Editing Novell (section)

=== Linux ===
==== SuSE and Open Enterprise Server ====
[[Image:Suse Linux GmbH.jpg|thumb|upright|right|SuSE Linux headquarters and Novell office in Nuremberg in 2007]]

In August 2003, Novell acquired [[Ximian]], a developer of [[Open-source software|open source]] Linux applications ([[Novell Evolution|Evolution]], [[Red Carpet (software)|Red Carpet]] and [[Mono (software)|Mono]]). This acquisition signaled Novell's plans to move its collective product set onto a [[Linux kernel]].

In November 2003, Novell acquired Linux OS developer [[SUSE S.A.|SuSE]], which led to a major shift of power in Linux distributions. [[IBM]] also invested {{US$|50&nbsp;million}} to show support of the SuSE acquisition.

In mid-2003, Novell released "Novell Enterprise Linux Services" (NNLS), which ported some of the services traditionally associated with NetWare to [[SUSE Linux Enterprise Server]] (SLES) version 8.  NetWare 6.5, released in 2003, would prove to be the last version of that product.<ref name="Proven_2013"/>

In November 2004, Novell released the Linux-based enterprise desktop [[Novell Linux Desktop]] 9, based on Ximian Desktop and SUSE Linux Professional 9.1. This was Novell's first attempt to get into the enterprise desktop market.

The successor product to NetWare, [[Novell Open Enterprise Server]] (OES), was released in March 2005. OES offers all the services previously hosted by NetWare 6.5, and added the choice of delivering those services using either a NetWare 6.5 or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 kernel.<ref name="Proven_2013"/> The release was aimed to persuade NetWare customers to move to Linux.

In August 2005, Novell created the [[openSUSE]] project, based on SUSE Professional.<ref name="Gasperson_2005_SUSE"/> openSUSE can be downloaded freely and is also available as boxed retail product.<ref name="openSUSE_2013"/>

==== Stagnation ====
[[Image:Novell SuSE.jpg|thumb|left|Novell with SuSE at the Invex expo in Brno, Czech Republic in 2006]]

From 2003 through 2005 Novell released many products across its portfolio, with the intention of arresting falling market share and to move away from dependencies on other Novell products, but the launches were not as successful as Novell had hoped. In late 2004, Chris Stone again left the company, after an apparent control issue with then CEO Jack Messman.<ref name="Businessweek_Cold"/> In an effort to cut costs, Novell announced a round of layoffs in late 2005. While revenue from its Linux business continued to grow, the growth was not fast enough to offset the decrease in revenue of NetWare. While the company's revenue was not falling rapidly, it wasn't growing, either. Lack of clear direction or effective management meant that Novell took longer than expected to complete its restructuring.

In June 2006, chief executive Jack Messman and chief finance officer Joseph Tibbetts were fired, with [[Ronald Hovsepian]], Novell's president and chief operating officer, appointed chief executive, and Dana Russell, vice-president of finance and corporate controller, appointed interim CFO.

==== "Your Linux is Ready" ====
[[Image:Novell booth at Software Freedom Day Beijing 2007.jpg|thumb|right|Novell's booth at a 2007 event in Beijing, showing slogan]]
In August 2006, Novell released the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 (SLE 10) series. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was the first enterprise class Linux server to offer virtualization based on the [[Xen]] hypervisor. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (popularly known as SLED) featured a new user-friendly GUI and [[Xgl|XGL]]-based 3D display capabilities. The release of SLE 10 was marketed with the phrase "Your Linux is Ready", meant to convey that Novell's Linux offerings were ready for the enterprise. In late September 2006 Novell announced a [[Real-time operating system|real-time]] version of SLES called "SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time" (SLERT), based on technology from [[Concurrent Computer Corporation]].

