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Technology Stocks : Novell (NOVL) dirt cheap, good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ToySoldier who wrote (31005)	4/11/2000 11:09:00 AM
From: Dieter Koerner	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Hi Toy, >All of the attempts of Novell creating a COMPLETE sellable solution were either half-baked, under-funded, not intended to be a complete solution, or not injected with resources with non-product experience. They dont understand what a "Complete" solution is. They think they know - but they dont. All of the attempts of Novell creating a COMPLETE sellable solution were either half-baked, under-funded, not intended to be a complete solution, or not injected with resources with non-product experience. They dont understand what a "Complete" solution is. They think they know - but they dont. All of the attempts of Novell creating a COMPLETE sellable solution were either half-baked, under-funded, not intended to be a complete solution, or not injected with resources with non-product experience. They dont understand what a "Complete" solution is. They think they know - but they dont.< The other company (MSFT) does not sell the plumbing, they sell the excitement of the hot tub. That is NOVL's problem. Regards, Dieter

To: ToySoldier who wrote (31005)	4/11/2000 1:11:00 PM
From: PJ Strifas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Does the CMGI/SUNW/NOVL annoucement today constitute a JACUZZI builder? Will CGMion build JACUZZIs for companies to buy? Interesting huh? From what I understand, the press release shows how an Internet incubator is teaming with the "We put the DOT in DOT.COM" company and the leading Directory-enabled plumbing/infrastructure company to create a NEW company that will provide SERVICES to customers. This IMHO is a solution that looks to fill a demand on the part of e-commerce businesses to provide a better user experience. On the surface, it's a positive step for Novell's DENIM initiative and eDirectory. Only time will tell how this will affect Novell's position in the Internet space though. I think if CMGion can show clients signing on for these new services within the next 6 months, it could be very positive for Novell short term. Long term I think more companies will begin to look at Novell products as part of a solution that either they can build on or with to solve business problems if CMGion becomes successful in signing up big name clients. I still believe that an easier, solution-in-a-box strategy developed in parallel to the larger scale deals (such as CMGion) MUST be developed. The small-to-medium business market is a far greater prize. Then again, one could argue that these solutions should be services developed and provided by ASPs (outsourced) rather than handled in-house. Another positive note: Doesn't this say something for Novell's technology? CMGI could have choosen MSFT's Active Directory or SUNW's iPlanet Directory Server. In fact, why didn't they choose iPlanet for this deal since SUNW is already a partner??? Also, how far behind are other "DOT.COM" companies in adopting Novell technology to solve business problems described in the press release. I do believe these problems are univeral on the Internet. Do we dare say that the myCNN.com deal could be opening doors for other implementations of eDirectory that are more substantative (meaning NDS is a major component in driving the user experience than just a profile index)? This annoucement whets the appetite and forces more questions for Novell's marketing. Now are they up to the challenge? :) Regards, Peter J Strifas

To: ToySoldier who wrote (31005)	4/11/2000 2:33:00 PM
From: Frederick Smart	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Toy.... >>I think Steve and team must address the actual products they are putting to market. At first I said to Steve that DENIM would flip the Jacuzzi over, but I think that is wrong. DENIM is simply the assembly instructions for Novell, partners, and customers to build their own Jacuzzi with Novell parts. Novell must try to build some "pre-assembled" Jacuzzis and sell them as a complete unit.>> I'm really sorry to "see" the DENIM Jacuzzi analogy fall apart into many tiny puzzle pieces. Let's not kill Novell over the fact that there are pieces spread all over the floor. Let's just encourage Eric to move the people who are clutching onto the politics that come with these pieces out the door. It's very disconcerting to read into Scott's recent remarks the pointed ethical implications behind this political logjam. It sounds like Novell has an ingrained attitude of arrogance which feeds of the energy of others inside Novell who actually want to move this beast out into the light with good ideas using good energies. Good energy can only survive in an ethical envrironment where there's openness, sharing, trust, mutual respect for others and a willingness to support failure and risk. Novell seems to have fallen prey to NIH (not invented here) syndrome. If anyone dares to stick their head out like Scott or other talented - open engineers - there's a negative political force inside Novell which is constantly finding, searching, identifying these "positive, creative anti-political culprits." It's no wonder Scott and others have left and continue to leave Novell. Forces outside Novell are now vastly more powerful than the forces inside Novell. Eric needs to have the guts to recognize this and start the process of splitting Novell into two companies: 1) an inside Novell which is geared to it's legacy past; and 2) to an outside Novell which more fully and directly embraces outside forces among communities of investors, customers, individuals, groups, associations, networks. Novell needs to stop trying to control/power this transformation and take it's collective hand away from it's own light energy. Again, ENERGY is lacking. Perhaps Eric needs to fill his office with chairs. This way the only way anyone will get his attention is to stand on chairs. We need to all help Eric become a great CEO - Chief ENERGY Officer. He's main focus should be to get rid of these last remnants of recalcitrant political mountains of negative energy. Peace. GO!!

To: ToySoldier who wrote (31005)	4/11/2000 10:37:00 PM
From: Paul Fiondella	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

I made the following statement at the annual meeting today "Three years ago the management of Novell promised the shareholders that Novell would become a leading internet company. More recently we were told that this would be done by Novell providing the infrastructure for the internet. I would like to ask some questions about the revenue model the company has adopted to meet these objectives. If I understand the company's current revenue strategy, it is to use the company's installed base of Netware customers to generate modest revenue growth from legacy products while generating more significant growth from directory based applications. I believe you have promised the investment community 20% plus revenue growth from directory based applications. Implicit in this revenue strategy is the assumption that Novell's directory will become an internet standard at some point. Unfortunately there are several flaws in this strategy. First, it is evident that from Q4 to Q1 there was a decline in revenue growth not only in Netware, which was seasonal and expected, but also in directory based applications. Now my experience with companies representing themselves as growth companies and not meeting revenue growth objectives is that the shareholders of the company suffer a substantial decline in the value of their shares. And we have. From $43 to $22 a share. If Q2 produces more bad news then the analysts may begin to downgrade this company and lose confidence in what you are telling them. I want to suggest to you that there is another revenue model that more closely aligns with the objective of being an internet leader and an internet infrastructure company. I recently attended Brainshare. My impression was that Novell has a vast wealth of technology and engineering expertise. The company has tremendous technology resources. In particular I was struck by the work of Drew Major. It appears that Drew has started to develop an internet operating system --- a series of internet specific applications that address problems with the delivery of information over the internet through the use of plug-in appliances. These run the gamut from data flow control applications, to filtering, caching, and network attached storage. They leverage the fundamental strength of Novell's special purpose operating system core in ways which general purpose operating systems cannot match. They scale and outperform. I want to know why management hasn't shifted its revenue strategy away from directory based applications to an internet operating system strategy along the lines Drew has proposed?" =============================== Schmidts response was positive. After the meeting Steve Adams and I talked and then Eric came up and we had a much longer talk. =============================== My impression is that Eric had a serious interest in these remarks and that something may happen soon to consider what Drew has proposed to the company. If that does happen then Novell will be into the next phase of its development as an internet company. Eric repeated at the meeting that he considers it his primary job to protect shareholder value and that it is reasonable for shareholders to expect revenue growth since the company COO and management have promised to deliver this.