anywhere, and Novellâ„¢ team up to deliver a solution combining PIV smartcards and single sign-on. This partnership enables customers to use a single PIV smartcard to protect their legacy username and password systems.

Here is a news article about it.

A new partnership between idOnDemand and Novell produces a PIV smart card and single sign-on solution for secure login systems. Customers utilizing the product will be able to access to all their security barriers with the use of a single PIV smart card.

The Higgins Project is also being mentioned with Novell's role in it.

Formerly known as Parity Communications Inc., Wellesley, Mass.-based Azigo was founded in 2003 by Paul Trevithick, former co-founder of the Higgins Project, an open-source online identification framework used by IBM Corp., Google Inc. and Novell Inc.

People

Here is Ron Hovsepian coming under the magnifying glass of IDG:

Ron Hovsepian's total compensation fell 17% in 2009, amid declining annual revenue and a wider net loss.

A Novell veteran has come to itControl where he is now SVP. From The VAR Guy:

David Toms recently joined itControl Solutions as senior VP of global sales and marketing. A veteran of Novell and other high-tech ventures, Toms first worked with itControl Solutions CEO Sheldon Waters more than 25 years ago.

Also from The VAR Guy:

The backstory: Back in the 1980’s I needed personnel to become certified in Novell, Microsoft and Citrix.

Novell has many former employees who spread to other companies. Here is another new article about Heystee, who recently left Novell.

Susan Heystee has been charged with expanding Telogis’ international presence as the company’s new executive vp of worldwide sales. She joins Telogis after serving on Novell’s vp & gm of global strategic alliances.

Here is something a little more humane. The following new video is described as "James, Rick, and I think Jace... are smoking near the ventilation system for the kitchen at Novell. Heather dislikes that smoke that goes through so we splash James with water!"



Is this Novell the software company? They seem to have a lot of water problems recently.

Partners

This new press release tells the story of Connectotel and Novell BorderManager:

Connectotel, a provider of leading filtering solutions for Novell BorderManager, today welcomed the announcement of the successor to the Novell BorderManager proxy product.

The SuperLumin proxy provides Novell customers with a SuSE Linux-based, high-performance proxy cache and can be purchased via Novell sales and account teams worldwide. BorderManager continues to be supported by Novell through to March 2012, giving customers time to move to the new platform.

John Dragoon, Novell's CMO (chief marketing officer), can be seen in this article from CRN and other new sightings of Novell partners can be found in:

1. Uptime NetManagement Delivers Powerful Technology Solutions to K-12 Schools

Uptime NetManagement, a certified Novell Gold Solutions Partner and Novell Gold Training Partner, has extensive experience providing technology solutions, customized training, and consulting services for the K-12 technology environment.

2. Intel Xeon 7500 chips aim for flawless performance

Skaugen also stressed that these features will be supported by software vendors, including Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell, SAP and SUSE, as well as by 12 original equipment manufacturers.

3. First Platinum Novell Training Centre in Central and Eastern Europe

Krakow, Poland, April 02, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Compendium Education Center has been awarded with the status of a "Novell Training Services Partner - Platinum level."

There are a few other companies that openly state their relationship with Novell in their press releases [1, 2] and the recent Ingres collaboration [1, 2] received a special mention in this article about BrainShare and Ingres.

Tyler McGraw, technical account manager at Ingres, will speak next week at the Novell BrainShare conference in Salt Lake City, Utah and introduce the recently announced, SUSE Studio Appliance Template for Ingres Database.

To clarify, "Boycott Novell" is not being phased out, it's just becoming a sort of sub-project as our scope has obviously expanded. That's about all for now. Holidays abound! ⬆