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

To: Frederick Smart who wrote (26776)	4/27/1999 10:55:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 42771

Novell fights back Once-ailing software maker Novell appears to be on the mend as it uses its directory technology to improve network management and win customers. Research group IDC recently found 80 per cent of Fortune 1000 companies which used directory services to manage and secure their networks had opted for Novell software. That helped Novell record an excellent quarter, its best in two years. It reported revenue of US$286 million for its first financial quarter, ended January 31, a 13 per cent increase over the $252 million recorded in the year-before quarter. Net income was $29 million, up more than $14 million. A close look at the company's revenues shows Novell Directory Services (NDS) has become the foundation of the company's resurgence. "Chief executive Eric Schmidt has managed to turn Novell around spectacularly, but it is not through the woods yet," said the company's director of communications Raymond Nasr. "Our directory-related business accounted for 88 per cent of total revenue in the fourth fiscal quarter," he said. A directory is like an electronic Yellow Pages containing a listing of information on network devices and resources. It lets the administrator and end-user find, access and manage the information needed regardless of which server or desktop it is sitting on, as long as they are linked to the directory. Mr Nasr said Novell's biggest challenge was to deliver more products, especially applications that took advantage of NDS technology, and to keep closely to product delivery dates. "We want to encourage a lot of third-party products that are directory-enabled. The more directory-enabled products there are, the more valuable the directory," Mr Nasr said. Behind Novell's success with NDS looms an ominous grey cloud, Microsoft's similar Active Directory and Windows 2000, threatening to extinguish the flame of Novell's success. But Novell has left behind its days of trying to unhinge the Bill Gates empire. "We no longer consider ourselves in a head-on battle with Microsoft. From Eric Schmidt's perspective, it is very important that Novell co-operate with Microsoft. We already work closely together on development," Mr Nasr said. Novell plans on circumventing Microsoft by going cross-platform. NDS is now available on HP-UX, AIX, Linux and Unix. Cementing more partnerships was another of Novell's goals, Mr Nasr said. It had been working with hardware vendors such as Cisco Systems, Lucent Technologies, Cabletron and Nortel Bay Networks to bring NDS features to switches and routers.