January has rolled around again, and it’s time to hand out Wired Windows’ annual Network MVP Award. This virtual award (there’s no plaque, no trophy, no diamond ring and certainly no big check) is given each year to the person(s) who – in my estimation – have done the most to further their organization’s network agenda during the previous year.Just like most sports’ MVP awards, this one is entirely subjective. However, that doesn’t mean I hand it out to someone I think fondly of. Over the past few years, I’ve often referred to this person in a very sarcastic way, lambasting his people skills and technical knowledge. I’ve even taken him to task over his business skills. Nevertheless, he did something in 2003 that I never believed he could and that hadn’t been seen or heard in many a year.Jack Messman made Novell relevant once again.From even before March 2001 (when Messman became CEO at Novell) until March 2003, the most often used adjectives in stories about Novell were “former networking giant” or, simply, “irrelevant.” Last year, though, Messman started by acquiring Linux desktop powerhouse Ximian, then he announced that the upcoming NetWare 7 would run on a Linux kernel, and he followed that by purchasing SuSe for its Linux distribution. Metaphorically, he succeeded in grabbing the network community by the collar, shaking it thoroughly and making sure it paid attention to the former-and-will-be-again “networking giant.” It’s not just me who thinks so, by the way. Novell’s stock went up more than 200% in 2003, making it the fifth-best performer in the market. Only once before had Novell done as well, back in the “glory days” of 1991 when it was the second-best performing stock basking in the glow of an overwhelming edge in the LAN market and the looked-forward-to Novell Directory Service (now eDirectory).The company fell on hard times after its disastrous acquisitions in 1993 (Unix, Digital Research) and 1994 (WordPerfect), and it took almost 10 years to regain some of its former strength. But most companies don’t ever get the change to “regain” anything. We can’t know what the future will bring but for now the MVP choice is easy. So here’s to you, Jack Messman. You did good; you deserve this award. Tip of the weekPrevious winners of the Wired Windows’ Network MVP award have been HP’s Carly Fiorina (2001), Radiant Logic’s Michel Prompt (2000), Bowstreet’s Frank Moss and Jack Serfass (1999), Directory Enabled Networks co-chairs John Strassner and Steven Judd (1998), and Novell’s Eric Schmidt (1997 ). Related content news DRAM prices slide as the semiconductor industry starts to decline TSMC is reported to be cutting production runs on its mature process nodes as a glut of older chips in the market is putting downward pricing pressure on DDR4. By Sam Reynolds Nov 29, 2023 3 mins Flash Storage Flash Storage Technology Industry news analysis Cisco, AWS strengthen ties between cloud-management products Combining insights from Cisco ThousandEyes and AWS into a single view can dramatically reduce problem identification and resolution time, the vendors say. By Michael Cooney Nov 28, 2023 4 mins Network Management Software Network Management Software Networking opinion Is anything useful happening in network management? Enterprises see the potential for AI to benefit network management, but progress so far is limited by AI’s ability to work with company-specific network data and the range of devices that AI can see. By Tom Nolle Nov 28, 2023 7 mins Generative AI Network Management Software brandpost Sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking SASE, security, and the future of enterprise networks By Adam Foss, VicePresident Pre-sales Consulting, HPE Aruba Networking Nov 28, 2023 4 mins SASE Podcasts Videos Resources Events NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe