The proposed Unix Technical Group for OEM customers of Novell Inc’s Unix Systems Group – the body that will take over some of the former Unix International’s duties – is expected to have its own office and staff, quite separate from those of Novell. The round table organisation is not pitched as an international consortium and therefore, unlike Unix International, it won’t have a charter. It is conceived as a trade association and dealer support group which will discuss licensing policy, future development and what kinds of standards conformance should be included in Unix. With most companies already having made the make-versus-buy system software decision, the question now is how the market spoils will be spilt between the suppliers. The likelihood, insiders suggest, is that if Novell has its own trade association or support group, other developers will want to establish similar bodies to serve their own OEM customers and vendors. Organisations for SunSoft Inc’s Solaris and Microsoft Corp Windows NT could easily fit this bill.
