Ask John Slitz


John Slitz

In the November 1997 issue of NetWare Connection, John Slitz, senior vice president of Marketing at Novell Inc., answered our questions about Novell's marketing program. (See "John Slitz Under the Microscope," pp. 22­26.) John offered to answer your questions as well, and many of you have already submitted a question. This article presents some of the most interesting questions submitted and includes John's responses.

John's offer to answer your question still stands: If you want to submit a question for John, visit NetWare Connection's World-Wide Web site (http://www.novell.com/nwc/dec.97-jan.98/askjhnd7). You can also send an e-mail message to nwc-editors@novell.com, or you can send a fax to 1-801-228-4576.

If John selects your question, you will receive a free copy of CNE Product Link, which is a set of CD-ROMs that contain limited-user versions of Novell's shipping products, such as intraNetWare, intraNetWare for Small Business, GroupWise, ManageWise, and BorderManager. These CD-ROMs also contain Novell's latest beta products and early-access release products.

FIGHTING THE MICROSOFT MYTH

Dear John,

I live in Perth, Australia, where a very strong mind-set exists that Windows NT is the right product to use. I have the following questions:

Jon L. Miller

Thanks for the questions, and I hope to see you soon. In late February, Eric Schmidt, Novell's chairman of the board and CEO, and I are planning to visit customers in Australia to address a lot of the issues you've raised.

In my visits to Australia, I've always been impressed with the no-nonsense approach taken by Australians. I believe this approach will help Novell make real gains in the next year. The facts are--

We are advertising and promoting the success of our customers using today's products. We will change minds and lead the information technology (IT) market into the next generation of computing. We are focusing on the skills and expertise we have to build great networking products and to help our customers run their businesses--not bet their businesses--on networks that work.

Our products will support all the major operating systems because these operating systems are not going away. Windows NT, UNIX, and others will have a part to play in a networked future, and Novell will be there to help them connect in customers' businesses and beyond.

Good products, reliable service, and a worldwide reach will ensure that our marketing messages are backed up by performance. That's a winning formula.

TARGETING UPPER MANAGEMENT

Dear John,

As a network manager with nearly 200 NetWare servers and an annual Novell licensing budget of more than $300,000, I have a major interest in Novell's marketing success. My question is, What audience is Novell targeting with its advertising dollars, and is this audience the right one to target?

Novell has done a fine job selling its products to first-level managers and their technical personnel. However, we are then left to convince upper management of the validity of our choices. If you asked upper management to name five computer companies, you would be lucky if Novell were mentioned along with Microsoft, Intel, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard. As a result, when I try to justify my $300,000 Novell bill each year, upper management says, "What is that for?" When I try to justify the $500,000 in Microsoft desktop licenses, on the other hand, I scarcely get a question.

Novell has to make upper management realize that they are missing competitive advantages for their company by not understanding Novell. Upper management must believe that following the crowd is costing their company money. Get the Novell name in front of them--in the magazines they read rather than in the trade journals. Believe me, when an executive asks, "What can Novell do for us, and why aren't we considering its products?" the technical personnel will come to find Novell.

Phil Dold

Thank you for your support over the last few years. Novell is targeting a broader set of decision makers than we have in the past. We recognize that simply having the best networking technology is not enough, and we are refocusing accordingly.

Senior executives and line-of-business managers are being targeted along with our traditional, more technical audience. In 1998, success stories that take the business-benefits point of view will play a prominent part in our marketing campaign.

ATTRACTING NEW CUSTOMERS

Dear John,

I have read a lot about Novell executives going out to talk to existing customers about marketing. However, I have not read about anyone going out to talk to potential customers. I don't understand how growth can result from talking to the same people over and over again.

For example, you mentioned the real estate market in your recent NetWare Connection interview. When was the last time you walked into a real estate office and counted how many unnetworked computers were on the premises? You would be hard pressed to find less than 10 of these computers in even the smallest office. Ask the employees if they subscribe to The Wall Street Journal or read any computer publications. Ask them if they have ever heard of Novell. Ask them if they have any idea how much easier their jobs would be if their computers were connected.

