NDS eDirectory: The Directory of Directories? - Page 2
Pricing and Evaluation
The relative functions, abilities, and applications of each product are reflected in the cost. Pricing for NDS eDirectory is a very reasonable $2 per user--a figure that some financial analysts feel is too low to rescue Novell's ailing finances. That may be, but when you consider the intended purpose of NDS eDirectory and the potential market, you can see how things could work out in Novell's favor. The target market for Account Management is a little more (excuse the pun) corporate, and so the price tag of $26 per user seems very reasonable.
If the desire grabs you, you can evaluate the latest version of NDS eDirectory, but with one very odd quirk. For some reason, and I'm sure it's a good one, evaluation licenses for NDS eDirectory have a waiting period--of up to two days! This little feature not only prevented me from installing NDS eDirectory on a Linux server to see how it shaped up, it also got me thinking about whether Novell really understands how to get people to try products. To add a further twist to the evaluation tale, there is currently no evaluation offering for Account Management.
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Conclusion
NDS eDirectory and Account Management are core to Novell's one Net vision, and they make it easy to manage information about objects--whether inside or outside the corporate boundary. The management tools are easy to use and, in some cases, offer distinct advantages over their native counterparts. Novell, it seems, has all the elements in place for NDS eDirectory to be a huge success, except one thing: that old marketing problem again! //
Drew Bird (MCT, MCNI) is a freelance instructor and technical writer. He has been working in the IT industry for 12 years and currently lives in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. You can e-mail Drew at drew.bird@tecmetrix.com.
