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Examining Novell and Red Hat: Page 5 of 10

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.


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.