Novell touts identity

Novell Inc. had a series of product and service announcements to make Monday during its annual BrainShare user conference, but its top executive said much of the company's focus is on Linux and identity.

Novell, which acquired SuSE Linux last year as a way of strengthening its position in the so-called "open source" environment, where the freely distributed Linux computer operating system serves as a base for Novell infrastructure software products, was pushing the benefits of Linux throughout Monday's keynote presentations.

"Linux is a key component of the open-source movement," said Jack Messman, chairman and chief executive officer of Massachusetts-based Novell, which has about one-third of its work force of approximately 6,000 in Utah. "Identity is the first step to security and agility. We believe these are two important technologies and that the combination of Linux and identity is a powerful one."

As for Linux, Messman said companies' chief information officers want it in order to simplify their information technology, maximize staff effectiveness, contain costs and improve the agility of their businesses.

As for identity issues, Messman and other speakers Monday spent a bit of time demonstrating their understanding of how complicated a world information technology — and its challenges — has become.

"We have participated in this industry for a long time. We know how complex IT issues can become, and we understand that as soon as you solve one challenge, there's usually another one staring you right in the face," Messman said. "Linux solves one layer of complexity for businesses, but even the world's best Linux systems can't be effective unless you can make the information contained in those systems available to the right people at the right time."

Security, he said, remains the top concern of chief information officers. Security challenges are becoming more complex, "and this is forcing all of us to look beyond traditional notions of what security is. Businesses are struggling to manage the what, the how and the who of information delivery."

Security issues, he said, go beyond "people and passwords," including "very clever people trying to bypass your security system to gain inappropriate or unlawful access to your data. For businesses to be agile, the right people must have the right level of access to the right information at the right time."

David Litwack, Novell's senior vice president and general manager for identity-driven products, said information technology officials "find ourselves in the nexus of a perfect storm."

The brewing elements include a build-up of disparate resources and devices; fragmented applications built on different technologies, including many that don't work well together; the need to reach out to new audiences; "and also the worst regulatory environment in my experience, with all kinds of government and industry regulations" regarding security and privacy.

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