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

To: Wallace Rivers who wrote (24806)	12/29/1998 11:35:00 AM
From: Paul Fiondella	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Remember the pledge to make Novell an Internet leader? It must have been April or May of 1997. Well let's take a look at how Novell is doing. Following the Peter Lynch school of investing, I tried to use Novell's web site to buy some product. After much clicking I got a screen which offered me three online distributors. I was looking for someone who would sell me an upgrade from Netware 4.11 to Netware 5.0. One of the distributors put a MSFT advertisement up the minute I clicked on Operating Systems. (Guess Novell couldn't afford to advertise) But then I couldn't find the Novell product. Where did I find upgrades to 4.11? Try under Groupware! That means that nobody at Novell in charge of the relationship with this distributor ever bothered to even check out how Novell's products were being sold. Nobody at Novell role plays being a customer looking for a product! Gee I wonder why. What mentality fits this bill. I found the answer soon enough --- too many part numbers for similarly described products. At least fifteen different part numbers for similarly described products. Know the difference between the two different versions of First Look (the one listed which isn't the one you want and the other one)? Ordered a five user upgrade (that gives you a 10 user license) when you meant to order a five user license? Gee you mean you don't have a purchasing manager to order for you? You shouldn't be buying our products. Get the picture. Moreover the great Internet leader (Novell) and future king of E commerce hill doesn't confirm reciept of your email upgrade registration! Any problems shipping products or with your order results in NO COMMUNICATION. You have to call them. The only email you get is an invitation to Brainshare with no mention of receipt of your registration or anything about your order. So being an internet leader for Novell means a one way trip for your email to the wastebasket. No followup or follow through on orders? Is that Novell in "turnaround" mode? ================= Conclusion: As long as you are a purchasing manager with a parts list in front of you and the telephone number of someone at Novell you can confirm with, you will do fine. If you read a Novell advertisement and decided to check out the company product and order it direct from Novell, on the other hand, you will probably order the wrong product, never have it shipped to you and never get any email back explaining why? Oh and by the way those Novell managers responsible for all of this --- they are on vacation until Jan 4th. Welcome to the NEW NOVELL!