Novell rebranding attempts to better define company

Novell Wednesday re-branded its entire catalog of software products into three categories, a move the company says will refocus and redefine the company.

Novell Wednesday re-branded its entire catalog of software products into three categories, a move the company says will refocus and redefine the company.

The new categories — Novell exteNd, Novell Nsure and Novell Nterprise — group Web-based application development software in one category, secure identity management products in another and cross-platform network services in the third. Also re-branded as of Wednesday are Novell’s consulting and services, which are now known as Novell Ngage.

“Over the past two years we’ve made some significant changes and acquisitions and have expanded into new areas that, to be blunt, have left the market confused about what Novell is,” said Bruce Lowry, a spokesman for Novell. “This announcement is all about telling you what Novell is now.”

The two acquisitions to which Lowry referred were SilverStream Software, a specialist in Web services application development tools that  Novell acquired in July, and Cambridge Technology Partners, a consultancy which it acquired in July 2001. In addition, Novell has been focusing its research and development efforts on making products that previously ran exclusively on the NetWare platform compatible with Windows 2000, Windows NT, Linux, Solaris and AIX.

Chris Stone, vice chairman within the office of the CEO of Novell, said all of Novell’s development, marketing, sales and consulting resources are now aligned around Novell Nsure, Novell exteNd, Novell Nterprise and Novell Ngage.

Novell last week released details about Novell exteNd Version 4.0, which is a development suite for building, integrating and deploying Web applications and Web services, within the Novell exteNd group of products. At the same time the company said it would unleash a new strategy, grouping its products in the areas of Web-based application development, secure identity management, cross-platform network services and consulting.

The rebranding places SilverStream’s eXtend product suite into the Novell exteNd category, which comprises software designed to help companies rapidly build advanced Web applications that leverage existing systems to deliver relevant services to other businesses they deal with.

Novell describes Novell Nsure as software that businesses can use to deliver secure identity management, and it says Novell Nterprise provides enterprises with secure, scalable and reliable cross-platform networking services, giving customers freedom of choice and helping them profit from existing investments more effectively.

The three categories fit under Novell’s one Net strategy, rolled out in February 2000, which is Novell’s concept of a virtual network that enables access to all types of networks such as intranets, extranets and the Internet, through a single login.