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

To: Spartex who wrote (25711)	2/28/1999 11:58:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 42771

Novell rides again NetWare 5 lifts Orem company out of the red By Steve Fidel Deseret News staff writer Like a second-time groom sporting a trophy bride, Novell Inc. is sharing the story of its current successes while treating its past with as little detail as possible. That failed marriage with WordPerfect? A money-draining union with a cut-the-losses ending. Novell's current product line? A globally acclaimed beauty taking nourishment from the fountain of youth. The fountain Novell is nurturing is a product development and marketing plan under the guardianship of senior vice president Stewart Nelson. Nelson came to Novell from WordPerfect when the two Utah-born companies merged in 1994. Novell was out to compete better with Microsoft, which was building steam with its Windows NT networking development while marketing a broad offering of application software. But WordPerfect proved a distraction to Novell's computer networking core. Novell paid $855 million for WordPerfect and spun it off in 1996 for $185. The math sent a strong no-confidence vote to investors. "We were not focusing. We were trying to be all things to all people," Nelson said. Even before the spinoff, stock prices that had reached $35 in 1993 were nothing but residue at $6 in 1994. Novell, used to wearing the moniker as the dominant computer networking software vendor, started seeing itself described in the trade press for its potential as road kill with its stock in the tank and Microsoft winning customers with NT. Novell was still operating in the red at the time of a tension-filled annual shareholders meeting last May. Due out of the chute later in 1998 was a significant update in the company's flagship networking software — NetWare 5. "At the meeting, the question was being asked "When is it really going to ship?" There was a lot of pressure," Nelson said. Microsoft, for all its prowess, has a perennial reputation for announcing major releases and then letting the release date slip. Announcing new products before they ship builds anticipation among potential customers. But if there are delays, that anticipation can turn to frustration. Nelson does not want to make a direct comparison, but it was clear Novell wanted to one-up giant Microsoft by building the anticipation for NetWare 5 and then getting the release out on time. The scheduled release date: Sept. 21. The actual release date: Sept. 9, almost two weeks early. Microsoft's most recent networking news: Windows NT 5.0 was no where near a firm release date. Analysts speculated it was running one year behind. Microsoft's working title for the new NT, "Windows 2000 Professional," gives pretty good clues about the schedule it is on. Serendipity from Microsoft and positive press on NetWare 5 that began before it even released allowed Novell to really catch a wave during the weeks that followed, especially at the November COMDEX in Las Vegas, the computer industry's largest annual trade show. Novell used COMDEX to announce NetWare for Small Business 4.2 and ink a partner- ship with networking hardware staple Cisco Systems. COMDEX awards rolled in from the trades: "PC Week," "PC Magazine," and "VAR Business." Fourth-quarter earnings, reported in November, rose 500 percent, shooting past First Call's forecasts and putting Novell in the black for the year. Earnings stayed strong in the quarter that ended Jan. 31, doubling the same period of 1998 with $29 million in net income. Nelson said there was more to NetWare 5's broad adoption than meeting the release date. Beta testing was a key factor. The highest beta-testing pool Novell had used included about 40,000 testers. That was too small a circle, Nelson said. Novell would have better success selling new software and selling upgrades to existing customers if it opened the barn doors and invited anyone willing to take the time to troubleshoot the pre-release beta. Software users are pessimistic about new products, he said. A new release received skeptically could cost Novell an entire year in its desired adoption rate — a death knell given the 18-month technology life span outlined in Moore's Law. So, a broader beta begets fewer bugs and cultivates better adoption. "We said anyone who breathed and had a computer was eligible for a beta," Nelson said. Novell saw plenty of takers. "There were 350,000 beta downloads before it shipped." In house, NetWare 5 was "running flawlessly" on 300 servers before it went in the box and out the door with the benefit of clean-ups a smaller test pool would have missed. The onus from the annual meeting was passing. "It was clean and on time. That's what I get paid for." Nelson said another lesson Novell learned the hard way is that customers want to see software products upgraded regularly, and they want new offerings from the brand. Regularly rolling new products out the door is the water in the fountain that will keep Novell vibrant. Novell Directory Services was another key rollout in 1998, setting a new standard for network management tools and a second anchor to Novell's product line. Novell shipped a new product each month in 1998. "We are going to ship a product a month this year, and we'll even up the ante — there will be more than one." deseretnews.com

To: Spartex who wrote (25711)	3/1/1999 11:35:00 PM
From: Axxel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Well, Quad...all I can say is I like Novell...beyond that I don't really care what you think. I am not a member of the public when it comes to investing and I have to tell them that even if you DON'T like it and that includes offering additional information to them if they want it. So there! Harrrrrrrrumph. AXX