Customers Gain with Novell Open Workgroup Suite

Organizations around the world are cutting costs and enjoying the flexibility of open source software with the Novell® Open Workgroup Suite. Customers such as the Oregon Department of Human Services; City of Norrköping, Sweden; Girosol Corp.; City of Detroit, Mich.; and Hines Corporation are taking advantage of the first workgroup suite for the open enterprise that provides a flexible and cost-effective solution based on proven open source and standards-based software. The Novell Open Workgroup Suite includes server and desktop components with powerful management tools, collaboration capabilities and the most advanced open source office products in the market.

"Oregon is at the forefront of state and local governments deploying open source software, and the Department of Human Services is using that software to help Oregon citizens become healthy, secure and self-sufficient," said Bill Crowell, CIO of the Oregon Department of Human Services. "We're always looking to reduce costs and provide alternatives that better meet our needs, as evidenced by our current evaluation of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10. The Novell Open Workgroup Suite provides the advantages we're looking for, with the backing of a trusted, reliable vendor."

Roger Eriksson, IT strategy manager for the City of Norrköping, said, "Novell has always been a reliable partner, and Novell's suite is helping make our IT environment more efficient while we provide better service to our citizens. We've moved every application we can to Linux servers from Windows, and the increase in uptime is a boon to IT staff, employees and citizens."

Omar Cassola, CEO of Girosol Corp., said, "Girosol provides national and international wire money transfer services in 48 countries and 28 states, and we depend on a mix of personal service and cutting-edge technology to offer better price, faster payment and superior reliability to customers. The Novell Open Workgroup Suite helps reduce costs and increase reliability, while leveraging the benefits of open source. Our direction now is to migrate all of our systems and desktops to SUSE Linux Enterprise, and with Novell's suite, we can do it at our own pace."

Novell Open Workgroup Suite features two configuration options for customers. For deployment on Linux* servers and any desktop platform, the suite includes Novell Open Enterprise Server (including SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server) for the networking and storage platform, Novell GroupWise® for collaboration, Novell ZENworks® Suite for cross-platform systems management, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and the popular OpenOffice.org for Windows* and Linux for end-user productivity. The suite is also available in a cross-platform version that allows deployment of the same components on the Novell NetWare® platform.

Novell Open Workgroup Suite Value Pack Program

The new Novell Open Workgroup Suite Value Pack program entitles customers who purchase the Novell Open Workgroup Suite or renew their maintenance contracts between March 19 and Aug. 31, 2007, to purchase select third-party products at a discount. These products – which include GWAVA* Retain*, McAfee* LinuxShield*, Omni Technology Solutions' Linux Desktop Multiplier for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, and Syncsort* Backup Express – add value to one or more components of the Novell Open Workgroup Suite. For more information and a list of the Value Pack program products and discounts, visit http://www.novell.com/products/openworkgroupsuite/valuepack.html.

With the Novell Open Workgroup Suite, Novell continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting customers' heterogeneous IT environments. For example, customers can save significantly by switching from their proprietary office productivity suite to the award-winning OpenOffice.org office suite, running on Windows desktops. For more information on the Novell Open Workgroup Suite, its components and interoperability, visit http://www.novell.com/nows.