Eric,
>I guess I would like to see Novell diversify their revenues by
>(1) lauching new products,
Well, BorderManager is out and doing very well. NDS for NT will be released shortly, and will be an immediate hit. GroupWise 5.2 should ship in a few weeks to a month, and has great appeal to a lot of customers, being fully compatible with Internet standards. Novonyx will begin shipping NetScape server products for IntraNetWare over the next 2-3 months. ManageWise will have a major new version out sometime in the next few months, and will be the first fully Web- and Java-enabled network management product. NDS for the major Unix systems will ship at various times over the next 6 months, and will represent new revenue opportunities. Moab is due 1st quarter '98, and will have all the features that everyone has been asking for (native IP, Java on the server, distributed print services, etc.).
>(2) establishing a service revenue consulting business and
They are. See novell.com
For every dollar in Novell product sales, another $20 in other revenue is generated. Almost all of this is consulting and services. Novell has to tread somewhat lightly in trying to capture some of this revenue, so as not to alienate established partnerships, but this part of the business will grow tremendously over the next few years.
>(3) reducing overhead expenses
Hopefully, without cutting necessary expenses. Product development and effective targeted marketing should be increased. G&A could probably stand to be cut more, but with very little improvement to the bottom line. What do you always hear about Novell? They have great products and lousy marketing. Hard to believe that in the past they've spent twice as much on sales and marketing as on product development.
In briefly looking at the numbers from the last quarter and last nine months, it looks like the next quarter should be at about breakeven without considering new product and service revenue.
Jerry |
