Cliff SaranNovell has promised to enable secure e-business by allowing
users from different companies to access applications via
Internet-enabled directories.
The strategy, dubbed One Net, will allow businesses to operate
on a single network and where there is no distinction between an
Intranet, Extranet or the Internet, Novell said.
In Novell's strategy, users will build and deploy
directory-enabled applications that live on the Internet based on a
new Novell directory blueprint called Denim. The blueprint - short
for Directory-enabled Net Infrastructure Model - was announced at
this week's Brainshare event.
In his keynote address, Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief
executive officer of Novell, said that the One Net strategy allows
businesses to treat their customers, business partners and
enterprise users in the same way.
"All the business relationships people can have over a network
can be managed in the same way," he said. Schmidt believes that, as
it stands today, the Internet does not offer the right architecture
to achieve the goal of a single network, both for internal and
external users.
The architecture is built on Novell's e-Directory network
directory services product that is available on Windows 2000,
NetWare, Solaris and has recently been ported to Linux.
Novell demonstrated how Federation technology based on Denim,
could be used to allow the two directories to communicate with each
other over the Internet to enable a user from one business to
access the network of the other business.
Following the Windows 2000 launch, touted by Microsoft as the
only operating system users would ever need to buy, Novell has had
to distance itself from being solely an alternative platform to
MS's operating system.