Novell Inc, like Apple Computer Inc (see below), has its hands so full these days that it is looking hard at many of its less dominant activities and wondering whether it really needs them, and the latest to go – following the remnants of its hardware business – is its database activities. Employees have formed Btrieve Technologies Inc in Austin, Texas to take over Btrieve, NetWare SQL, Xtrieve, and XQL to Btrieve Technologies. The agreement is at the memo of understanding stage, but Novell intends to retain a 15% interest in the business. Btrieve will remain a key part of NetWare but will now be offered for other systems.
