German Universities Tap Novell for Infrastructure Needs

Novell today announced that state universities across the Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia in Germany have selected Novell for their critical IT infrastructure systems. The agreement will give 560,000 students and employees across 33 universities access to key enterprise management and Linux* services from Novell, including SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop. As a result, the universities of North Rhine Westphalia gain a powerful, yet flexible new infrastructure while benefiting from the lower costs and freedom of choice of Linux. Novell's offerings help the state universities of North Rhine Westphalia realize high cost savings, while at the same time benefiting from increased security and flexibility.

Educational institutes are facing many challenges today. The growing number of students, the increasing demand for real-time information, and tight budgets demand a scalable, flexible and cost-efficient IT infrastructure. At the same time, universities want to avoid vendor lock-in. After a comprehensive assessment, the universities of North Rhine Westphalia decided to leverage Novell® technology across the federal state. Novell was selected as a partner for its ideal combination of state-of-the-art technology, understanding of educational needs, and strong value. The decision-making process was coordinated by the leadership of Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf.

Novell is working closely with each of the universities of North Rhine Westphalia to customize solutions to meet their individual needs. The comprehensive deal covers a wide range of Linux and enterprise management technologies from Novell, including SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, Novell Open Enterprise Server, Novell Identity Manager and Novell ZENworks®. To date, 10 universities have already developed plans to implement Identity Manager to manage student, faculty and employee identities. Thirteen universities will use Novell ZENworks to manage their complex heterogeneous IT infrastructures, while nine universities are implementing Novell GroupWise® for collaboration. On the Linux front, 15 universities to date have committed to deploying SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

Novell and the universities of North Rhine Westphalia are promoting the use of Linux desktops by allowing staff and students to use SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 on their personal computers so they can test the benefits of Linux. Other German state government entities are also tapping Novell for infrastructure needs. Novell already has similar state-wide agreements with universities in the Federal States of Thuringia and Bavaria.

"We've had great success in the German university system, already supporting some 300,000 students in Bavaria and Thuringia with our infrastructure solutions," said Volker Smid, president of Novell EMEA. "With the addition of North Rhine Westphalia, more than 40 percent of all university students in Germany will be using Novell software. This is great validation of the powerful advantages open source can bring to large organizations."

For more information on Novell's technology offerings, visit www.novell.com/solutions. For information on Novell's solutions for the academic sector, please visit www.novell.com/industries/education.