Qualifying US NetWare customers will be offered $600 of partner services subsidies for each Windows Server 2003 license purchased with 50 client licenses.
Online training vouchers and unlimited technical support is also offered via news groups. Both deals are available until May 1, 2005.
Microsoft’s NetWare campaign comes in the wake of Sun Microsystems Inc programs to persuade Hewlett Packard Co customers using HP’s UX and Tru64 operating systems to migrate to Solaris running on x86 and Sparc. Sun’s campaign has been reinforced at the highest level, with postings by Sun president Jonathan Schwartz to his personal blog succeeding in angering HP.
The announcement follows Novell’s decision to launch a private antitrust action against Microsoft for allegedly abusing its monopoly position, in order to promote Office and crush Novell’s former WordPerfect word processor product.
Microsoft and Novell last faced off over NetWare, though, in the 1990s. NetWare held 70% of the market for network operating systems by the middle of the last decade, but that figure withered in the face of Microsoft’s Windows NT onslaught, and GartnerGroup last year predicted NetWare would hold just 1.3% of global server operating system sales by 2006.
Microsoft’s general manager of platform strategy Martin Taylor said in a statement Microsoft was helping address customers’ concerns and assist them in evaluating their options.
Software and services available under the program include free, downloadable migration tools called Windows Services For NetWare (SFN) and Quest Software Inc’s Quest NDS Migrator, which is being made available at a reduced rate or 20% discount off the list price. Microsoft has also developed a set of accelerators to provide migration guidance for both Windows SFN and Quest NDS Migrator.
