Novell's latest evolution
Published: 29 Nov 2001 13:34 GMT
Software maker Novell is turning to an army of technology consultants to resurrect its fortunes and rebuild its reputation.
As Novell gears up to report year-end earnings on Thursday -- amid plans to cut 19 percent of its workforce -- the company is also hard at work revamping how it does business. Novell plans to use the consultants acquired through its $266m purchase of consulting firm Cambridge Technology Partners earlier this year to sell Novell's network operating system, directory services and security software to big companies.
With the company's acquisition of Cambridge Technology, Novell plans to transition from being a provider of network operating system software to a company that sells an a la carte menu of software infrastructure, such as computer user authentication and systems administration tools, along with consulting that is custom-tailored to customers' needs.
Novell hopes that a healthy consulting organisation, one that will bring in hefty fees for specialised projects using the company's software, will help it offset slowing product revenue.
In the process, Novell hopes to finally shed its long-held reputation as a technology innovator largely unable to successfully transform new ideas into profits and move beyond its aging flagship product, NetWare.
Former chief executive Eric Schmidt, who left Novell in August for Web search company Google, struggled but ultimately failed to transition the company beyond its single-product strategy. Some former Novell executives said the company has never fully recovered from the fall from its NetWare heyday, when it dominated the market for network operating systems.
"They forever want to relive the glory of 1990," according to one former executive who requested anonymity. "Novell was immensely qualified to take advantage of every industry trend and took advantage of none of them."
Novell management is all too aware of that perception. "The problem that Novell got into was that while we had great technology, we couldn't sell it as 'solutions,'" said Stuart Nelson, Novell's chief operating officer. "What Cambridge really brings to the table are consultants. I think it strengthens the Novell brand."
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