The deepening relationship with Oracle Corp is just one of a whole string of alliances that Novell Inc intends to forge with complementary software companies, US PC Week suggests – but there are fears that in trying to build a federation of software companies to provide a complete alternative to Microsoft Corp and all its works (including Works) may not be such a bright idea for the Provo, Utah company, since it threatens to alienate all the vendors that do not get invited to the party. The Oracle agreement, in which an Oracle7 database NetWare Loadable Module will be bundled with NetWare and UnixWare and marketed by both partners, and which is intended to lead to further collaboration, is seen as a major step along a road that will take Novell into similar closer alliances with other partners such as Borland International Inc, WordPerfect Corp and Lotus Development Corp. The aim is to bundle leading applications with its systems software to present a united front to customers attracted to the Redmond, Washington one-stop shop for system software and applications. The company told the paper that while the deals will not be exclusive, Novell will initially choose a select few products – which is where the problem of alienation comes in: other database vendors are likely to feel uncomfortable at the relationship with Oracle. Borland is thought to be keen for Paradox for Windows to be seen as the preferred front end, so that a UnixWare-Oracle7-Paradox bundle would offer a complete alternative to Microsoft’s SQL Server, Windows NT and Access. The companies are working toward a well-integrated, single-priced grouping of Oracle 7, NetWare and Paradox for Windows, sources told PC Week. WordPerfect officials commented that they were interested in the Novell bundling idea: it is working with Novell on a WordPerfect Office NetWare Loadable Module that will be tightly integrated with NetWare 4.0, and WordPerfect would like to push more of its software down Novell’s marketing channels. Lotus is also willing to work with Novell, the paper notes. We would consider a bundling arrangement with Novell – most of our customers are NetWare customers, so working with Novell is a priority for us, Jim Rosen, director for Lotus Strategic Alliances Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts told the paper. Meantime although Novell is looking to forge alliances to counter Microsoft, it does not rule out working with the company on some fronts – given that Microsoft owns the desktop.
