Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Servers
    • Virtualization

    Novell Saying Little About Post-Attachmate ZENworks Plans

    By
    Fahmida Y. Rashid
    -
    November 24, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Novell’s ZENworks PC management suite illustrates the unsettled times in which many Novell customers now find themselves. The company Nov. 11 released the latest version of the software, which offers businesses greater manageability and virtualization capabilities. Then, less than two weeks later, Novell announced that it was being bought by Attachmate.

      Now users are beginning to wonder what will happen with their favorite Novell products, and while the ZENworks system management suite is likely headed to Attachmate’s NetIQ division, it will be at least a week before any more solid information comes out.

      Attachmate acquired Novell on Nov. 22 for $2.2 billion in cash. The company has said it will operate Novell as two divisions: SUSE Linux, and the rest of Novell, which would include ZENworks, eDirectory and other networking products. Attachmate’s NetIQ division focuses on network management software.

      “You have to expect some integration between NetIQ and Novell,” said Jonathan Penn, a vice president for Forrester Research, noting that Attachmate was most likely more interested in Novell’s systems management and security business than in the Linux side, which can easily stand alone as its own entity.

      Novell officials declined comment, saying only that there may be more information next week.

      The new version of Novell’s ZENworks PC management suite consolidates several applications under a single administrative console. Previously, each ZENworks component had its own Web interface: Asset Management, Configuration Management, Patch Management, and Endpoint Security Management. ZENworks 11 is expected to be available in January.

      Bringing them under one unified interface combined the operations and security goals, said Grant Ho, director of product and solutions marketing at Novell. With ZENworks 11, IT managers can address lower costs and lower risks, with a single tool, he said.

      Desktops and laptop now use a single ZENworks agent, and support both Linux desktops and servers as well as Windows-based machines, said Ho. Linux support includes using the SSH protocol to discover Linux machines, remote management using VNC and SSH, full hardware and software inventory with reporting, and content management using YUM, Novell Update, RedHat Network and ZENworks Linux Management, according to Novell.

      Handheld mobile devices are still handled by a separate application, called ZENworks Handheld Management, said Ho.

      ZENworks 11’s endpoint security management is user-identity-sensitive, said Ho, saying “everyone just manages devices.” He gave an example of a doctor in a hospital moving from workstation to workstation while making the rounds. The ZENworks suite recognizes the applications the doctor needs, and delivers those applications, regardless of the workstation, he said.

      ZENworks is not limited to applications but can also provision users with privileges and individual settings, he said. As users move to different physical devices, these settings automatically follow.

      It’s not exactly virtual desktop, but is similar “up to a point,” since ZENworks is delivering relevant virtual images stored on the server to the endpoint, said Ho.

      ZENworks 11 also location-aware, letting IT administrators define specific policies based on the user’s physical location, such as requiring a VPN when outside the corporate network, he said. The identity features can also be combined with location, by restricting the user’s access to certain applications when outside the company, even while using a VPN, said Ho.

      If NetIQ is not the eventual home for ZENworks, perhaps the technology is headed over to Microsoft. Along with the Attachmate deal, Novell also concurrently sold “certain intellectual property assets” – 882 patents, according to Form 8-K filed with the Securities Exchange Commission – to Microsoft for $450 million in cash through CPTN Holdings, a consortium of technology companies.

      While Microsoft declined to discuss which intellectual property assets they are purchasing, there is a lot of speculation the patents are related to WordPerfect and Linux. Matt Eastwood, an IDC analyst, speculated that Microsoft is after Novell’s Platespin data center management and virtualization technology.

      Platespin can be useful in building out a private infrastructure-as-a-service cloud computing platform, a space Microsoft is interested in. ZENworks has virtualization capabilities that would fit in that scheme, especially since it supports multiple hypervisors and provides integration with Hyper-V.

      Fahmida Y. Rashid

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×