Play merger matchmaker: Help me
marry off Novell
By Jesse Berst
A few weeks back, I invited readers at my
World Wide Web site to help me marry
off Novell. I got such a strong response I
decided I should ask PC Week readers to
join in as well. Here's the deal--I'd like to
see Novell return to its former prominence,
to see it provide much-needed balance in
the competitive arena. I've become
convinced that the company needs a partner to do so. A
merger could be the best solution to the stagnant sales, the
slow erosion of customer confidence, the sense that the
company's not on the edge anymore.
Never will I marry.
Novell executives spend a lot of time insisting the company is
not for sale. To me, their denials sound hollow--like a dateless
teen-ager who claims he didn't want to go to the prom,
anyway. Done properly, a merger could provide new
customers, new channels, new synergies. It could give
customers the sense that the company is on the march again.
But only if we find the right spouse. None of the names bruited
about lately make any sense, that's for sure. IBM? Novell has
some wonderful technology in-house, but the best of it
(directory services, groupware) competes with other IBM
products, especially Lotus Notes. Netscape? Novell has a
loyal, well-trained cadre of resellers who service small and
medium-size businesses, but Netscape needs access to big
business, not to Novell's channel.
I think there's a company out there that would make an ideal
partner for Novell. Ironically, I've never heard it mentioned as
a prospective partner.
Founded in 1984, Cisco Systems has grown into a $4 billion
corporation. Thousands of organizations use its internetworking
products. The company is a driving force behind the Internet
(80 percent of the backbone routers are Cisco's). It is the
third-largest company on the NASDAQ, as measured by
market capitalization, and ranks 40th on the BusinessWeek
1000.
What's not known, except by insiders, is that Cisco has even
bigger ambitions. It hopes to challenge the likes of Microsoft
by building its Internetworking Operating System into a
ubiquitous platform. According to its secret internal timetable,
1997 is the company's breakout year.
But Cisco is a "backstage" player, with infrastructure products
that operate behind the scenes. Novell's installed base, its
channel and its mind share with customers would provide
exactly the leverage Cisco needs to move to center stage. At
the same time, Cisco has the cash and the confidence to
kick-start Novell again.
When I presented this idea on the Web, I got a lot of support
for the Novell/Cisco matchup. I also got some alternative
suggestions, including Hewlett-Packard (not bad), BBN or
another major intranet player (interesting), and Sun (bad idea).
Shotgun wedding.
Usually mergers happen when one side gets in trouble and has
no choice. Wouldn't it be better for Novell to decide in
advance how best to partner, while it still has so much to offer?
Use the E-mail address below to tell me what you think. Soon,
I'm going to take my ideas and yours and present them to key
executives at the companies. I'll let you know how they react to
our ideas.
Jesse Berst is editorial director of ZD Net Anchor Desk, a
free E-mail and Web news service. Send your suggestions
to jesse@jesseberst.com. |
