Here's an interesting article from a current PC WEEK (Appropo)
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Novell Needs to Come out of Hiding
By John Dodge
Novell has edged toward marginal-player status for years now. And the people I spot-surveyed said
it's far more unlikely than likely that the company will return to prominence. Of course, Novell won't
and shouldn't give up. It has a strong franchise in NetWare. It has $1 billion in cash. It is profitable. It
knows networking. It has a fire-breathing sales type as president. It even has a Web site. Here are a
few suggestions:
Hire a communicator.
For a company of its size, Novell has done a crummy job in getting its message out. I had to stumble
upon its powerful NetWare Client for Windows NT 4.0 and a compelling demo of a third-party tool
(see Page 101) that neatly laid out the resources of a nearby NT server. An IT manager from Aetna,
watching over my shoulder, said, "I want that [to manage my NT servers]." Why doesn't Novell tell
the world about these products?
Novell's press relations stink. It's not that they are contentious. They don't exist. We know what
Novell is doing only when we force it out of them. The new management needs to come out of its
hiding place in Utah.
"Bob [Frankenberg] was a great person, but very low-key. His marketing reflected that," says Novell
President Joe Marengi, who says his "hat is in the ring" for CEO. Rightly or wrongly, Marengi
believes Novell's strong product position will get better with forthcoming Java, clustering and intranet
products. What's broken, he says, is the sales and marketing.
Buy technology.
Late to the party, it's not too late for Novell to exploit the Internet. But it can't go on a Noorda-esque
buying spree whose aim is the destruction of Microsoft. Rather, it must wisely choose niches that
exploit its powerful directory services. Don't give us namby-pamby statements about how you'd
prefer to partner with companies. Do what it takes.
Get moving.
Wake up. Splash 33-degree water on your face every morning. Andy Grove is right: Only the
paranoid survive. Frankenberg wasn't scared enough. Rigid focus on his downsizing strategy tended
to ignore real events in the marketplace. You have to know when to wear blinders and when to take
them off.
Execute.
As our chart on Page 101 indicates, the company is not one to meet its own deadlines. And too
many technologies such as NEST and Corsair have fallen by the wayside. It doesn't take long for
these flailing initiatives to sap all credibility. Novell must choose a leader for whom people will rally
and execute.
Here are a few suggestions for CEO. Oracle's Ray Lane has done a masterful job and knows large
IT sites. I can only imagine how much he'd like to get out from under Larry Ellison. Gary Stimac,
Compaq's former server guru, is another candidate with a winning track record (although much like
Frankenberg had at HP). And Marengi shows initial signs of being a communicator.
Not a lot of people can do this job. And probably not a lot of people want it. And it's ironic. You
might think Frankenberg, always the gentleman, is now damaged goods. I think of him as a uniquely
battle-hardened CEO who has learned lessons most of us will never know.
What will restore your faith in Novell? Write me at john_dodge@zd.com. Not a lot of people can do
this job. And not a lot of people want it. |