====Legal actions and reactions====
Beginning in 2003, Novell became a key player in the [[SCO–Linux disputes]].<ref name="CW_sides_2010"/>  The case ''[[SCO Group, Inc. v. Novell, Inc.]]'' revolved around the interpretation of the 1995 asset-transfer agreements between Novell and the Santa Cruz Operation, a predecessor company to [[The SCO Group]] – when Novell got out of the Unix business as part of abandoning its effort to take on Microsoft on all fronts – and a 1996 amendment that had attempted to clarify that agreement.<ref name="IW_Confusing_2003"/>  The SCO Group believed that the transfer included ownership of, and copyrights for, the source code for the Unix operating system (which they in turn claimed Linux had infringed upon).  Novell counter-sued, claiming that the asset-transfer agreements did not, in fact, transfer the intellectual property rights SCO sought.

The case attracted considerable industry and media attention, with the [[free and open-source software]] (FOSS) community solidly on the side of Novell.<ref name="CW_sides_2010"/>  There were a series of court rulings, most of which went in Novell's favor and which sent The SCO Group into bankruptcy.<ref name="SLT_Trial_2010"/>  The matter was settled finally in 2010 when a jury trial in Utah ruled that the copyrights belonged to Novell.<ref name="CW_sides_2010"/><ref name="SLT_Trial_2010"/>  (Novell made no material use of the Unix ownership once it was ruled theirs, as by then their interests were with SuSE Linux.)

In 2004, Novell sued Microsoft, asserting it had engaged in antitrust violations regarding Novell's WordPerfect business in 1994 through 1996. Novell's lawsuit was subsequently dismissed by the United States District Court in July 2012 after it concluded that the claims were without merit.<ref name="Rosenblatt_2012"/>

On 2 November 2006, the two companies announced a joint collaboration agreement, including coverage of their respective products for each other's customers.<ref name="Microsoft_2006_Novell"/><ref name="Microsoft_Ballmer"/> They also promised to work more closely to improve compatibility of software, setting up a joint research facility. Executives of both companies expressed the hope that such cooperation would lead to better compatibility between [[Microsoft Office]] and [[OpenOffice.org]] and better [[platform virtualization|virtualization]] techniques.

Microsoft CEO [[Steve Ballmer]] said of the deal, "This set of agreements will really help bridge the divide between open-source and proprietary source software."<ref name="CNET_Pact"/>
The deal involved upfront payment of {{US$|348&nbsp;million}} from Microsoft to Novell for patent cooperation and [[SUSE Linux Enterprise Server|SLES]] subscription. Additionally, Microsoft agreed to spend around {{US$|46&nbsp;million}} yearly, over the next 5&nbsp;years, for marketing and selling a combined SLES/Windows Server offering and related virtualization solutions, while Novell paid at least {{US$|40&nbsp;million}} yearly to Microsoft, in the same period.<ref name="LW_Novell"/>

One of the first results of this partnership was Novell adapting the OpenXML/ODF Translator<ref name="ODF_Translator"/> for use in OpenOffice.org.<ref name="Novell_Download"/>

Microsoft released two public covenants not to sue users of the open source [[Moonlight (runtime)|Moonlight]] runtime—a workalike for the [[Microsoft Silverlight]] rich media platform—for patent infringement. One condition common to each covenant was that no Moonlight implementation be released under the [[GPLv3]] free software license.<ref name="Microsoft_2009_Moonlight"/><ref name="Microsoft_2012_Collaboration"/>

[[Image:Novell booth at Solutions Linux 2009.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Despite controversy with some in the community, Novell persisted: its booth at Solutions Linux 2009 in Paris.]]
In contrast to the SCO case, here initial reaction from members of the free and open source software community over the patent protection was mostly critical, with expressions of concern that Novell had "sold out" and doubt that the [[GNU GPL]] would allow distribution of code, including the Linux kernel, under this exclusive agreement.<ref name="Groklaw_2006_Sellout"/><ref name="Groklaw_2006_Reactions"/><ref name="LWN_2006_Responses"/>

