Novell Reaffirms Its Commitment to the OpenDocument Format

WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) today reaffirmed its roadmap for support of the OpenDocument file format in current and future Novell(R) products, which reinforces Novell's commitment to open standards, customer choice and flexibility. Novell has delivered OpenDocument support in its SUSE(R) Linux distribution since March 2005. Novell will deliver complete OpenDocument support in the next edition of its enterprise desktop in 2006. As a result, enterprise customers will be able to create documents using a perpetually open standard and will not have to rely on proprietary formats for future document readability.

OpenDocument is a standardized, XML-based file format specification for office applications. A public, open, application-independent format that can be implemented within any software program, it covers the features required by text, spreadsheets, charts and graphical documents. OpenDocument files can be opened by any OpenDocument-compliant application regardless of language, freeing users from the shifting product directions of any one vendor. Novell is working with Google, IBM, Red Hat, Sun and others to promote this standard across the industry, the open source community and the marketplace. Novell is a member of the OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications technical committee, the body that manages and publishes the OpenDocument standard.

"True open standards, like OpenDocument, are subject to public inspection and contribution and are unencumbered by property rights and the individual agendas of specific vendors," said Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell. "Users need these conditions to completely trust the standard to remain perpetually open. It's that openness that ensures customer choice, and customer choice has long been Novell's priority." About Novell

Novell, Inc. delivers Software for the Open Enterprise(TM). With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com . NOTE: Novell and SUSE are registered trademarks and Software for the Open Enterprise is a trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.