Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-06/univel.rel

Text File | 1992-07-20 | 6KB | 103 lines

 Novell and UNIX System Laboratories Create Univel;
 Joint Venture Company Chartered to Simplify and Distribute Standard UNIX
 System

NEW YORK--December 12, 1991--Novell, Inc., developer of NetWare(R) systems
software, and UNIX System Laboratories (USL), Inc., developer of the
UNIX(R) System V operating system, Thursday announced creation of Univel, a
joint venture company formed to accelerate the expanded  use of easy-to-use
UNIX systems in the network computing marketplace.

"There are clear customer needs for a mature, stable, well developed,
general purpose applications platform like UNIX System V that encompasses
the desktop, applications servers on computer networks, and host computer
systems," said Raymond J. Noorda, chairman, president and chief executive
officer of Novell.  "Novell is committed to meeting this need.  Through
Univel, Novell and USL will bring an end user customer focus to the UNIX
system, making it easier to use while significantly expanding its
availability throughout worldwide distribution channels."

Roel Pieper, president and chief executive officer of USL, said, "Univel
opens a new era in the growth of the UNIX system by making its power and
security accesssible and available on market-leading microprocessor
platforms. Univel products will set the standard for the UNIX System at the
desktop and will help attract thousands of additional applications to
32-bit operating system environments, including those built around the
Intel ix86 chip architecture."

Novell and USL are contributing cash and technology rights to Univel.
Novell holds a 55 percent share in the new company.  Although specific
financial terms of the joint venture were not disclosed, the companies
acknowledged that Univel has been underwritten with $30 million cash and
other assets.  In addition, the joint venture will have access to technical
resources and the education, training, sales, marketing and distribution
capabilities of the parent companies.

Novell and USL expect Univel to respond to customer needs with streamlined
UNIX System V Release 4.1 operating system products.  The companies
anticipate that Univel's products will enable computer users to run UNIX
applications on standard hardware and utilize the UNIX system as a scalable
applications environment across computer networks.  Product development is
intended to tightly integrate NetWare network services from Novell with the
UNIX SVR4 applications platform.

Novell's NetWare provides network services that integrate DOS, OS/2,
Macintosh and UNIX desktop computers with each other and with host computer
systems from leading UNIX system vendors, and from other companies
including Digital Equipment Corp., Hewlett-Packard and IBM.  UNIX SVR4
unites all major UNIX system derivatives into a single, standard product
that supports all major system integration standards, including POSIX,
IEEE, X/Open's Portability Guide Issue 3, the System V Interface
Definition, the Intel SVR4 Application Binary Interface and the Intel
Binary Compatibility Specification, Edition 2. Univel's initial products
will be announced and begin shipping to computer users in 1992.  They will
be available through computer product distributors, systems integrators and
resellers worldwide.  They will also be made available from computer
manufacturers under OEM agreements.  The new company will be headquartered
in San Jose, Calif.

The appointment of three key Univel executives was announced. Joel A.
Appelbaum has been named president and chief executive officer of Univel.
Grover P. Righter has been named vice president product group.  Gregory R.
Fallon has been named vice president sales and channel management.

Appelbaum previously had been executive vice president, Open Solution
Software, at USL. Before joining USL in 1990, he was vice president for
AT&T's network computing product line and director, Venture Technologies at
AT&T Corporate. He served at Bell Laboratories for more than 16 years in
both research and management positions, including director, Strategic
Planning.

Righter formerly headed UNIX system efforts within Novell's
Interoperability Systems Group. He joined Novell in 1988 and has held
software engineering and product development management positions at the
company, including director of NetWare development and director UNIX system
products.

Fallon was formerly channel marketing director for International Operations
at Novell.  He joined Novell in 1989 through the Novell/Excelan merger.  He
had been business development group manager at Kinetics, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Excelan.  Prior to joining Kinetics, Fallon had fifteen years
of sales experience in the computer industry.

Univel will be overseen by a five person board that includes Appelbaum, two
additional nominees from Novell and two nominees from USL. UNIX System
Laboratories, Inc., headquartered in Summit, N.J., develops and markets the
UNIX System V operating system and other Open Systems software, including
the TUXEDO(R) Enterprise Transaction Processing System, Open Networking
Platform(R) OSI technology, and the C++ Programming Language System, to the
worldwide computer industry.

Novell, Inc., (NASDAQ:NOVL) is an operating system software company, the
developer of network-services and specialized and general purpose operating
system software products including NetWare, DR DOS, DR Multiuser DOS, and
Flex OS.

Novell's NetWare network computing products manage and control the sharing
of services, data and applications among computer workgroups, departmental
networks and business-wide information systems.

NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.  UNIX, TUXEDO and Open
Networking Platform are registered trademarks of UNIX System Laboratories,
Inc.