Novell Solution provides competitive advantage for IDACORP Energy

Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net business solutions, is providing IDACORP Energy employees with secure anytime, anywhere access to business-critical data and resources. Tapping the business expertise of Novell's eServices division, Cambridge Technology Partners, and the directory acumen of Novell® Consulting, IDACORP Energy has rolled out a customized solution that gives its users reliable access to personalized IDACORP Energy resources and data via a secure Web portal. The seamlessly integrated, multiplatform solution uses a wide range of Novell solutions — including Novell NetWare® 6, Novell Secure Access™, Novell ZENworks® for Desktops, Novell Portal Services and Novell eDirectory™ — and gives IDACORP Energy scalability, reliability and 100-percent availability.

IDACORP Energy, a subsidiary of IDACORP, Inc., is a wholesale marketer of energy and energy-related services throughout the United States and Canada employing experts in risk management, commodities trading, and energy supply and transmission. IDACORP Energy first turned to Cambridge Technology Partners to conduct an internal security assessment of its infrastructure, as well as review policies and procedures to determine the best solutions and services to maximize the value of its IT investment.

"The synergy between Novell and Cambridge was unbeatable," said Tami Spangler, IDACORP Energy director of information technology. "Cambridge's recommendations offered timely and accurate insights and provided us with the blueprint to augment Novell's superior technology and solutions."

IDACORP Energy's multiplatform environment — Microsoft Windows* 2000, UNIX*, Solaris* and Oracle* — did not offer the high availability, scalability and reliability needed to support the rapidly growing energy marketing operation. IDACORP Energy needed a stable, multiplatform solution that would synchronize and increase functionality of its current technology as well as streamline desktop management. The energy company selected Novell to address its business needs.

To unify IDACORP Energy's existing resources into one system and increase interoperability, Novell Consulting used Novell Account Management to synchronize Novell eDirectory to the company's existing Microsoft Active Directory*. IDACORP Energy further increased its infrastructure efficiency by deploying ZENworks for Desktops, which allows the company to remotely install and update software throughout numerous facilities, resulting in administrative savings that have already surpassed implementation costs. ZENworks offers centralized management and provides users with customized access to work-related applications and documents from any workstation.

Known for stability and cross-platform capabilities, Novell eDirectory and NetWare 6 were implemented to increase interoperability by permitting the organization's existing resources to seamlessly function as a unified system. NetWare 6 produced a significant impact on IDACORP Energy's bottom line by enabling 100-percent availability, improved efficiency and enhanced productivity. The company leverages Novell Cluster Services™ in NetWare to manage more systems with fewer servers, while achieving zero downtime.

"NetWare 6 has already proven itself more stable than Windows 2000," said Jim Acevedo, IDACORP Energy network and infrastructure manager. "Novell iFolder™ offers high availability and encryption of corporate applications and data, while iPrint simplifies and secures remote printing by allowing users to print across multiple networks and operations systems. Native File Access grants access to corporate data and resources from any type of environment."

Through Novell Portal Services, the vast amount of data processed by IDACORP Energy is now accessible to employees via a Web portal. Novell iChain® ensures data integrity and security while granting personalized access to resources, documents and applications, authenticating users from profiles stored in eDirectory. In addition, Novell SecureLogin makes company marketers more efficient by providing single sign-on to their Internet-based applications.

"We needed a secure, stable environment and turned to Novell for the answer," Spangler said. "Novell has delivered on its promise not only by reducing administrative costs but also by creating a more reliable network environment."