Novell’s BrainShare event in Salt Lake City got under way yesterday with
product announcements that illustrate Novell’s intention to further
integrate Linux into its ecosystem, with an offering for SMBs, a new
version of its ZenWorks management suite, enhancements to GroupWise and
a new ISV certification program.
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The Novell Linux Small Business Suite, which targets the SMB
market, includes the latest version of SUSE LINUX Enterprise 9 (SLES),
Novell Linux Desktop 9, Novell GroupWise 6.5 collaboration suite and
eDirectory, the company’s directory management solution.
Novell also announced its ZenWorks 7 systems management tool, which now
also allows system admins to manage Windows PCs from a SUSE LINUX
server.
The next version of GroupWise, code named Sequoia, will now benefit
from an extended support policy, as well as a pre-bundled version of
SLES. In February Novell announced its long-terms plans for supporting
and improving its flagship collaboration suite. Sequoia is expected
this summer.
“Both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and GroupWise are well known for
their superior reliability and security,” said David Patrick, vice
president and general manager of Linux, open source platforms and
services for Novell, in a statement. “These new product features,
10-year extended support commitment and the inclusion of SUSE LINUX are
another example of Novell’s dedication to our millions of GroupWise
users and a clear signal to future customers that Novell’s commitment
to GroupWise has never been stronger.”
On the partner solution certification front, Novell announced its
Validated Configuration Program, which is intended to help expedite
data center solution development on supported Novell Linux platforms.
The program is intended to certify integrated hardware/software stack
configurations specifically focused on high availability,
virtualization, systems management and security.
“With support from key hardware and software partners, Novell will
develop, test and validate multiple configurations for different
enterprise needs in security, systems management and more,” Patrick
explained. “This is another step in Novell’s strategy to increase
adoption and acceptance of Linux at the heart of the enterprise.”
Ultimately, Novell’s BrainShare event is about its partners, which
Novell CEO Jack Messman praised in his morning keynote address. He made
particular mention of the dramatic increase in the number of new
partners, as well as the increase in the number that support Novell’s
Linux offerings.
“We currently have more than 560 technology partners in our PartnerNet
program,” Messman said. “That’s up from 42 at this time last year.
We’re seeing a tremendous surge of partners working with Novell to
expand the number of Linux solutions available. On SUSE Linux alone,
there are now 1,400 certified and ready products. Last year there were
203 products. These numbers are remarkable.”
Article courtesy of internetnews.com
