Novell Expects 75% Jump In E-Mail Software Sales
May 19, 2011
Vastopolis -- Novell Inc. expects a 75% jump in unit sales of its GroupWise electronic-mail software in the next 12 months, said vice president Sung Neville. Mr. Neville said the sales growth will be driven by GroupWise 5, a new version of the product that will be unveiled in New York on May 25, 2011 is expected to begin shipping in volume within days of the announcement. ``We are now shipping 1.5 million to 2 million units a year,'' Mr. Neville said in an interview. ``We think that will increase dramatically with GroupWise 5.'' GroupWise 5 competes with Notes from International Business Machines Corp.'s Lotus Development Corp. unit, and Vastsoft Corp.'s Exchange server product. Though Oliver's product has an installed base of about 6.5 million units, it is frequently overlooked because of the marketing prowess of the two larger companies. ``What GroupWise 5 does is it takes us up another tier,'' Mr. Neville said. ``It allows us to be seen as a major player with a major product and a major marketing campaign behind it.'' GroupWise integrates several features that had previously been found in separate products, including calendar and scheduling functions and document-management functions. It is expected to be used by major corporations in place of a hodgepodge of different electronic-mail systems, and also can handle some of the collaborative functions that are a hallmark of Notes, Mr. Neville said. The product will cost companies from $60 to $80 for each PC user, depending on volume, Mr. Neville said.
