Being Strategic: How to Convey the Value of Novell Technologies to ManagementMike Richichi

Drew Universitymrichich@drew.eduNovell TTP USA 2007Provo, Utah (via Madison, New Jersey)

Topics

What does “Novell” mean? Misinformed perceptions

Yours Management’s

Being a responsible technical voice Making the case Conclusions

Important Disclaimers

These are my opinions, and I’m opinionated Novell may not agree with me You may not agree with me It may already be too late for your institution

Sorry! I may make sweeping generalizations based

upon limited anecdotal data

Remote Technology

Usually like inline questions We’ll see how that works

The Problem

University administrators (IT managers, Provosts, Presidents, Deans, etc.) want to get rid of “Novell”

Seen as outdated, primitive, inferior to the alternatives Usually Microsoft

Sometimes, getting rid of the technology is code for getting rid of the people

The Issue

“Members of the Commission noted that Novell software is used as the desktop management system. Novell is older software with limited functionality.” (http://www.acadiau.ca/president/assets/docs/Acadia_Advantage_Renewal_Report_Dec2006.pdf

) This is a common perception

What is “Novell” anyway?

Novell is not: A piece of software A network infrastructure An application platform An email system

Novell is a company Getting rid of “Novell” makes no sense

Unless you’re Red Hat

What do they really mean?

Usually: Get rid of NetWare Get rid of eDirectory Get rid of GroupWise Get rid of ZENworks

Because: They’re old They’re buggy They’re not as well integrated as Microsoft The Novell admins are dinosaurs

The Harsh Reality

If those reasons on the last slide are true at your institution. . .

they’re right.

An Alternative View

Novell is a software vendor providing solutions for Enterprise operating systems (Linux) Groupware and collaboration (OES, GroupWise) Systems and resource administration (ZENWorks) Identity Management (IDM, Access Manager)

Novell’s offerings work with Microsoft software and other vendors’ offerings, and make them better

But, what about NetWare?

I like NetWare, it’s fun But there’s simply no reason for it to exist in

the future, as long as Novell provides what it offers in future OES Linux offerings

Maintaining a 32-bit OS that is incompatible with Linux and Windows is not a strategic stance at this point

Your management knows this, even if they don’t know they know it

NetWare <> Novell

Problem is, they think if NetWare is bad, then all of Novell’s stuff is bad.

They assume everything with Novell’s name they see is somehow “NetWare” and thus is as end-of-life as NetWare

Where’d they get this impression?

Look in the mirror Are you “the NetWare guy”? Do you still make Bill Gates jokes, only they

aren’t really jokes? Do you still spell it Micro$oft? Do you believe nothing is as good as

NetWare? Then you might be the problem

Maybe You’re The Problem

What They Want

Your bosses want stuff that works They may think they want Microsoft

everywhere, but they won’t have that anyway since Microsoft doesn’t make everything Yet

As long as there’s no problems they’ll likely leave you alone, unless there’s some deep-seated biases and I can’t help you then. But you need to try some things before giving up

Where to Start

You’re going to need to be an advocate, not just for Novell, but for yourself

Once you’re seen as an experienced, knowledgeable IT professional, your opinions will carry more weight

You have the ability to be a better employee than someone who only knows Microsoft solutions and isn’t thinking critically

Get your “stuff” together

Learn Linux It’s been around since 1992 It’s just stuff you type It won’t kill you, in fact, it’s fun! Novell even tries to help (http://www.novell.com/linux)

Learn Windows Server and Active Directory You really should have an AD domain for the things it does

well Knowing Windows and being able to support Windows

applications means you can handle Windows applications when necessary

Stop Being “the NetWare Guy” In our environment, there are no “NetWare guys” There are just systems administrators and

applications specialists Windows, Linux, NetWare are merely dialects of

some fundamental language called the Network Operating System

If you know varied platforms and can discern the differences between them, you can choose the best one for the job, and people don’t think you’re a zealot

Learn Novell’s Other Products Too Identity Manager

Integrates with your ERP/SIS, integrates AD to eDir, integrates applications together

Access Manager Can front-end any web service you have and make it single sign-

on Can consume and produce identity information for external

identities ZENworks

Manage your desktops and servers with identity-based principles Also, know their market competitors and be able to do some

comparisons based upon marketing and technical literature

You’re Building An Environment Novell technology should be a part of that environment

SLES is better than RH servers, IMHO NSS does stuff no one else does Novell’s IDM is very, very good

It will not be the whole environment But there will be more Novell than there would be if your

management is convinced that “Novell” needs to go Your skills will still be somewhat relevant You won’t have to sell off your BrainShare Alumni jackets to buy

MCSE training You can support whatever your management throws at you, and

hopefully you can say “yes” instead of “no” due to the flexibility Novell’s solutions give you.

Novell ♥ Microsoft

They made a deal, remember? Not going to argue metaphysical aspects of

deal What it means is that even Microsoft doesn’t

want you to get rid of your Novell investment Yet

Or vice versa The agreement can be a negotiating tool for

you

Our Environment

Windows, Linux, NetWare, VMWare Servers, switches, SANs GroupWise, ZENWorks, IDM, iChain/Access

Manager Windows desktops It all works People are happy

Well, as happy as they can be

Our Credibility

We’re technology professionals, not vendor-specific technology droids

Decisions to use one technology over another made on non-ideological bases Cost Functionality Ease of integration Ability to be adaptive End-user benefit

Making The Case

Know your facts Have the data (cost/benefit analyses

(including hardware and other costs) Understand and be able to predict questions

about alternatives Acknowledge the benefits of other solutions Be professional and rational Educate on the difference between “Novell”

and “Novell”

Keep asking questions

Why do you want Microsoft? What are our actual objectives? What if I can meet them with another solution

for less money and more functionality, that doesn’t lock us in to one vendor?

Bring in Novell salespeople, resellers, other vendors at this point

(Novell: Have salespeople, resellers, other vendors to bring in, and be responsive)

Managing Your Bosses

Have regular meetings Try and have them understand the

technology as well as a manager can Listen to their needs and respond to them

Not necessarily by giving them what they ask for but understand what they really mean.

Having them aware of the day-to-day issues should make them less likely to want to rip out stuff that’s working

Make it work

Obviously, do your job well If you’ve taken the steps above that will help Your credibility is established by your results Sometimes Novell has made it hard to keep

stuff running (NW 6.5 problems) Your responsibility is to be responsive, do the

best you can, and show you’re in control.

What if it doesn’t Work?

Start working on your Active Directory skills, I guess. . .

Try looking for another job Become a consultant Regroup and try again Do the best you can on the new project, with an eye

towards finding a place for the technology you want to use

Keep abreast of the Novell technologies if the new solutions are incomplete

Conclusion

Improve your skills (technical and interpersonal) Ask the tough questions Work with your management Understand Novell’s and other’s technologies Present the best solutions for your environment (that

will likely include Novell) Be confident you’re doing the best job possible and

are an advocate for yourself and the profession If you don’t get what you want, then do what you

can

Questions?