Blog Entry

Submitted by sveld on 14 May 2009 - 3:04pm.

Riva is key to GroupWise and could be really making a difference in the future. Would be awesome if it would be part of GroupWise itself.

Sebastiaan Veld

Submitted by sveld on 14 May 2009 - 2:59pm.

"Messenger did not take a big step forward during Bonsai, but it is still key to our overall strategy"

To be honest, it did not take a step at all. So, around GW8 SP1 will there be an updated version for GWM. The (key) feature all my customers are looking for in GWM is Single Sign On like the GW client itself has when the NW client is installed (so, not using SecureLogin).
They want to force a login on GMW, this as a replacement (and user friendly) alternative for the 'messaging system' in the Novell Client.

Any plan's for a web based, GroupWise Webaccess enbled/integrated component for GWM for those that (need to) work online over http?

Thanks, Sebastiaan Veld

Submitted by ecyoung on 19 May 2009 - 2:55pm.

This is good to hear. Some people may not be aware, but Novell made a committment around the time of Groupwise 7's release, that they would continue to support Groupwise thru 2015. There were several Novell presentations over the last 3-4 years that stated this also.

Of course, some people may also remember the statement from Novell that they would support IPX for the next 100 years ;-)

Submitted by bgibson on 1 June 2009 - 6:06am.

Looks good. I don't see Tumbleweed as a partner. Will you be partnering with them?

Thanks

Submitted by jsauve on 2 July 2009 - 11:07am.

So your boss is leaning towards Exchange just because BES 5.0 will support it? What's wrong with BES 4.x and Groupwise? Works great! Exactly what more do you need?

As for your points, I'll throw in my two cents:

1) Yeah, IT'S THEIR BUSINESS!! Ever notice how Microsoft can't sell their products without mentioning the word "Windows"?

2) Head over to this link, read it, show it to you boss, etc - if this doesn't help in the current economic climate, then you're lucky you work for a company with so much money to waste! http://www.novell.com/company/blogs/global/?p=32

3) Not sure why you're saying that...I find that Dean has been forthcoming in his blogs and absolutely great in keeping us up-to-date with what his team is working on. Don't forget that Novell is a publicly traded company; they can't just go out and blab anything they like!

Sorry if I sound a little aggressive, it's just that I'm a HUGE Groupwise fan, and from experience most reasons for moving away from Groupwise to Exchange can be fairly easily addressed.

We're a Workgroup Partner, and we work with a lot of Groupwise customers - so find yourself a strong partner that can help you keep Groupwise and make it work for you.

Submitted by dlythgoe on 7 July 2009 - 2:06pm.

Hi Lisa,

Sorry for the long delayed response. Not sure why I missed your post, but then I have been on vacation...at least that is the excuse I will use :)

I will try and respond to all of the posts...starting with this one...

I believe your question is 'Why can MS/IBM get more support or attention from RIM than Novell?".

There are some practical answers and then there are some technical ones.

- Practical...MS/IBM simply get more attention from their partners. As with any company, priorities are set for different reasons and from different perspectives. RIM is a very solid and supportive partner for GroupWise and Novell. They attend our events, help market/sell our products along side theirs and have significant marketing campaigns and incentives directly targeting our customers.

Technical.... GroupWise has a different API set and schema that must be implemented specifically by our partners. This is something we have improved significantly with our introduction of SOAP. RIM is still in the process of adopting SOAP and moving from one of our other APIs. Development will be much easier and probably quicker, once this transition is complete. The transition required RIM to completely rewrite their GW BES Server to accommodate this change. So moving to 5.0 was not simply additive, but hit in the middle of an already very involved transition.

I hope that gives you the detail you expected.

Dean

Submitted by lisaldiaz on 7 July 2009 - 10:06am.

When Novell's own CxO comes out and states that they are open for Novell to be sold off as a whole or in pieces, this concerns budget-makers. Of course, Novell had to deny it immediately. Interestingly enough, their stock went up 10% on the initial statement, then down again when they denied it.

Regarding BES and GroupWise, I refer to BES 5.0. There is NO support for GroupWise in the latest version and won't be for some time. BlackBerry told us that since GW is less than 1% of their business, they are not in a hurry.

The learning curve is huge - don't discount it. Having it on Windows is infinitely easier than having it on Linux. Most people already know Windows, so it's just another application to them. If Novell had made Linux more Netware-like or Windows-like in the beginning, it would have been a much easier transition. Having to compile your own application is hardly conducive to being productive. Novell owned Linux for years and Unix before that, yet they fumbled completely. OES1 was a total disaster and they still can't seem to figure out how to get OES2 to function as it relates to Linux. It's like an add-on that just misses the mark.

With Windows, it's just another app - same with Netware. With Linux, it's another animal altogether.

If you already were proficient with Unix/Linux, then this wasn't a big deal. Most Netware shops had only Netware and Windows - the Unix was handled by an old guy with suspenders in another room.

The Osterman Research paper sponsored by Novell was good, although I would have liked to see them with the column, "GroupWise on Netware". It appears to go through cost very well. I would also have liked to see a FEATURE comparison, not just cost. And where do you see ANY of this on Novell's own website? Maybe a blurb in a link that gets shifted down somewhere, but that's about it.

