12/96 News: Where Now, NetWare?
By Joseph C. Panettieri
When Microsoft announced its Internet strategy in December 1995,
critics said the company was late to the game. If that's the case,
then Novell must be hoping for an extra-inning contest. That company
is only now trying to reposition NetWare as an Internet server,
a la Microsoft's Windows NT Server 4.0 and Internet Information
Server (IIS).
Though NetWare remains the leading file and print server, sales
are sliding and the company has had an executive shuffle. To compensate,
Novell recently released IntranetWare-a rebranding of NetWare
4.11 with bundled Internet features.
It's unclear whether IntranetWare will rival Windows NT Server
or UNIX in the Internet/intranet server space-or even maintain
its edge as a file and print server. A recent survey of 50 large
companies found that 90 percent were using NetWare-but only 48
percent planned to still use it in three years.