Sorry Robert, but here is another story relating to MSFT that you dont want to hear. So for Robert only - this posting is OFF-TOPIC....
(PS - MSFT is discussed in this article)
NDS Ripe For Partnerships, Novell Exec
Says
By Kimberly Caisse
Provo, Utah
10:53 AM EDT Tues., Oct. 20, 1998
..............
Novell Inc. pushed the envelop in the networking hardware industry
on Monday by persuading Lucent Technologies Inc. to bundle its
Novell Directory Services (NDS) software with Lucent's new data
networking switches. But whether this agreement will entice more
vendors to sign on remains to be seen.
In the world of data networking gear, Lucent is a newcomer. The
Murray Hill, N.J.-based company, whose name is easily recognized
by phone carriers, service providers and ISPs, needs to quickly
gain market share in the enterprise and small-to-midsize business
segments to prove itself among entrenched players such as Cisco
Systems Inc., 3Com Corp. and the Bay Networks division of
Northern Telecom Ltd.
Nevertheless, Novell is optimistic the deal will help spur demand for
the switches Lucent unveiled on Monday as well as convince
Lucent's data networking peers they need to sign up to support
NDS.
"We're in discussions with all of these folks, 3Com, Nortel, Cisco,
etc.," said Chris Stone, senior vice president of strategy for Novell,
Provo, Utah. "I think in the future you will see more relationships
around this type of technology from us and them."
Stone decline to provide more details.
"They [Novell] have a window while NT 5.0 is still in beta, while
people are trying to make a decision on directories, and if
[customers] want a single server standard," said Chuck Phillips,
financial analyst with Morgan Stanley Dean Whitter Inc., New York.
"Having the mind share come back to positive" is good for Novell
right now, he said.
Starting with its Cajun P550 switch, Lucent will enable its Cajun
switches to work with with NDS servers. Lucent plans to enhance
the directory functions of NDS when it ships a policy server in
mid-1999.
Stone sees the Lucent agreement as a watershed event for NDS.
"We're just sort of setting the stage," he said. "This [directory] you
can actually see working. Have you been able to see that with
Microsoft [Corp.] and Cisco? No."
Cisco teamed with Microsoft in May 1997 to license Active
Directory to work with Cisco's Internetwork Operating System (IOS)
software. The first beta of the product, Cisco Networking Services
for Active Directory, was slated to ship last quarter.
"Our directory works," Stone said. "We're going to be always two to
three years ahead of Microsoft, no matter what they do. With more
relationships like we're doing with Lucent, and more and more
customers buying into Novell's directory as the mechanism to tie
their networks together, we're already where everyone else wants to
be."
More companies want directory services to help network managers
prioritize and manage WAN traffic, according to analysts.
Lucent makes a good first NDS partner because it "strategically is
set up to manage most of the bandwidth traffic and work with all of
the telcos in doing so through their switching technology," Stone
said.
Novell has demonstrated Cisco and Nortel Networks products
working with NDS servers, and compared to those, it took less time
to manage the Lucent switch with NDS, he said.
Lee Copeland contributed to this story. |
