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

To: Spartex who wrote (23468)	8/12/1998 2:03:00 PM
From: Bearded One	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

I can't really comment on marketing with any authority because I'm a techie, and not even a systems techie. I have a pretty good understanding of Software Engineering and have looked at NT 5's problems from that angle. So when Dan Kusnetzky says "Novell is under a serious amount of market pressure because the market is changing," I can't argue it one way or another in detail. I have one theoretical argument against what Kusnetzky says and it's very simple: If the market is not there for the services Novell software provides, then where is the market for NT 5? The fact that Microsoft has poured all this money into NT 5 and is "betting the farm" is evidence to me that there's a market for directory services. NT 4 + NDS for NT seems to me to be an empirically safer choice for an MIS type than waiting for NT 5. Which brings me to the question I've been trying to get an answer to for weeks: How much software Novell can sell in the next year?

To: Spartex who wrote (23468)	8/12/1998 3:38:00 PM
From: John Boy	Respond to of 42771

<<Most managers are moving toward consolidating software functions on fewer server machines, a trend that flies in the faceof the distributed server model that Novell is accustomed to, according to Dan Kusnetzky, program director for operating environments and serverware at market researcher International Data Corporation.>> This is a trend that could work in Novell's favor, because NT generally requires more and bigger servers than NetWare. In many instances, a move from NetWare or UNIX to an all-NT network can require a doubling or even tripling of the number of servers needed. Same goes for total hardware $$. In an all-NT network, adding NDS on NetWare or the upcoming "native" NDS for NT can obviate the need for servers dedicated to network management--so adding NetWare and/or NDS can actually reduce the total number of servers needed (as well as the cost and difficulty of running the network). In keeping with the IDC remarks, Novell must convince customers that they will reduce the complexity of managing the network by making NetWare and NDS central. Microsoft argues that all-NT is the simplest way to go and adding NetWare and NDS for interoperability and management will make things more complicated--more "animals to feed" in the IT zoo. In this view, one platform (NT) will host applications and run the network. Novell has an especially good case when the customer is inclined toward mixed vendor networks with some NT, UNIX, mainframe integration, etc. With NDS going cross-platform, Novell also has an opportunity to make this case to customers inclined toward an all-Microsoft or solution. ###

To: Spartex who wrote (23468)	8/12/1998 4:04:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 42771

Novell blinks, gives documents to Microsoft zdnet.com

To: Spartex who wrote (23468)	8/12/1998 4:25:00 PM
From: Mike Kelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

>> Most managers are moving toward consolidating software functions on fewer server machines, a trend that flies in the face of the distributed server model that Novell is accustomed to, according to Dan Kusnetzky, program director for operating environments and serverware at market researcher International Data Corporation.<< I have heard from more than one reseller that the reason they push for an NT sale is because the OS requires more hardware, support and consulting than NetWare - therefore a much greater profit for the reseller. I have a hard time seeing how the statement above puts Microsoft in a leading position as a move to NT requires 5-10 times more equipment than a NetWare environment. Mike