How are you going to reach these people? Where is Novell's new business going to come from?

Don Earl

I can certainly see that you believe there is great potential in the real estate market for Novell, as I do. However, to answer your question about new prospects in a broader manner, you've hit one of my hot buttons, and I agree 1,000 percent.

To reach new customers, we are pumping up our partnerships with both hardware and software companies. (Compaq and Oracle are at the top of this list.) Also, our advertisements are turning toward stronger product messages that demonstrate customer success with our products, and that is key to attracting new customers.

In forming partnerships, we've hired Chris Stone as senior vice president of Strategy and Business Development. Chris is focusing his industry knowledge and contacts on building a stronger base of applications that exploit the performance, scalability, and reliability of Novell products.

Dear John,

I am a networking professional working for the U.S. government. Over the last year, I have seen the U.S. government migrate its networks from NetWare to Windows NT at an increasing rate. From a technical viewpoint, NetWare is much more powerful than Windows NT. Novell has not addressed NetWare's major advantages over Windows NT with regard to managing users, granting rights, and compressing data. The list goes on and on.

To perform a simple task such as adding a user with a home directory is a nightmare with Windows NT. However, many decision makers in the U.S. government think that Novell is old news. I strongly support Novell because I believe NetWare is the better product, but I am in the minority among my coworkers.

I have two questions:

Jason D. Malroy

I appreciate the vote of confidence in Novell products. You're correct: These products work better than anything else on the market to bring manageability, scalability, reliability, and lower cost of ownership to networking.

Both of your questions have the same answer in that Novell must focus all of its marketing dollars on bringing these messages into every discussion about networking, whether inside or outside of the U.S. government.

The U.S. government, more than any other large-systems user, is growing increasingly aware of the need to connect what's there and to build on its established network. Novell is the best company at helping all customers do just that. By focusing our marketing messages on the solutions that are available today and on the strength of our technology, we are able to demonstrate operational differences unmatched by other companies. By consistently hitting on these messages, we are making headway with the press and, most of all, with our customers.

Dear John,

How does Novell's new marketing program get the attention of new customers to purchase NetWare instead of Windows NT? I've seen too many new installations of Windows NT. I believe these installations are mostly due to upper management jumping on the Windows NT bandwagon, not realizing that NetWare is the best choice.

Wendy Larsen

To address your question, I believe that Novell must do three things well:

SUPPORTING CNES

Dear John,

As a Master CNE, I have a deep belief in a product line that has performed above and beyond the call of duty for many years. However, I am still waiting for the day that announcements are more than hype. For example, Novell recently announced that its BorderManager course would be offered at three locations in the United States as of December 2, 1997, but the Novell authorized education center (NAEC) in my area cannot get any solid information about the student kit.

Novell must prepare CNEs more fully to fulfill market demand. When Novell releases a product, we must be able to implement and support it. CNEs are your backbone. Novell has come a long way with CNE Product Link and the CNE Net web site (http://cnenet.novell.com), but we are still not adequately prepared to meet our customers' needs.

Maegan A. Mayer

Thank you for your question and for hanging in there with Novell. I also believe in Novell's capabilities--that's why I joined the company.

In 1998, we are going to start several new programs to better communicate with CNEs. I agree that they are one of Novell's most important assets, and we must do more to provide them with the tools they need to serve their employers and customers. The first of these tools is timely and accurate information about Novell products.

I think that you'll see a change in the next three months.

SEEING RED

Dear John,

Every time I turn on my computer, I see the Microsoft logo. Can you do this with Novell? It would be nice for users to know that Novell is the company behind their network.

Dieter Koerner

As you know, Microsoft is in a unique position, technologically speaking, to have its logo appear when Windows starts. We are now working on several ideas to have a message such as "protected by BorderManager" appear whenever a Novell product is involved.

The IT world is changing, and we believe the system that consistently runs and guards your network--a Novell system--will have a lot more to do with how well the network runs and the value this network gives your company than a local operating system such as Windows.

John Slitz is senior vice president of Marketing at Novell Inc.

NetWare Connection, February 1998, pp. 22-24