* Why IBM would buy Novell
For well over 10 years I’ve been hearing the rumors that IBM would be buying Novell. Those rumors are back.
Doc Searls, editor of Linux Journal and someone Novell product users should be aware of, started the ball rolling in his “IT Garage” blog (https://garage.docsearls.com/node/592). In it, he speculated about Microsoft buying Red Hat. He summed up the attraction (very “simplistically” as he put it): “Microsoft could use Red Hat’s enterprise server business, and Red Hat isn’t one of the Linux companies (such as Novell) pushing hard against the Windows desktop.”
Now Doc is thought of as a visionary, but no one considers him hallucinogenic so when he trots out an idea like this the ensuing speculation can run wild. It goes like this:
Microsoft makes a bid for Red Hat. IBM, an early investor in Red Hat, makes a counter-offer. A war of press releases occurs and Microsoft is found to have the deeper pockets. Novell, also an earlier investor in Red Hat, stays neutral on the sidelines. “Neutral” just like the U.S. was in 1940.
Once Redmond merges with Red Hat’s good old boys in Raleigh, the rumor goes, IBM will be licking its wounds and also looking to preserve its place in the Linux/open source world. Novell becomes the perfect match. First, of course, is SuSE, which IBM is already using, but there’s also MONO, the open source .Net equivalent. Of course this begs the question why wouldn’t Microsoft port .Net to its newly acquired Red Hat platform – and thus, by extension, all Linux platforms. But when you’re speculating in rumors, logical questions are seldom asked.
Even before getting to the consequences of Microsoft buying Red Hat – and the tenuous thread leading to IBM buying Novell – it would be good to examine the underpinnings that Searls said would lead to Bill Gates making the acquisition. But since that’s got more to do with Windows networking, I’ll talk about that in this week’s Windows Networking newsletter. If you aren’t a subscriber to that one, check the archives (https://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/nt/index.html) on Friday for the online version.
As long as IBM and Novell are independent businesses there’ll be rumors about a merger or acquisition. But as far into the future as I can see the rumors will stay idle speculation and won’t turn into reality.