In a letter to the FOSS development community on 9 November 2006, [[Bradley M. Kuhn]], CTO of the [[Software Freedom Law Center]] (SFLC), described the agreement as "worse than useless".<ref name="Kuhn_2006_Letter"/> In a separate development, the chairman of the SFLC, [[Eben Moglen]], reported that Novell had offered cooperation with the SFLC to permit a confidential audit to determine the compliance of the agreement with the GPL (version 2).<ref name="Sanders_Novell"/> [[Richard Stallman]], founder of the [[Free Software Foundation]], said in November 2006 that changes coming with version 3 of the GPL would preclude such deals.<ref name="Stallman_2006_GPL3"/> When the final revision of the third version of the GPL license was decided, the deal between Microsoft and Novell was [[grandfather clause|grandfather]]ed in. A clause within GPLv3 allows companies to distribute GPLv3 software even if they have made such patent partnerships in the past, as long as the partnership deal was made before 28 March 2007 (GPLv3 Section 11 paragraph 7<ref name="FSF_GPL3"/>).

On 12 November 2006, the [[Samba (software)|Samba]] team expressed strong disapproval of the announcement{{clarify|date=December 2017}} and asked Novell to reconsider.<ref name="Samba_Novell"/> The team included an employee of Novell, [[Jeremy Allison]], who confirmed in a comment on [[Slashdot]] that the statement was agreed on by all members of the team,<ref name="Slashdot_Samba"/> and later quit his job at Novell in protest.<ref name="Groklaw_2007_Allison"/>

In early February 2007, Reuters reported that the Free Software Foundation had announced that it was reviewing Novell's right to sell Linux versions, and was considering banning Novell from selling Linux.<ref name="Finkle_Novell"/> However, spokesman Eben Moglen later said that he was quoted out of context,<ref name="LFD_2012"/> and was only noting that GPL version 3 would be designed to block similar deals in the future.

==== Intelligent workload management ====
In December 2009, Novell announced its intention to lead the market in [[intelligent workload management]], with products designed to manage diverse workloads in a heterogeneous data center.<ref name="ITM_2009"/> Seeing this approach as a key to giving customers confidence in the area of [[cloud computing security]], Novell restructured its business around the new initiative.<ref name="CWeekly_identity_2010"/> Technologies from Novell's 2008 acquisition of Canadian company [[PlateSpin]] were involved.<ref name="ZDN_identity_2010"/> Key to this also was the use of [[SUSE Studio]], an online Linux software creation tool through which users could develop their own [[Linux distribution]], [[software appliance]], or [[virtual appliance]].<ref name="ITM_2009"/> Hovsepian said, "Cloud computing is a megatrend that matches the company's core competencies. ... We've developed our Suse appliance tool for application vendors [who have brand new applications being written or built for the cloud]. This product allows them to create a virtual appliance. They won't have to rewrite and retest the application once it is in the cloud and it allows firms to host their application on other clouds too."<ref name="CWeekly_identity_2010"/> But Novell's approach would also support other cloud environments such as those based around [[Hyper-V]], [[VMware]], and [[Xen]].<ref name="ITM_2009"/>

Partnerships in connection with intelligent workload management were announced with [[SAP]], [[Citrix Systems]], [[Ingres (database)|Ingres]], and others.<ref name="CWeekly_identity_2010"/> Reaction of industry analysts to the move varied, with some positive and some more mixed.<ref name="CWeekly_identity_2010"/> Among the more skeptical was Dan Kusnetzky of [[ZDNet]], who wrote that Novell "clearly hopes that putting its products together in new ways and invoking today's catch phrases and buzz words will appear fresh and new."<ref name="ZDN_identity_2010"/> While Novell did have strong technologies in this computing realm, it struggled to attract the same market attention that competing product lines from the likes of Microsoft or VMware held.<ref name="ZDN_identity_2010"/>