By the end of fiscal 1984, Ray and his team had articulated a lofty mission for Novell: To make the LAN industry grow faster with Novell than it would without Novell. They came up with a slogan: “Dedicated to Serve All LANkind.”
The following article from a Novell company publication is reprinted in its entirety because it reiterates all of the key messages in Novell’s marketing communications at that time.
Novell CEO on Company Role in Industry
Novell CEO, Raymond J. Noorda, was interviewed recently concerning his company’s current role in the dynamic computer industry. Mr. Noorda, whose career began with a business automation division of General Electric, expressed his views:
“Novell’s mission is to cause a substantial increase in the growth of LANs—as much as 25% over current industry projections.”
Noorda explained, “This can only be done by bringing end users together with software technology which provides a standard operating system for all popular LANs—including but not restricted to hardware provided by one vendor.”
Having recognized early the coming desktop computer revolution, Mr. Noorda involved himself and his growing company in local area networking. While some potential LAN users debate the need for standards in networking, Mr. Noorda expanded, “Novell has seen the emerging world of LANs differently. As a result, we created NetWare—an operating system specifically designed for LANs supplied by other manufacturers. We feel that a LAN is only as good as the software that manages it. Our company’s ‘top down’ approach provides a uniform interface for the user and application regardless of the physical connections between devices. NetWare creates a system that lets personal computers perform at a mini/mainframe level. With NetWare the data flow is managed efficiently along with the security, dependability and performance found in former data processing, MIS [management information system] days.”
Noorda added that this was with the added benefits and features found in today’s advanced PC technology. “By preserving the control and ease of use of the PC, NetWare gives the best of both worlds.”
When asked about other problems that NetWare solved for its users, the Utah executive replied, “NetWare promotes compatibility among different kinds of personal computers and operating systems. The customer is then left to choose the computers and software that best suits his company’s needs.” He noted that NetWare is compatible with the IBM PC Network. “Applications written for the IBM PC Network run unchanged on Novell’s NetWare—only much faster.”
Noorda mentioned that another strong point of NetWare was that it allowed control and management of data while maintaining the individuality of personal computer use. “And that’s done right because it’s a file server.”
When questioned as to whether some potential LAN users were interested in LANs because local area networking would protect existing corporate investments in hardware, software, data and training, Noorda nodded agreement. “Besides that, NetWare will help create company information systems that are efficient, but also flexible, while at the same time staying on the edge of changing LAN technology.”
Noorda, whose company has doubled its work force in the last year, concluded, “Our commitment at Novell is to make LANs function as they are intended. We’ve created an operating system that provides a standard across all local area networks. By implementing that standard, leading software suppliers can easily create multi-user PC software that runs on all popular LANs. At Novell we create systems that open up new areas of practical application for PC local area networks. That’s our commitment. The success of LANs ensures ours.”