Face it, when it comes to being an MS shop, cost is rarely a consideration, as the discounts are there, etc.

I'm just as frustrated as the next person when it comes to this, and Novell just isn't doing much to help - as usual! Were it not for the Support Forums and the superior help they provide, Novell would have been just another "should have been".

Ever since Drew Major left, Novell has been flailing in the wind.

Submitted by dlythgoe on 7 July 2009 - 2:21pm.

Thanks Jacques! Those are some very nice things to say about Novell, its products and its people. I have worked at Novell for 19 years and it is a fantastic group of engineers, managers, support people, CUSTOMERS, partners, etc. Very knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and very very dedicated.

Sometimes a kind, encouraging word goes a long way!

Dean

Submitted by mpierce_tamu on 16 September 2009 - 10:43am.

Dean,
I read through all the comments before deciding on whether or not I would comment. You seem to reply to the comments posted on your blog. Can't say that for Alex.
I have to agree with Lisa on much of her comments. Now, I will say up front that we are not a Blackberry group, and we do not prommote the use of them. I don't feel like supporting two different mobile solutions. But, I'd like to say something about the marketing done by Novell.
Where is it?
I mean really. I see MAC with their celebrity guests in commericals pushing their MAC's and then I see Windows 7 commercials with a little 4-5 year old girl making a presentation for her Dad. I see iPod this and that left and right. I see lots of companies pushing their products, EXCEPT NOVELL!!!
How does Novell expect to get the same amount of users/customers as Microsoft or anyone else for that matter if they don't market what they have? Putting up a blog or advertising on yoru own Website doesn't do much for your company. I run into staff and customers all the time who can't even pronounce Novell properly. But they sure know how to say Microsoft. Why? Well, yes Microsoft is a bit easier to sound out properly, but it's due to Marketing. How many people out in the real world know what Zenworks is if you asked them? How about Identity Manager? Most of my users didn't even know Novell had it's own Mobile Solution, and were paying $15 or more a month to sync their devices up with Notify Link from the Telecom group on our Campus, when all along, for the most part (iPhones excluded) could have been syncing for FREE with us. We had to heavily market it to our users because they didn't know. Yes, my group needed to market better than teh Telecom group did, but the people who were hear before me didn't care. Why, because Novell seems like they don't care.
I'm a Novell die hard. But, I'm also a Microsoft die hard. I learned most of my skills on a Windows platform. 3.x, 95, 98, NT, 2k, XP, 2k3, 2k8, W7.... MS Office was the same... And along the way, I found Novell in places I worked. 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, 6.x...And now I use 6.5sp8 and OES2sp1. But you make it hard to love you. Your documentation is lacking. Your tools work with one version, but not the next, but the old tools are still required for some of the products even after newer version ofthe product are released. Examples: Printing. NWAdmin to ConsoleOne to iManager.NDPS couldn't be managed in C1, only NWA, and iPrint has to be done in iManager, not C1. GroupWise, has to be managed in C1, even though the newest version has comes out years after iManager has been introduced. And support for C1 is not there, because some ID10T is still convienced that it should go away. But no one wants to port their products to one common tool. Zenworks, which I love, was great when it was part of eDir. It's nice that you don't have to be tied to it, but you should have the option. It worked BETTER when it was in eDir IMHO, and was easier to manage. I hate that every developer now thinks that all Admin tools need to be web based. I hate that crap. iManager is horrible, and even though C1 takes some time to start, she gets the job done everytime.
Back to the Mobile issue. It too is a seperate beast. It's not tied to anything Novell, other than it's connection to GW via SOAP. If it could somehow be intergrated with a common management tool, then that would be helpful as well. But, Novell doesn't develop it's own stuff efficiently enough apparently, as it has to "partner" with some group and leech their idea and offer it up to it's customers as their product.
Lastly, why is the Mobility piece of this new Gradenko for GroupWise, coming out after all the Teaming stuff? The Mobile solution was out before the Teaming product, is used more than the Teaming product, and if you have maintenance on GroupWise, you already have licensed the Mobile solution where as you have to buy into the Teaming Product seperate. I"m just dumb founded to find that Novell thinks that making us wait even longer for a solution for iPhones is a smart thing to do. I have been looking for a free calendar sync solution ever since I got my iPhone, and there simply isn't one that works, or works well enough. So, I'm left with the pay-for apps. Which, in comparison to using Notify Link with a monthly charge of $15 for service, is not a half bad idea. Except that in the back of my head something keeps telling me that as soon as I drop $20-$40 on an app that doesn't even do my email, just calendar, contacts and tasks, Novell will make a statement saying that they are releasing their GMS Beta.
So, kindly explain to me why that is the case? I know Novell is trying to push their Teaming + Conferencing Solution, but before t he GMS solution, which is also a part of the T+C solution? I just don't understand.
Again, I've ranted and bashed alot, but keep this in mind.... I am a yearly maintenance paying license holder for our Novell Acdemic solution. And all while other departments on my campus are trying to make a push for Exchange or Zimbra as a unified solution. So give me reasons why I should keep fighting the good fight and remain a Novell die hard. Thanks for listening.