Hello PJ,
I'm going to try and finish getting caught up on all the posts during Brainshare ... a lot of good stuff, and a lot of questions on my part!
> Wait until you SEE and USE eGuide!!!
I have to agree ... eGuide is a very good example of a simple, yet powerful, directory application. This is where the Novell story needs to be ...
> Unfortunately I don't know if or how this will affect
> revenues just yet.
One of the problems that I keep hearing is that Novell is "split" internally on what to do with this product! One group of people kept presenting that this is a "free" product, but another group would always add "if you buy eDirectory!" ... what a joke!
This is similar to Netscape saying "Well, the browser is free ... as long as you buy a Netscape Web Server!" Instead, what Netscape did was release a "no strings attached" browser for "non-commercial use" and then oriented their business in other directions. Now of course Netscape failed to deliver on revenues for a variety of other reasons, but they would never have gained the "end-user eyeballs" if they had taken an approach like Novell with eGuide.
Here, what we see, is a quick and nimble group capable of creating a very simple product, which can give Novell incredible amounts of visibility in the "end-user" world. It's not rocket science, just an elegant solution. It's also an application which could generate follow-on revenues in the way of enhancements and customization ... the service and support revenues that Novell indicates that it is trying to grow.
So I have to agree with your comment ... I just don't understand the revenue model, and don't understand how they expect to see this application become ubiquitous ... if they are expecting to see the real value of this application, I believe they need to gain wide-spread adoption in corporations and desktops ...
Scott C. Lemon |
