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LinuxDig.Com: Linux News: Novell Becomes the First GSA Open Source Software Vendor to US Government
Author: Novell | Saturday July 10, 2004
Becoming the first infrastructure and open source software vendor to join GSA-led SmartBUY initiative which will offer special software bundles - including Linux - to government agencies at attractive price point
LinuxDig.Com Forward Note:
For those of you who may not know, GSA is a sort of focal point for Government Agencies to purchase products. This is not limited to software, it includes every possible item the government could possibly use. Most government agencies use GSA as a primary purchasing point or an exclusive purchasing point. Novell offering its services through the GSA, is not going to turn the company into a world leader overnight, but does give Novell a great oppurtunity to propose its products and services throughout the government sector.
What makes Novell from this authors standpoint such an attractive Linux Company is that Novell has been firmly embedded with the US Government for 20 years or more.
NOVELL ARTICLE
- Becomes first infrastructure and open source software vendor to join GSA-led SmartBUY initiative
- Will offer special software bundles - including Linux - to government agencies at attractive price point
- Program makes purchasing and monitoring of software cheaper, easier for individual agencies
WALTHAM, Mass. - July 8, 2004 - Novell has become the first networking infrastructure vendor to reach an agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration to participate in the SmartBUY program for government-wide software purchasing. SmartBUY is an initiative of the federal government to support effective enterprise level software management through the aggregate buying of commercial software government-wide in an effort to achieve bulk savings.
As part of the agreement, Novell has created a series of special SmartBUY software offerings and service levels, including special product SmartBUY bundles for infrastructure, Linux* servers and desktops, web services, and, soon, secure identity management. These bundles will provide federal customers flexibility on both deployment and pricing, as well as significantly easing the contract negotiation and licensing process for individual agencies.
With IT spending of more than $60 billion a year split between multiple agencies and departments, the government launched the SmartBUY program in 2003 to consolidate its IT purchasing mechanisms and leverage its buying power more effectively. The agreement with the GSA makes Novell one of the first software companies - and the sole networking infrastructure vendor - to participate in the program.
"The federal government has always been a strong customer of Novell, and we hope our participation in SmartBUY will strengthen the relationship even more," said Alan Kraft, vice president for federal government solutions for Novell. "Now agencies can buy from Novell and know they gain instant compliance with procurement regulations, freedom from day-to-day license tracking, and an easier budgeting process. More importantly, with the new SmartBUY software bundles we're offering, federal agencies can address tough IT challenges around infrastructure, open source, security, and data integration with integrated, yet flexible solutions at an attractive price point."
As part of the agreement, Novell will offer a number of specialized bundles that address critical needs in many government agencies. The infrastructure bundle will include core platform services, collaboration, and management tools. The sole provider of open source software in the SmartBUY program, Novell will offer three Linux bundles - a desktop solution, a "starter pack" server solution for smaller departmental deployments, and a more managed/full featured server solution for large environments. Novell's secure identity management bundle should enter testing at GSA's eAuthentication Interoperability Lab in the near future and will assist federal customers not only with authentication functionality, but in governing access to information and in provisioning and de-provisioning services to users. The web services bundle will provide powerful tools to repurpose legacy applications and provide personalized information to users across the organization.
"OMB and GSA recognize that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' for the SmartBUY initiative to be successful, so the program aims to strike a balance between centralizing the licensing and contracting process while leaving procurement decisions to individual agencies," said Phil Kiviat, partner in Guerra, Kiviat, Flyzik & Associates, Inc. a government IT consulting firm. "It is critical for agencies to have access to the best solutions available. I'm pleased that Novell, a leading player in the open source and network infrastructure space, has worked with GSA so quickly to join the program. OMB has identified network management and open source software as targeted categories for SmartBUY agreements, so it's very exciting that Novell is putting both best-in-class networking and robust Linux solutions under the SmartBUY program."
For more information on Novell's government solutions, please visit Government. For more information on SmartBUY, please see SmartBUY
About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell® NsureTM), Web application development (Novell exteNdTM) and cross-platform networking services (Novell NterpriseTM), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian® and SUSE® LINUX brands, Novell provides a full range of Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries - helps customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit Novell.
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Novell and Ximian are registered trademarks; Nsure, exteNd and Nterprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE AG, a Novell business. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Modifications to the Article
The original article was modified with a new title by LinuxDig.com and read "Novell Signs on with U.S. Government Software Purchasing Program"
The summary was recomposed into a paragraph.
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