Novell has done so in the past. But when it began directly targeting larger customers a few years ago, it lost credibility with its partners in the channel. Nugent acknowledges that mistake, but Novell must take care not to repeat it while going after the same large-scale customers. As Novell rebuilds its channel relationships, it must be mindful of its current market segment. If it uses its old mailing lists, Novell will end up trying to sell large-scale solutions to small and midsize companies.
Nugent points to the launch of Novell's new CLE (Certified Linux Engineer) program as one way the company will engage partners and IT at large. But with the RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) program firmly established, Novell faces a huge marketing challenge in selling its own Linux certification to IT managers and administrators.
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NWC Project: Linux A-List NWC Project: Linux A-List If you're looking for the perfect Open-Source application for your data-center-centric Linux server, check out our Linux A-List, compiled and maintained with recommendations by Contributing Editor Don MacVittie. |
Outside the channel, Novell has legions of disenchanted customers as well. The archetypal IT manager who has just ripped out NetWare 4 or 3.11 and replaced it with Windows 2000 is not about to switch back. Nugent is hopeful, however, and says Novell has talked to both current and former customers to learn why they stayed or left. That's a good first step. Not abandoning NetWare is probably another, as the installed base is still quite large (4 million servers installed worldwide, with 90 million user licenses). It's always more expensive to support applications on multiple platforms; but Novell must support its existing NetWare base or risk alienating a significant number of customers.
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
