What Happened to Novell, Inc.?

Novell, Inc. began its journey in 1980 as Novell Data Systems, initially a hardware manufacturer. However, under the leadership of Ray Noorda, the company pivoted to focus on networking software, releasing NetWare in 1983. NetWare quickly became the dominant network operating system (NOS) in the burgeoning local area network (LAN) market, achieving a peak market share of around 70% in the early 1990s. This success was driven by its robust file and print services, directory services (NDS, later eDirectory), and a strong channel partner program.

The company's decline began in the mid-1990s with the aggressive entry of Microsoft into the enterprise networking space with Windows NT. Microsoft's strategy of bundling networking services with its popular Windows operating system proved to be a formidable challenge. In an attempt to compete, Novell embarked on a series of ambitious acquisitions, including Digital Research (DR-DOS) in 1991 to challenge MS-DOS, Unix System Laboratories (UnixWare) from AT&T in 1993 to bolster its server OS offerings, and most notably, WordPerfect Corporation and Borland's Quattro Pro in 1994 to create a suite of office applications to rival Microsoft Office. These acquisitions, however, often failed to integrate effectively or were too late to stem the tide against Microsoft's growing dominance, leading to significant financial losses and divestitures, such as the sale of WordPerfect and Quattro Pro to Corel in 1996.

By the late 1990s, NetWare's market share had significantly eroded, and Microsoft Windows 2000 surpassed it in NOS market leadership by 1999. Novell then shifted its strategy towards open-source software and services. A key turning point was the acquisition of SUSE Linux in 2003 for $210 million, making Novell a major player in the enterprise Linux market. This led to the release of Open Enterprise Server (OES) in 2005, which offered a choice between a NetWare or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server kernel, signaling a gradual transition away from the proprietary NetWare kernel. Novell also entered into a controversial patent agreement with Microsoft in 2006 regarding Linux.

Despite these efforts, Novell struggled to regain its former prominence as an independent entity. NetWare's final update, version 6.5 SP8, was released in May 2009, with extended support officially ending in December 2016. In 2011, Novell was acquired by The Attachmate Group for approximately $2.2 billion, becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary. The Attachmate Group, including Novell and SUSE, was then acquired by Micro Focus International in 2014 for about $1.2 billion. Under Micro Focus, Novell's corporate brand transitioned, and its products continued as part of Micro Focus's portfolio.

The most recent development occurred in 2023 when OpenText acquired Micro Focus for approximately $5.8 billion. As of 2026, Novell's former products, such as GroupWise (a messaging and collaboration platform) and Open Enterprise Server, are now part of OpenText's offerings. OpenText continues to develop and support these products, with GroupWise 26.2 being released in May 2026, featuring multi-factor authentication enhancements and SIEM support. While the Novell brand as an independent company no longer exists, its foundational technologies and products live on within the OpenText ecosystem, serving enterprise customers globally.