"Customers have long relied on Novell to provide enterprise-class support services for mission critical environments," said Bob Couture, vice president of worldwide services for Novell. "Now they can depend on Novell to provide that same level of service as they adopt Linux technologies within their business. Novell's recent acquisitions of Ximian and SUSE, as well as our strategic partnerships with IBM, HP, and others, have helped Novell create a trained, experienced force of hundreds of Linux experts, and our global reach means help is literally around the corner for customers who need it."

Industry research shows that technical support is an important issue for enterprises considering adoption of Linux. In its 20-year history, Novell has been recognized for its comprehensive, high quality support services for the enterprise. Built on proven technical expertise, consistent methodologies, global delivery capabilities, and strategic partnerships, Novell Premium Service has become an integral part of most enterprise contracts with Novell. By expanding the same comprehensive support program to its Linux customers, Novell alleviates technical support concerns for corporate IT buyers. In addition, since Novell Premium Service treats the organization's entire deployment as a whole, not on a product by product basis, customers can add additional Linux services, for example, desktops or servers, without an additional support contract, a model unique in the existing Linux support market.

"Customers making the move to open source, including Linux, need assurance that there will not be a decrease in the level of support they are accustomed to," said Christine Tenneson, Program Manager, Network Lifecycle Services and Software and System Support Services at IDC. "Novell is an example of one vendor that has recognized the need for mission critical support services designed specifically for a Linux environment, and is addressing the need through its Premium Support Services offering."

With Novell's Premium Service for Linux, customers gain access to:

- More than 600 Linux support engineers.
- A distributed on-the-ground presence, with nearly 70 percent of support engineers in the field to provide quick access and responsiveness.
- Ten customer support centers worldwide, including centers in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
- Multiple services level options, ranging from basic phone support to dedicated, onsite support engineers.
- Tiered levels of remote and managed services, with Novell technicians proactively monitoring the network to ensure Novell Linux systems are always running smoothly
- Flexibility to expand supported Linux solutions within the organization without the need for additional support contracts, unlike the more restrictive server-based options available from competing vendors.

"It's great to see Novell bring a level of maturity and expertise to Linux that will only improve what an open source platform has to offer," said Stephen R. Bennison, Director of Information Technology, Operations Center, University of Louisville. "We've been running large-scale enterprise systems for many years and know it's essential to have confidence in our technology. Novell's support for Linux generates a whole lot of comfort."

Complementing the Premium Service offering, Novell is also announcing two new support programs for companies interested in deploying Novell Linux solutions on a more limited basis. Customers can buy single server-based support for SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server, paying only for the individual server(s) they choose. This provides a low-cost, yet comprehensive technical support foundation for deploying Linux at the server level. In addition, Novell is launching a Small Business Linux Support initiative, which delivers technical support on a range of Novell SUSE LINUX and Ximian® products, both at the server and desktop level, for companies with relatively small Linux deployments. Products covered include Novell Red Carpet Enterprise*, Novell SUSE LINUX Enterprise and Standard Server, Desktop and OpenExchange Server, and the Novell Ximian Desktop and Evolution* Connector for Microsoft Exchange.*

For more information on Novell's Linux support offerings, visit http://support.novell.com/.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell Nsure*), Web application development (Novell exteNd*) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise*), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian® and SUSE® LINUX brands, Novell provides a full range of Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. 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.