I would like someone to convince me that Novell is a better product than what Microsoft has to offer, based on several things I have noted having worked in two Novell networks:
1. Third party tool availablility - it is possible I'm simply ignorant or uninformed. If that's the case it's time for me to hit the books and do some research, however, I've been in server management for 12 years, and I've learned one thing so far. The availability of tools to ease management on a Microsoft network are huge as compared to what you can get to manage Novell. Everything I've tried to do on a Novell network to manage a server has been more difficult and time consuming to accomplish. For example, how about simply setting up a single server that can manage server reboots and dsrepairs remotely via scheduled tasks instead of having to go into each server and configure Remote Manager on each server to do the same thing. I find that the tools available for Microsoft outnumber whats available to Novell by a 10-1 margin at least.
2. Yes, Novell is a more secure system statistically, but lets be fair here, it is not nearly as main stream or widely used, therefore it can't be as large a target as Microsoft is. In my humble opinion, this might mean that since it is not as widely used there are fewer people trying to hack it, and therefore fewer vulnerabilities are discovered. Maybe I'm just totally wrong here, but at least it seems that way. Regardless of whether I'm right or wrong, I don't know that anyone can make a case that Microsoft doesn't have the largest target on them in the industry. People who are hard core Novell, Linux, or Unix techs generally hold great disdain for Microsoft products, and are highly motivated to hack them and show just what a pretender MS is. it's possible that the result is that MS is more vigorously patched than just about any other vendor, simply because they have to be to stay in business and avoid continual embarrassment.
3. How about finding qualified people. Finding a good qualified Microsoft tech is cake...they're everywhere, but if I'm an I.T. manager trying to find someone who is very qualified in Novell (and not just a paper cert holder, but real world experience), it's not so easy. In my view, you may find yourself spending more money on salaries because qualified Novell and Linux people command higher pay because their skills are in greater demand. They are more technically qualified than your average Microsoft tech. In some case (not all) you could find that any licensing costs your saving with Novell end up getting chewed up with the salaries of technicians who demand higher pay.
4. Finally, let's talk workstation or desktop integration. Like it or not, even with the Vista fiasco, in January 2009 Microsoft is still the market leader in the desktop OS. I've worked in a Novell environment that is totally devoid of client32 and is fully clientless...this same environment was nearly totally managed by zenworks. I've also worked in a totally native Microsoft environment. I find that a Windows desktop will generally work better in a Windows network simply because the two were designed for each other. Admittedly, Novell can do quite well in some areas...there's no denying it, but logically, a Windows desktop should work better with a Windows server and vice versa. Until more shops migrate their desktops away from Windows and onto SUSE Enterprise Linux, I don't see this changing much. I'm aware of the wide variety of interoperability options available between Novell and MS. They have worked together for years and years, and there's a long history of integration. Many great strides have been made which make the integration more seamless than ever. Yet still, having worked in both environments, my experience was that the native MS environment worked better. I have not had the experience of working in a native SUSE Linux environment...it could be far superior, but I suspect anyone who's working in such an environment may be as biased as I am.
Novell is a good product...I won't deny that. I simply think that they don't have the market foot hold they used to...maybe that's not fair, or maybe my information is inaccurate...that's my impression. I think that had they not moved off of Netware and embraced open source, they may have simply gone under or sold out. That fact alone tells me they don't have the market they once did, when they were so strong in the 90s. Sadly, I think their products are better now than ever before, yet Microsoft is still more widely deployed.
