April 12, 2005

Troy Wild: Novell's SMB Warrior Fighting With Linux And Resellers

Troy Wild is Novell's product manager for small business solutions and although I would think he felt that he has an uphill battle, he sounds positive and excited about the opportunities ahead for Novell in the small business segment, especially in two areas - Linux and Resellers.

As Linux grows in use smaller business will demand good products that are Linux compatible. Novell's Small Business Suite is a product made by a stable company, that provides a network platform for small businesses.

Novell's reseller channel can take Novell's Small Business Suite and create low cost but stable networking solutions for small businesses. Like most IT vendors, resellers are an important part in Novell's strategy and providing them with tools and support is important.

The SMB networking competition is fierce with Microsoft Small Business Server, Nitix, Emerge Core's IT In A Box, Mirra Personal Server and others, but there's plenty of room in the SMB space for several vendors offering similar but different solutions.

Regarding Linux in particular, Troy is not alone in seeing the fast growth of Linux. But what's slowing Linux's growth is the need for more support, which Troy refers to as an "ecosystem" of support. In the same way that Microsoft has built an entire network of resellers, software vendors, support (from Microsoft and others) - Linux needs to continue to build a stable community of support.

Troy will work to offer software for core business functions like CRM and finance but also vertical applications for doctors, real estate agents and others are also available for Linux.

Smaller business who use Novell's Small Business Suite can seamlessly use Novell GroupWise as their messaging platform and Novell's Linux desktop for their client operating system. If you're looking for a great product without Microsoft's logo, Novell makes a great alternative.

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