Novell’s Schmidt sees Java as company’s future

London (10/29/97) — Novell CEO and chairman Eric Schmidt is placing all bets on Java in Novell’s strategy to go up against Windows NT, he said Wednesday at a briefing in London.

Schmidt, who spent 14 years at Sun before coming to Novell in April, has made it no secret that he plans to structure Novell’s offerings around complete Java integration. Last month, the company unveiled a Java virtual machine (JVM) add-on for its NetWare 4.x and IntranetWare server operating systems. Early next year, the company will release a new version of IntranetWare, code-named Moab, with a fully integrated JVM.

Having a JVM integrated into IntranetWare will promote the operating system as an application-server environment, not just a file- and print-sharing-and-directory-services system, Schmidt said. Any application written in pure Java will be able to run on IntranetWare and NetWare 4.x, opening up a new wealth of applications to Novell’s platform, he added.

However, another key aspect of Novell’s strategy is to make Novell Directory Services (NDS) available on platforms other than IntranetWare — and here Java plays a role as well. Developers can write network applications in Java that will take advantage of Novell’s “jewel in the crown,” NDS, according to Schmidt. Since Java runs on any platform, Novell will be able to take its directory service onto other operating systems, he added.

In addition, Novell is making NDS available on Microsoft’s Windows NT in the first half of 1998, Schmidt said. If users can choose to run NT but also implement NDS instead of Microsoft’s Active Directory, that will fundamentally change Novell’s strategy, Schmidt said. Before, users had to have NetWare to have NDS, but in the future users will be able to have NDS separately, he explained.

By making Java the cornerstone of its strategy, Novell is confident that it can carve out a niche for its IntranetWare network operating system, even though it is going head-to-head with NT.

“Java is incredibly important to the server,” Schmidt said. The server is “the ultimate destination of Java.” Over time, Java applications will replace current network services, such as network management and messaging.

Novell’s goal is to make IntranetWare “a better Java platform than NT,” Schmidt said.

Novell itself is rewriting many of its key network services in Java, officials have said consistently over the past few months.

According to Schmidt, Java will become much more than a programming language, as Java applications will run on integrated JVMs distributed throughout the network. This will allow networks to become more intelligent, enabling certain applications and services to take precedence over others so that the overall network performs better, he added.

Novell Inc., based in Orem, Utah, can be reached at https://www.novell.com.