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

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (25998)	3/11/1999 4:24:00 PM
From: Greg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

I don't have an article to reference, but let's just say I heard it from his own mouth.

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (25998)	3/11/1999 4:45:00 PM
From: Spartex	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42771

Which IBD article (date) was that Paul? Here's todays on SUNW. BTW, I do remember reading a recent article on Eric Schmidt stating clearly that the company is NOT FOR SALE (re: HWP rumors), and he said he has just gotten started on his NOS/NDS mission, and is having a lot of fun. Can't find the link though. However, one think does seem certain, SUNW, IBM and HWP are reorganizing their businesses around the internet. Schmidt started this 2 years ago with NOVL. We're ahead of the curve relative to MSFT IMHO. Anything can happen over the next year,and Novell is enriching itself with a lot of internet application goodies to run on NDS. Wall Street bees are finally coming to this honey, and I'm sure there are more and more companies interested in acquiring Novell, and if not, then their products. Hardware Maker Sun Goes 'Soft' Plans Portal Strategy To Sell More Software, Services Date: 3/11/99 Author: Michael Tarsala Computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. is laying groundwork to challenge its larger rivals in software and services. Sun plans to use new software and Netscape Communications Corp. technology as linchpins of a strategy to sell more software, services and hardware to businesses, analysts say. ''Sun wants to lead its sales with software and trail with hardware,'' said Martin Marshall, an analyst with Redwood City, Calif.-based Zona Research Inc. The thrust revolves around Sun's NetDynamics software, which the company plans to start selling next week. Sun bought the basic product in June for about $160 million. Sun will use it -and the Internet's popularity - to spur sales. ''They're trying to set up NetDynamics as the cornerstone of their whole software strategy,'' said Craig Roth, an analyst with Meta Group Inc. in Chicago. Sun plans to sell the software to businesses, which will use it to set up so-called business portals. Portals are sites used as entryways into the Net. Popular portals include Web sites run by America Online Inc. and Netscape. Business portals will run on internal corporate networks instead of the public Internet. Businesses use the portals to connect with customers, employees and suppliers, as well as to build and manage electronic-commerce sites and back-office systems. Sales of NetDynamics software for creating business portals open the door for Sun to also sell hardware and new services. Sun unveiled on Wednesday several new services for creating and managing portals. ''Sun's portal computing vision . . . is the enterprise software component of our '.com' campaign,'' said Ed Zander, Sun's chief operating officer, in a statement. Sun executives refused to comment for this story. Sun's move comes after rivals IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. revealed Internet-based business software and services drives. Analysts say Sun has had limited success in software and services. The company is known for developing the Java Internet programming language. But Sun won't release Java sales data. NetDynamics supports Java program- writing technology and a competing Microsoft Corp. technology called COM. It also works with major databases and business software, and with non-Sun hardware. The company plans to add to NetDynamics in the next year, Zona's Marshall says. NetDynamics is part of a plan for Sun to catch up in a key technology known as XML, an emerging formatting standard for letting applications talk to each other over the Net. Microsoft last week announced XML plans. Sun also wants to tie NetDynamics to computer server software it plans to acquire from Netscape, analysts say. Sun is a partner in America Online's proposed purchase of Netscape. That could be approved this month. Sun's goals for the Netscape software are becoming clearer, analysts say. Sun will attempt to merge competing Netscape software called Kiva into NetDynamics, Roth says. Separate Netscape software for Internet communications likely also will be put into NetDynamics, says Dave Kelly, an analyst with Hurwitz Group Inc. in Framingham, Mass. Kelly says Sun will add messaging and support for additional software to NetDynamics over the next year. This could include network testing and monitoring software, as well as more ties to Java, he says. Sun might use Netscape technology to create a browser that makes Java work best with NetDynamics and Sun's Solaris operating system, analysts say. But that could create friction among Java proponents, Kelly says. ''What's important with NetDynamics is Sun has to decide if it's a software company, a hardware company or a religion,'' Kelly said. (C) Copyright 1999 Investors Business Daily, Inc.