August 29, 1996 7:15 PM ET
Novell users focus on products, not personalities
By Scott Berinato, Norvin Leach And Lisa Wirthman
Robert Frankenberg's departure from Novell Inc. is only a
peripheral concern to users, who say they're more worried
about Novell's failure to stick to a consistent product
development and marketing strategy than about who's running
the show.
Although none of the NetWare users interviewed by PC Week
today said they were ready to dump the product for Windows
NT or Unix, most of them cited issues that they believed
Novell was not addressing.
"The product stands by itself--who is driving doesn't really
matter," said Paul Scholes, LAN systems manager for
Farmland Foods Inc., in Kansas City, Mo.
Scholes, however, questioned Novell's commitments to
products other than NetWare. "Some of their other
products--the Web server, for example--are not getting the
resources or attention they need."
Jethro Antoine, network manager for the New York
Department of City Planning, agreed that Frankenberg's
departure "wouldn't scare me into jumping ship to something
else."
But Antoine and other users said Novell has failed to provide
an easy migration path to NetWare 4.x, whose new directory
structure introduced an additional level of complexity to the
product.
"It's so different from 3.1 that a lot of people are still holding
back," said Antoine. "I don't think the company has handled
that very well."
Some users, however, said Novell needs better leadership to
beat Microsoft Corp.'s marketing machine.
"[Frankenberg] was great, but he just wasn't a charismatic
leader," said Tim Downs, vice president for Printing Inc., in
Wichita, Kan. "[NetWare] is a great product. It just seemed
like the best-kept secret. I'd like to see the marketing reflect
the product."
Other users concurred.
"Microsoft stomped them with marketing," said Robert
Ginsburg, senior engineer/consultant at Computer Group/US
Connect, a Southeastern-based systems integrator. "They can't
market anything. They never could. Now they have to learn
how to compete again."
Some users also wondered if Frankenberg's departure was
symptomatic of deeper problems.
"It doesn't do a lot to indicate Novell's stability," said Eric
Goldreich, director of IS at the Los Angeles law firm of
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
But Goldreich, like the others, isn't ready to give up on
NetWare. In fact, some of the users said they were generally
satisfied with Novell.
"I wasn't looking for in-depth support from them, but when I
needed it, it has lived up to expectations," said Michael Cagno,
director of MIS for the city of Medford, Mass.
And Glen Schultz, information systems programmer with the
Michigan Department of Transportation, said, "We've been
watching what Novell is doing and, so far, they have been
supporting NetWare very well."
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