By Jo Best, 9 September 2003 13:39
NEWS Novell has admitted competing with Microsoft would be "arrogant and pretentious" and that customers "don't give a damn" about the rivalry. Speaking to silicon.com at Novell's BrainShare conference in Barcelona, Gerard Van Kemmel, European president of Novell, said the company is in transition and that any move to open source products will be gradual. "Linux won't be implemented suddenly and Novell won't suddenly move to Linux. Linux is one part of the offeringÂ…it happens to be a hot topic, but if it boosts opportunities then I'm glad about it," he said. Van Kemmel said Novell's products complemented Microsoft's and added value for those running Microsoft products, particularly through Novell's desktop management offering. "Customers don't give a damn [about the rivalry]. The 'us and them' debate has moved on." Van Kemmel said the stabilisation of the company's situation in the US and stringent cost-cutting measures that saw Novell lose around ten per cent of its workforce have revitalised the company, and left it in a position to communicate better with its key customers in Europe. With the increased convergence of security, identity and web services, Van Kemmel also admitted that Novell may be in the market for an acquisition. But he warned against expecting a "big bang" acquisition and said any purchase would be small. One key contract win in the UK is Leeds City Council, which is discussing its requirements with Novell in order to implement a more robust infrastructure for online interaction and transactions to meet the 2005 e-government deadline for putting public sector services online.
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