Governments Turn to Novell to Deliver Online Services, Improve Internal Operations

• Long a mainstay in government networks, Novell Net services software helps governments with rapid, secure delivery of electronic services to citizens
• Local, state, and national governments find Novell security and reliability compelling
• City of the Hague the latest to adopt Novell Net services for property tax system

Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net services software, is helping governments at all levels make the move to the Net. Already a major player in the government network arena, Novell has been tapped by a number of governments - local, state, and national - to help them develop new ways to securely and effectively deliver government services online. In addition, government entities are using Novell® Net service software to improve their internal operations, as well. The City of the Hague joins a growing list of government entities - the city of Toronto, Bracknell Forest Borough Council, the U.S. Census Bureau, the UK Ministry of Defence, and more - who have chosen Novell to launch their eGovernment initiatives. Novell technology is currently in place in over 40 of the 50 United States.

Like most organizations today, governments are looking to technology both to streamline internal processes and improve the delivery of information and services to their citizens. This is happening at the local level for basic services like car registrations and driver license renewals. At the state and national levels, governments are looking at ways to bring complex processes such as tax filing and procurement online. The strengths of Novell's Net services software match well with government requirements across the board:

 

• Security/Privacy - Governments have access to personal data that must be protected.
• Reliability - Government systems can't go down.
• Ease of use - Governments need to manage complex networks with limited resources.
• Scale - Governments have the largest customer base of any organizations.
• Legacy integration - Governments have vast technology investments on multiple platforms that they need to leverage.

Novell's Net services software addresses these key government concerns and more. Based on the award-winning NDS® eDirectory, Novell's Net services software has been tested for years in critical production environments, and it is known for its proven reliability and security. NDS eDirectory provides a single point of management for complex networks, and helps integrate legacy systems, saving human and financial IT resources. Finally, eDirectory is the most scalable directory service on the market. A European government recently selected eDirectory for a 35 million-seat project, easily the largest directory deployment ever.

"Novell has long been a mainstay in government networks, both in the U.S. and internationally, because of our proven security, reliability, and strong management tools," said Rich Nortz, senior vice president of sales for Novell. "Not surprisingly, many governments are turning to Novell to help them take the next step - opening up their networks to the public to deliver services more efficiently. Because Novell helps tie together the operating systems that exist in most governments today, we can save them significant amounts of money while also improving their ability to deliver."

Given the breadth of government activities across the globe, Novell Net services are being tapped in a variety of ways. Local governments in Bracknell Forest, England, and Toronto, Canada, have implemented programs leveraging Novell Net services both to manage their internal networks more efficiently and to create secure online access for citizen services, ranging from driver's license renewals to booking recreational facilities to tax payments.

The City of the Hague in the Netherlands has just made a similar decision to base its electronic outreach to its 450,000 citizens on Novell, beginning with an online process to handle property tax valuation. Using Novell's eDirectory and iChain products to ensure citizens' secure access to the network, The Hague has also tapped Novell Consulting to deploy Novell's DirXML integration software to tie together its Windows NT* and IBM AS/400* servers, making managing the network easier. "If someone feels the basis for the tax is incorrect, he or she can react online" explains Peter Vreugdenhil, head of property valuation for the Municipal Taxes Service of The Hague. "Previously they often had to take a half-day off work for a face-to-face meeting. We have achieved a greater degree of accountability and openness with its citizens. The large number of visits to the site proves that there definitely was a need."

At the national level, government agencies like the U.S. Bureau of Census and the U.K. Ministry of Defence have tapped Novell to improve the way they do business. In 2000, The Census Bureau managed its 5,000 permanent employees and 7,000 Decennial employees in 554 offices throughout the country using Novell Net services, a critical job during the 2000 census. Cap Gemini, Ernst and Young has included Novell's iChain security service as a part of a solution to help bring the U.K. Ministry of Defence's procurement process online.

Novell is currently working with a number of state governments in the U.S. on efforts to help build local online communities and address growing concerns about digital divide. Novell will be announcing innovative new projects in this arena in the coming months. Complementing its commitment to provide leading Net services solutions to public sector entities, Novell is engaged in the debate on important technology policy issues. Check out Novell's government relations site at http://www.novell.com/company/govrelations/kppi.html.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL), is the leading provider of Net services software that delivers services to secure and power all types of networks-the Internet, intranets, and extranets; wired to wireless; corporate and public-across leading operating systems. Novell's Net services software provides the foundation for one Net-a single global network that supports new applications and forms of business. Worldwide channel, consulting, education, developer and technical support programs, along with strategic alliances, combine Novell Net services software with third-party products and services to form complete Net solutions.

For information on Novell's complete range of products and services, contact Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272), or visit Novell's Web site at http://www.novell.com. Press may access Novell announcements and company information on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com/pressroom. In addition, detailed comparisons between Novell products and competitive offerings from other vendors are available on the Web at http://www.novell.com/competitive.

Novell and NDS are registered trademarks, and eDirectory, iChain, and DirXML are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. * All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.