Novell: More than just a SUSE face
Novell primarily gets public credit (or recrimination) for its Linux business, but on Thursday Novell reminded the world that it's more than just a Linux vendor, acquiring the assets of technology assets of Fortefi Ltd. and a perpetual source code license to ActivIdentity's single sign-on solution.
Both moves strengthen Novell's position in the Identity Management market.
Linux serves as the beachhead for Novell into enterprises that may have lost interest in the former NetWare giant. CIOs that are interested in Linux will consider SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and then, hopefully, give the Novell sales executive time to also explain how the company can help with identity management, workgroup collaboration, and other areas served by Novell's product line.
Novell isn't just a Linux company, then, and most of the software it sells is proprietary, calling into question whether it's even accurate to call it an open-source company.
Regardless of the nomenclature, the Fortefi and ActivIdentity deals give Novell more value to sell CIOs. It's a strategy that seems to be paying off.
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Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
