Novell today announced that the Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition is now available to customers worldwide. A Linux-based desktop-to-server solution tailored to meet the needs of small businesses, the Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition combines the flexibility and cost efficiency of open source software with the support of an established enterprise software vendor. The new suite provides small businesses with productivity tools and a networking infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of alternative, proprietary-only software bundles.
"With the Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition, customers can afford the IT infrastructure they need to compete while keeping costs under control," said Kent Erickson, senior vice president and general manager of Workgroup Solutions for Novell. "As small business customers spend less on software through this suite, they can afford additional services and applications to meet other business needs and better serve their own customers."
The Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition is based on SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise and includes Novell GroupWise(R) for e-mail, task management and calendaring; Novell Open Enterprise Server for storage, print and management services; SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for running applications; SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell for complete desktop productivity; and the Novell edition of the popular office productivity suite OpenOffice.org for Windows* and Linux*. To accommodate growing businesses, the suite features support for up to five servers and 200 users.
The Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition is designed to enhance the service relationship between solution providers and their customers. It features a simple yet customizable installation process that can deploy the suite in less than an hour using a single DVD, plus remote management capabilities and an easy-to-use help desk tool so solution providers can manage and support their small business customers' IT infrastructures over the Web.
To further help customers reduce cost and improve security, Novell's suite also includes Novell-supported open source components, including Amanda for backup and archiving, the ClamAV anti-virus toolkit, HylaFAX fax server, iptables for firewall, MailScanner for spam filtering, the OpenVPN virtual private network and TightVNC for remote control of network clients. The suite is also supported by popular business software applications certified to work with SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Pricing and Availability
Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition is now available from Novell resellers for a suggested $350 for every five users, up to a total of 200 users and five servers. The price includes 30 days of installation support, and maintenance customers receive unlimited access to Web and chat-based support. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com/smallbiz