Hello Janice,
Sorry for the long delay, but it was vacation time with my parents and family. Bad internet connections made it tough to try and post from the road ...
> Scott--
>
> And what do you think about prospects for a buyout? Not asking for
> insider stuff here: what's your own take on it?
This is a good question (or series of questions) and I do have my opinions on it. (I can see you all saying "Really?" about now ...) ;-) My main evaluation of potential buyouts would be:
1. By Who and Why?
and
2. Would this be a good thing right now?
The second question is easier to address first. If we think that Novell has some very valuable technology, installed base, and channel, then do we sell when we are down, or try to make sure that we have made every effort to expose the value to get the maximum for our money. If there is in fact some good technology in Novell, I believe that it is the fudiciary responsibility of the BOD and CEO/President to make sure that the company is bought at a competitive rate. If the transaction occurred, only to be followed by the exposure of some very strong technologies that could have demanded a higher price, I'm sure the shareholders would revolt saying that no one had tried to expose the technology. I think we have some very strong offerings that have spent too much time in the labs and now is not necessarily the right time to sell. But that's my opinion.
Question number one, the tougher of the two, has me (and many friends) debating all the time. As we look forward to where technology is taking us, it starts to blur the lines of which companies are in which businesses. I personally like Lucent more than Cisco (but hey, I'm a shareholder of both!) and then this 3Com/USR thing happens. I also look at Sun ... but I'm not sure they could absorb a Novell properly. Oracle? Well ... maybe. But I'm not to keen on them either. They *do* have some cool vision of the future ... Microsoft? Well ... the DOJ might not let it happen ... ;-)
So besides who ... Why? Well, they might want our networking expertise, including directory, and installed base. The channel? Yes, but this is changing also with the Internet and outsourcing of services. Intel? Would they go up against their synergistic partner Microsoft? And what would it get them?
I don't know, but I haven't seen a good, well designed outline and business plan (or even a crude one!) from anyone that shows me a long term successful merger. And without a good foundation of fact, or even reasonable certianty, I have a hard time imagining success. I'd love to know how Jesse Berst does it! I've asked him (via e-mail) for such information but have not heard from him yet. (Jesse? You out there? Got a rough plan for the merger?)
> Is there speculation
> among employees? Or is it generally believed that the company really
> means to go it alone?
I think there is always speculation among employees, but so far the consensus seems to be "We can do this!". Several times executives have indicated that we are not in the "for sale" mode and that we need to pull together as a team and get this company rolling. We are being driven to execute on our experience and talents and deliver. I think that for the near term (oh, let's say six months to a year) we have a road map and are driving to some milestones! There are specific product and strategic goals and we are going for them.
> Janice
Scott C. Lemon |
