Novell Acquires Ximian to Expand Linux Solutions and Open Source Commitment

Novell Acquires Ximian to Expand Linux Solutions and Open Source
Commitment

 - Open source pioneer brings Linux management and desktop productivity
offerings to Novell cross-platform services
 - Ximian's Linux leadership and expertise teams with Novell to
accelerate development of open source-based solutions and help drive
wider adoption of Linux in the enterprise
 - Novell reiterates support of key Ximian-sponsored GNOME and Mono
open source projects

PROVO, Utah -- Aug. 4, 2003 -- Novell, Inc., today announced it has
acquired privately held Ximian(R) of Boston, Mass., the leading provider
of desktop and server solutions that enable enterprise Linux adoption.
This acquisition expands Novell's capacity to provide flexible
information solutions to customers worldwide. Terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.

The acquisition of Ximian expands Novell's ability to support Linux
solutions as the company adds best-of-breed Linux desktop, groupware and
management technologies, and welcomes several of the open source
community's leading visionaries to the Novell(R) team and a strong core
of Linux developers into the Novell fold.

Novell gains, and will carry forward, two key Linux market initiatives
through Ximian that reinforce Novell's commitment to the open source
community: GNOME, a project to provide a full-featured Linux desktop,
and Mono(TM), designed to allow applications developed using Microsoft
.NET to run on Linux, UNIX*, Windows* and other platforms. The
combination of Novell's network and infrastructure services with
Ximian's Linux solutions provides compelling new value to customers
leveraging the power of open source technologies.

"Linux is the fastest-growing platform in the market today because it
helps customers meet challenges effectively, both from a cost and a
performance perspective," said Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell.
"But customers still face two key business issues: how to provide
cost-effective management and maintenance of Linux systems, and how to
deploy  
and support low-cost Linux desktops within the organization. Novell now
delivers market-leading solutions for both. Just as important, Ximian
brings Novell unparalleled Linux expertise, helping us not only deliver
more value to customers, but also strengthening our ability to work with
and leverage open source initiatives more constructively."

"Together, Novell and Ximian offer tremendous benefits for customers,"
said David Patrick, president and CEO of Ximian, now general manager of
what will be called the Novell Ximian Services business unit at Novell.
"Our breakthrough management and desktop products strongly complement
Novell applications on Linux and Novell Nterprise(TM) Linux Services.
The global Novell channel, partnerships with industry leaders and proven
customer support will benefit customers. Novell as an enterprise company
is the ideal choice for us to drive growth for the Linux market as a
whole."

Ximian Offerings Bolster Novell Linux Strategy for Enterprises
Ximian, a market-leading Linux company founded in 1999, has over a
million users worldwide of its desktop and management products aimed at
lowering the total cost of Linux ownership for enterprise customers.
Ximian Red Carpet(TM) is the de facto standard for software updating
across leading Linux distributions. Red Carpet Enterprise software
provides enterprise customers with centralized software management of
Linux servers and desktops. Over time, Red Carpet Enterprise will be
tightly integrated into the Novell ZENworks(R) product line, leveraging
Novell directory services and policies management functionality.

Ximian Desktop 2 (XD2) is a complete Linux desktop environment and a
tightly integrated suite of Linux desktop applications that delivers
robust support for Windows file formats, networks and standards. Ximian
Evolution(R) software seamlessly integrates e-mail, calendaring, contact
management and task lists in one easy-to-use application that connects
to popular corporate communications architectures like Microsoft
Exchange, Sun* ONE and, soon, Novell GroupWise(R) via client-side Ximian
Connector extensions. These solutions, supporting Red Hat, SuSE and
other leading Linux distributions, make Ximian software a strong choice
for organizations using Linux desktops within a mixed Windows/Linux
computing environment.

"This acquisition allows us to pursue our shared goal, and that is to
reduce the barriers to Linux adoption in the enterprise. This
combination can do just that, and make Novell the number one Linux
solutions company in the process," said Nat Friedman, Ximian co-founder
and senior vice president, now vice president of research and
development in the Novell Ximian Services business unit at Novell.
"We're extremely excited to join with Novell to pursue a shared vision
of leadership in a full range of integrated Linux desktop and server
software for the enterprise, backed by world-class management tools,
support and services. We also believe that Novell's commitment and
resources can help further energize a very dynamic open source
development community."

Novell to Build on Ximian Commitment to Open Source Community
Ximian plays an important leadership role in the broader open source
community and helps drive several key open source projects. Ximian's
founders Miguel de Icaza and Nat Friedman, well-known open source
visionaries, helped found the GNOME and Mono projects, both initiatives
they will continue to lead at Novell.

The GNOME project (www.gnome.org), initiated by de Icaza in 1997 and
involving hundreds of developers globally, is creating a full-featured
open source desktop, including a set of development tools; file, desktop
management and help systems; and a set of applications, including
spreadsheets, word processors, Web browsers, image editors and music
players. The GNOME Foundation, which includes Friedman, de Icaza and
other Ximian employees on its board, boasts IBM, HP, Sun and Red Hat
among its members.

The Mono project (www.go-mono.com) is an open source effort led by
Ximian to provide developers with open source tools for building
cross-platform Microsoft .NET applications that can run on Linux, UNIX,
and other support platforms. More than 150 developers worldwide
contribute to Mono, including a range of companies building commercial
products using Mono technology.

De Icaza, CTO of Ximian and now chief technology officer for the Novell
Ximian Services business unit of Novell, said, "It's a huge step forward
for the open source community to gain strong support from a company like
Novell. Initiatives like GNOME and Mono will only improve with Novell's
resources behind them. Novell has already made a strong commitment to
open source with its recent decision to put the full range of its
network services on Linux and its inclusion of MySQL*, Apache and other
open source technologies in NetWare(R). Ximian's leadership within the
open source community along with Novell's strength and reputation in the
enterprise market are a powerful combination that will help move GNOME
and Mono forward."

The acquisition of Ximian was an all-cash transaction and is not
expected to have a material effect on Novell's financial statements in
the current fiscal year. No further details as to the specific terms of
the transaction are being disclosed.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release includes statements that are not historical in
nature and that may be characterized as "forward-looking statements,"
including those related to future financial and operating results,
benefits and synergies of the company's brands and strategies, future
opportunities and the growth of the market for open source solutions.
You should be aware that Novell's actual results could differ materially
from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based
on current expectations of Novell management and are subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, Novell's
ability to integrate acquired operations and employees, Novell's ability
to deliver on its one Net vision of the Internet, Novell's ability to
take a competitive position in the Web services industry, business
conditions and the general economy, market opportunities, potential new
business strategies, competitive factors, sales and marketing execution,
shifts in technologies or market demand, and the other factors described
in Novell's Annual Report on Form 10 K for the 2002 fiscal year. Novell
disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward looking
statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this
press release.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is the leading provider of information
solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell Nsure(TM)),
Web application development (Novell exteNd(TM)) and cross-platform
networking services (Novell Nterprise), all supported by strategic
consulting and professional services (Novell Ngage(SM)). Novell's vision
of one Net -- a world without information boundaries -- helps customers
realize the value of their information securely and economically. For
more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888)
321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit
http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

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