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New Novell CEO: 'I can create change'

By Deni Connor
Network World, 07/16/01

Jack Messman, who took charge as Novell's CEO last week upon completion of the company's merger with e-business consulting firm Cambridge Technology Partners, is intent on transforming Novell from a software-oriented company into a services-focused one. Network World Senior Editor Deni Connor spoke with Messman last week, posing questions collected from enterprise network professionals.

How will Novell differentiate itself among its e-business consulting and services competitors?

Messman First, we will focus on different vertical markets [government, transportation, healthcare, others] where we can better understand the business of our clients.

Secondly, we have a competitor [I won't name] who is known to have less than best-of-breed products, but that integrates those products so tightly the company provides a convenience to the consumer. If we can tightly integrate the Novell products into a vertical market, we will have a competitive position.

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Novell has shown a lot of resistance to change in the past. How are you going to turn that around?

I admire those people who have supported Novell technology over the years and have contributed to making Novell as successful as it is. We don't have to abandon those technologies. We are going to show them a new way to grow our business. You have to get to know your clients very well. You work at the CEO level rather than at the technologist level. When you have a stronger relationship with your client, you find ways to create business that you hadn't thought of. Once we get the company growing again, this attitude toward some of the intransigence will go away.

But how will you be successful at getting Novell to change?

I am focused on culture and change. When I was in the oil business, where I attacked similar problems, I saw all these guys who acted like J.R. Ewing. I said I could create a competitive advantage if I had people that worked with customers better than the J.R. Ewings of the world. By working on culture and having a customer focus, I can create change. By customer focus I mean that in many companies only the people who deal with customers directly think they know what the customer wants. That's wrong. Everyone in a company either deals directly with a customer or supports someone who does.

You say that emerging growth opportunities for Novell are in areas that exploit directories, as well as in caching and storage technologies. How will Novell stand out?

When I look at benchmarks for products like the directory, Single Sign-On and iChain, we have better performance. The best products don't always win. It's how you integrate them and how you solve the customer's problem; especially if you know the customer's industry well. It's a combination of good products in good solutions in vertical markets that will win.

Will there be future versions of products such as NetWare and GroupWise?

The answer to that question is unequivocally yes. We are going to continue those products.

Who will Novell be selling those products to - your installed base or new customers?

I hope both. Obviously, the existing customers like the products. They continue to upgrade. But with a solutions-orientation and different approach to the market, we can capture some new customers. There is a trend in the marketplace where customers don't care which hardware or software they use; they care about the solution. If we can deliver a solution that works for them and has a great return on investment, many companies will not care what products are included. We are going to do very well by including GroupWise and NetWare.

New Novell CEO: 'I can create change'

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