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Novell was synonymous in the 1980s local area networks and for a while was a bigger name in IT than Microsoft. Then a long period in the wilderness began, from which the company hopes finally to emerge on the back of the enterprise Linux boom. To this end, it has recently acquired Linux players Ximian and SuSe, and is focusing traditional strengths, such as its renowned training and certification programs, on a Linux world that badly needs such disciplines. But Novell is working under the shadow of the SCO lawsuits around Linux intellectual property, and it has well known weaknesses too, not least its traditional failure to integrate acquisitions, which could wreck its last ditch attempt to be a major player in the enterprise sector.

Like many networking companies, Novell has refined its vision from local area connectivity to the idea of 'network computing' to the modern concept of the internet-based ubiquitous network. Back in 1983 it introduced NetWare, the first PC networking system based on file servers, with one machine controlling access to shared devices. This product had 70% market share at its peak in the early 1990s. It looked for new directions through the 1990s, with moves such as the acquisition of the WordPerfect and Quattro Pro desktop applications, a failed bid to provide all alternative PC software platform to Microsoft Office.

This strategy was reversed in 1996 when Novell turned its back on the desktop and embraced the internet somewhat belatedly, incorporating native IP into NetWare and its other core product, Novell Directory Services (NDS) in 1998, and repositioning the latter as a means to tie diverse platforms together and try to take advantage of multivendor sites, in direct opposition to Microsoft systems.

Since then, Novell has tried to leap on most multivendor technology bandwagons including web services, with the acquisition of SilverStream in 2002. Most of these have proved just distractions, with little long term positive impact on a company facing the inevitable death of its once powerful product line. A long line of attempts to find a new identity began with the acquisition of Unix System Labs from AT&T and the move to make NetWare a multiplatform product with TCP/IP support.

THE LINUX STRATEGY

Now it remains to be seen whether its new Linux strategy will be just another such detour. It does seem more wholehearted than previous changes of direction, however, and smacks of a make or break strategy. Over the past year, Novell has completely reinvented itself as a Linux company, rewriting NetWare for Linux and buying SuSe, supplier of one of the two leading commercial distributions of Linux (with Red Hat), and Linux platforms specialist Ximian, aiming to provide a Linux environment from server to desktop and incorporating the ubiquitous network.

SuSe seemed a good choice to be the basis of the acceleration of the Linux strategy it began when it put its eDirectory product on the OS three years ago. Over the past 12 months SuSE Linux has muscled in aggressively on market leader Red Hat's territory, signing many deals with hardware and software companies that put it side by side with Red Hat. And the big names such as IBM are keen to have two powerful Linux distributions to keep the OS "honest", and so will welcome Novell putting financial resources behind SuSE to enable it to compete effectively with market leader Red Hat (the acquisition of SuSE triggered a $50m investment in Novell by IBM, reflecting how well the former's new direction suits IBM's own Linux-oriented strategies to sideline Microsoft .Net).

Investment analyst Merrill Lynch is so impressed with Novell's change of direction that it wrote recently that Novell is "back from the dead", and "re-emerging from virtual anonymity".

But Novell has had bright ideas before, and failed to follow through. Vice chairman of the office of the CEO, Chris Stone, agrees with more cautious observers that the proof will lie in the execution, and that "Novell has a history of execution problems ... we get going on a new strategy and just when it looks as if we're going to pull it off, it falls back in."

CEO Jack Messman himself has become a vocal evangelist for open source, with the zeal of the convert from proprietary software on which Novell built its fortune. However, as he discussed with attendees at the LinuxWorld conference in New York, there has been a major adjustment for Novell employees. "It is a big change from writing code with your friends down the hall to doing it with hundreds of people around the world," he explained, adding that Novell had a bad case of "not invented here" syndrome.

Nor is he writing off proprietary software any time soon, despite the Linuxification of some core Novell brands. Messman said that there were a lot of deeply held beliefs concerning proprieraty software and open source, and that people should "get beyond religious wars" and realize that the two approaches not only will, but should, coexist for some time.

LINUX IN THE ENTERPRISE

In reworking NetWare for Linux, Novell has effectively said goodbye to the product, even as it presents the move as a means to prolong its life. Both Windows and Linux offer what NetWare has done for so long file sharing, print serving and directory management. The product itself has become all irrelevance, even if the brand has not--and has been going that way since around 1996 when the IT department became dominated by the web and Windows.

NetWare may have had its day, but Novell still brings many of its traditional strengths to its new Linux world. To gain credibility among enterprises, the open source OS needs backers with corporate disciplines and knowledge of how enterprise customers operate. Novell may have had a low profile in recent years, but it undoubtedly has much of this experience. One example is its capability in certifying and training engineers, habits that it will transfer lock, stock and barrel to the Linux market, with two new Linux certifications.

It has built one of the certifications naturally around its own products, focusing on SuSE Linux extensions and its own Nterprise applications. The two certifications are the Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) program, and the SUSE Certified Linux Professional certification.

Bob Couture, vice president for worldwide services for Novell, said, "For enterprises to adopt Linux, and Novell Linux solutions, they need to know that there's a pool of expertise they can tap to install and manage those Linux environments."

Novell's newly appointed head of European operations, former SuSE Linux CEO Richard Seibt, claims that the biggest demand from corporates for Linux is for server consolidation projects that standardize on one OS, and for security initiatives, especially surrounding identity management. He claims that Novell's portfolio is clearly targeted to these particular applications.

"Linux started out on servers. Now, companies are running mission critical applications on Linux, using 64-bit hardware and software architectures," Seibt said. The commoditization of the operating system is key to reducing business costs, he said, with companies differentiating themselves by the services built on the operating system. Novell may switch most of its proprietary products to open source licenses in order to take advantage of the open source development model, Seibt says, which improves time to market for new software features of value to enterprise customers.

NTERPRISE LINUX SERVICES

As for the NetWare product itself, it has re-emerged as Novell Nterprise Linux Services version 1.0, offering virtually a network operating system on Linux. The system offers the file and print utilities for which Netware has always been famous, as well as messaging, a version of its directory system derived from NDS, and Novell promises to wrap the new offering in support, training and consulting services. The Nterprise Linux Services run on the SuSe Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux distributions.

Novells reckons that Linux with Nterprise Linux Services can be used to economically replace Windows servers, while maintaining enterprise class security and reliability. It pitches that it is the only $1 bn company with Linux distribution, but also with the worldwide staffing to support the product.

While Linux is a stable and mature operating system, a recent survey of large companies cited lack of support, immaturity of products, lack of applications and lack of skills as the top barriers to the adoption of Linux in the enterprise. Novell is hoping that Netware trained administrators can just shift across to Linux and anyway says this is a full set of integrated tools so that less administration is required.