Novell Network Solutions Cut Costs, Improve Productivity, Deliver Dramatic
Return-on-Investment According to IDC

NetWare 4.1 Up to 22 Percent Less Expensive to Use than NT Server;
GroupWise Offers Typical ROI of 334 Percent; ManageWise Pays for Itself in
20 Days

NETWORLD+INTEROP, Las Vegas -- April 3, 1996 -- Novell, Inc. today
announced the results of return-on-investment (ROI) research it sponsored
from International Data Corporation (IDC) concluding that Novell's NetWare
4.1 is up to 22 percent less expensive to use than Microsoft Windows NT
Server. In addition, the research demonstrated significant productivity
improvements and cost reductions achieved through business use of Novell's
ManageWise" and GroupWise" products and concluded that cost savings can be
compounded when these products and NetWare 4.1 are used together.

Highlights of the research, which included extensive interviews with
businesses ranging from small companies to global enterprises, show that
surveyed companies plan to increase their NetWare 4.1 server licenses by
258 percent in the next 12 months, compared with a 55 percent increase for
NT Server licenses. In its analysis of groupware solutions, IDC concluded
that Novell's GroupWise generated a typical annual return of 334 percent
per user. And, as part of its study of advanced system management tools,
IDC found that ManageWise paid for itself through increased productivity
and decreased network downtime in an average of 20 days.

Novell also today announced the availability of the Novell Business
Advisor, an ROI tool that enables businesses to easily quantify the
return-on-investment they can generate from implementing NetWare 4.1,
GroupWise and ManageWise solutions. As part of its efforts to help
businesses quantify the return-on-investment from a total Novell
solution--including the ROI benefits of technology education and
training--Novell also this week announced the availability of the Novell
Authorized CNE Advisor, the first ROI tool to quantify organizations'
investments in vendor technical certifications.

"Novell has clearly taken a leading role in delivering network solutions
that maximize return-on-investment," said Lee Doyle, vice president, local
area networks and data communications, at IDC. "As networked applications
continue to grow and networks get bigger and more complex, technology
managers must relentlessly optimize, integrate and upgrade existing
systems in order to stay ahead of the game. Our research shows that
Novell's NetWare 4.1, GroupWise and ManageWise solutions can help them do
this."

"Our Novell network solution translates into measurable improvements on our
company's bottom line," said Paul Scholes, LAN Systems Manager at Farmland
Foods. "Farmland Foods' profitability depends on our employees being able
to communicate and collaborate, on the tools and information they need to
do their jobs being always available, and on our network being
cost-effective and easy to administer. Novell's NetWare 4.1, GroupWise and
ManageWise answer those requirements better than any other network
solution available. We're not only getting great technology, but a real
solution to real business needs."

NetWare 4.1 Leads Market in Cost-Efficiency

The results of IDC's "cost-to-use" study of NetWare 4.1 show that:

* NetWare 4.1 costs less to use than Windows NT Server. NetWare 4.1 costs
from 7 to 22percent less to use than NT Server, primarily because NetWare
4.1 requires 13 to 30 percent fewer people to manage the network.
Additionally, NT Server costs from 10 to 35 percent more than NetWare 4.1
in initial implementation costs, which include the costs of hardware,
software and labor. The higher costs for NT Server were driven by the need
for additional servers (lower performance per server) as well as
additional time needed for software configuration.

* NetWare 4.1's performance, capacity and centralized administration
translate into measurable cost savings. The centralized network
administration provided by Novell Directory Services" (NDS"), the
industry- standard directory that ships with NetWare 4.1, results in an
overall lower cost of network administration. IDC reports that surveyed
LAN managers are seeing "remarkable" improvements in managing their
networks under NetWare 4.1: Although companies expected the number of
nodes on their networks to grow by 260 percent in the next 12 months, they
expected the number of servers on the network to grow by only 163
percent--an improvement of 50 percent.

