| Novell | 122 E. 1700 South, Provo, UT 84606 |
| www.novell.com | (801) 861-7000 Fax: (801) 228-7077 |
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"Everything's Connected," is this computer networking company's slogan, and from their point of view, it's true. An estimated 55 million people connect to more than three million Novell networks. More than half of all networks run on Novell software, most of which use the NetWare operating system. The company was founded in Utah in 1980 to produce personal computer peripherals, and moved into PC networking a couple of years later. Growing rapidly, Novell went public in 1985, and in the first part of the decade, acquired several well-known technology companies, including Unix Systems Laboratories (1993), WordPerfect Corporation (1994), and the Quattro Pro software line (1994).
Networn out?
Unfortunately for Novell, being connected competitively with Microsoft had meant declining sales during 1997 and early 1998, tumbling stock prices and large-scale layoffs. Efforts to compete with Microsoft in desktop productivity software proved to be ill-advised. After increases every year since the company's inception, revenues fell 30 percent in 1996. The company's stock price also plummeted. Its WordPerfect and Unix Systems Laboratories were eventually sold off. In May 1997, the company announced that it would lay off about 1,000 employees - nearly 18 percent of its workforce.
Schmidt to the rescue
But the company's fortunes seemed to have taken a turn for the better under the leadership of new CEO Eric Schmidt, a renowned techno-whiz hired in March 1997. Schmidt's strategy has been to focus the company on system-management and administration software. The much-anticipated network operating system Novell Netware 5.0, released in the fourth quarter of 1998, sold well, in large part thanks to Microsoft's delays in releasing its new Windows 2000. Sales of new products such as ZENworks, ManageWise, GroupWise and BorderManager are encouraging.
Novell's remarkable turnaround was also a result of the company's focus on Novell Directory Services (NDS). Directories are powerful repositories of personal information stored in computer databases. Directories ease IT departments' administration of users and applications, increase security, control and monitor bandwidth use, and oversee systems development. Despite competition from the likes of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems in this technology, Novell managed to remain the industry leader.
Industry experts agree that, sooner or later, the technology will extend far beyond corporate America, into the basic infrastructure of all telecommunications systems -- directories could one day contain everything from your credit card numbers to your favorits Internet sites to your shoe size. Novell has already released a directory system for individual users called "Digital Me" that mirrors the network management software it has sold to power users for many years. It allows individuals to create a profile that they can access from any computer, setting parameters for what kind of information they want to disclose about themselves to web sites. But the new directory technology remains to be exploited. For the likes of Eric Schmidt, the sky is the limit.
Washington thundershowers...in Utah?
Nevertheless, Novell's future remains uncertain, if not shaky. Windows 2000 has arrived, and Microsoft's Active Directory will surely threaten Novell's dominance in directory services. Furthermore, industry observers have pointed out that although sales were up, they were only up in the context of the company's recent poor performance. Novell announced in April a drop in both revenues and profits, saying that they were not going to meet analyst's expectations. The problem was that Novell was simply not responding to Microsoft's Windows 2000 and Linux's networking software, and was being snake-bitten by its history of failing to recognize new opportunities while maintaining the strength of current products.
Putting up an unmbrella Novell has announced a new marketing strategy focusing on its DENIM and "oneNet" directives. No, not Levi's, but "Directory Enabled Network Infrastructure Model". Novell hopes to develop a network without firewalls so that outsiders can access a company's intranet without gaining access to valuable information. It will then build a directory of users so that companies can better tailor their services to individual consumers. Novell sees this interaction as the future of e-commerce. To be certain, this is a massive reorganization of a company which reinvented itself three years ago. Analysts and investors are extremely weary, however most think that Schmidt is up to the task. The challenge for Schmidt in the coming months will be to assert Novell's dominance in newer Internet-driven technologies by rolling out new products associated with "oneNet" -- if he can't, Novell might be headed out to sea.
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As a large corporation, Novell offers positions in virtually every field. Resumes should be sent via a toll-free fax number or mailed to company headquarters in Utah. Job openings are posted at www.novell.com/job and are categorized by location and field.
Opportunities for affiliation with the company in a non-employee capacity are also numerous. Novell offers certification for support and service providers, so they can prove they are familiar with the company's systems. More than 200,000 people have been certified at either Novell Authorized Education Centers or at high schools and colleges offering courses on the company's product. Novell also has a worldwide network of more than 25,000 resellers of their products.
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Novell's culture varies depending on where one is stationed. A well-documented split between the company's headquarters in Utah and its offices in San Jose, Calif, is confirmed by one employee in San Jose, who described the Utah offices as "clean-cut and white," and San Jose as "considerably more diverse." The employee hastens to say that discrimination is not a company trait - an assessment backed up by others. Novell has diversity training that addresses sexual orientation, and extends benefits to same-sex partners. One insider remarks that Novell still has "a very political culture."
In general, dress is "casual but not ragged," and although most employees work more than 40 hours a week, "Novell is not a sweat shop by any standards." Employees report outstanding benefits: full compensation for education programs while with the company; long vacations (19 personal vacation days and 12 company holidays for new employees), and stock options (although, with prices dropping, this benefit has been a detriment for employees recently). In late 1997, Novell repriced employee stock options downward and reworked the bonus plan to make sure the bonuses would be paid. Also, "Novell pays 100 percent of tuition, books, software and fees for schooling."
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