* NetWare 4.1 leads the market in worldwide licenses shipped, with strong
growth anticipated through the end of the century. Independent IDC
research shows that NetWare 4.1 surpassed NetWare 3 in network operating
system license sales by the third quarter of 1995, making it the number
one network operating system. Additionally, companies surveyed by IDC
reported high levels of satisfaction with NetWare 4.1, and felt that it
had made "major contributions" to network productivity. These companies
reported that while 51 percent of their desktops were connected to NetWare
4.1, they anticipate expanding to 83 percent over the next 12 months.

ManageWise Maximizes Return on Network Investments

IDC's ROI study of ManageWise shows that:

* ManageWise dramatically reduces management costs for large and small
NetWare networks. Companies surveyed by IDC reported that the
implementation of ManageWise saved them almost $1,000 a year per employee
by decreasing network downtime, reducing network management and
administration costs, and increasing the number of users a single PC staff
person can support.

* ManageWise enables companies to manage more with the same number of
people. The IDC research shows that on average, companies using ManageWise
realize a 35 percent improvement in network manager efficiency. With
ManageWise deployed, a network staff person can support 25 percent more
desktops and 33 percent more servers, and can decrease travel costs by 50
percent.

* ManageWise is an affordable management solution that pays for itself in
weeks. IDC research shows that the cost to implement ManageWise is repaid
through cost savings in an average of 20 days. Customers' overall return
on investment was 157 percent per 100 managed users.

GroupWise Dramatically Increases Corporate Productivity

IDC's research on the bottom-line impact of groupware applications shows
that:

* Organizations that implement GroupWise experience a typical annual return
of 334 percent per user. For every GroupWise customer interviewed by IDC,
return on investment exceeded expectations. NordicTrack, for example, saw
a first year return per user of more than three and a half times first
year costs.

* GroupWise improves individual and workgroup productivity at an
incremental cost. At Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton, a law firm in
Los Angeles, GroupWise cut the time needed to set up meetings by 25 hours
per week, enabled assistants to support three lawyers instead of two, and
saved $16,000 per year in courier costs. Farmland Foods saved nearly
$400,000 in communications costs per year. On average, GroupWise paid for
itself in only 3.3 months.

* GroupWise multiplies the returns from existing hardware and software
investments. The IDC research indicates improved productivity and reduced
administration and management costs as a result of the linkages and common
components between GroupWise, NetWare, ManageWise and desktop software.

Novell Business Advisor Provides Financial Facts

To help customers implement network solutions in the most profitable way
for their situation, Novell has created the Novell Business Advisor. The
Novell Business Advisor contains information and tools that offer
objective feedback to businesses making technology purchasing decisions.
For instance, using the Novell Business Advisor customers can compare the
ROI generated from a move to NetWare 4.1 against the ROI expected from a
move to competitive network operating systems. The Novell Business Advisor
also allows customers to analyze the costs and benefits of implementing
GroupWise and to quantify the benefits ManageWise can provide in reducing
management, administration and downtime costs.

Availability of ROI Research, Novell Business Advisor and Novell CNE
Advisor

The ROI research conducted by IDC and sponsored by Novell is presented in
four white papers: * Novell GroupWise: Leveraging Desktop and Network
Investments * Novell NetWare 4.1: Reducing Cost of Ownership * Novell
ManageWise: Maximizing Returns on Networking Investments * Maximizing
Return-on-Investment of Network Computing (a summary of the preceding
three white papers)

For copies of these white papers and a copy of the Novell Business Advisor,
customers can call 1-800-665-4586 or visit Novell's web site
(http://www.roi.novell.com). The Novell Authorized CNE Advisor, which lets
businesses quantify the value of investing in Novell's CNE, Master CNE and
Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) certifications, can be downloaded
from the Novell Education web site (http://www.education.novell.com).

International Data Corporation is the world's leading provider of
information, technology, data, analysis and consulting. IDC has research
centers in 40 countries and more than 300 research analysts worldwide; it
is a subsidiary of International Data Group, the world's largestpublisher
of computer'related information.

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL), is the world's leading networking software
provider. Novell software provides the infrastructure for a networked
world, enabling customers to connect with other people and the information
they need, anytime and anyplace. Novell partners with other technology and
market leaders to help customers make networks part of their everyday
lives.
 
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