Oracle pulls plug on Netware support

Oracle is withdrawing all support for Novell's Netware operating system "out of the blue", forcing users to migrate to other platforms.

In a document seen by Computing, Oracle says it will end "error correction support for all Oracle products on Novell Netware, effective 31 December 2001".

Oracle will only offer limited support - known as extended assistance support and described by one user as "worthless" - for its products on Netware for another three years. This covers telephone and electronic support, but not software bug fixes, certification or response time support.

"Oracle strongly recommends that customers upgrade to other Oracle-supported platforms as soon as possible," the document states. Migration options recommended include its own Oracle 8i appliance, Linux, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX.

"As a major Oracle and Netware shop we're extremely concerned," said one customer. "Without the error correction support, the extended assistance support is fairly meaningless. This has come completely out of the blue, and we're now left with a difficult choice as to which platform we migrate to."

The move has Novell's full co-operation, but the decision appears to have taken the UK division by surprise.

Eugene Forrester, Novell's European Net Services product director, admitted that the only communication he'd seen was a copy of the Oracle announcement.

"I can understand customers' frustrations," he said. "At the end of the day, the decision has been made so we have to help them migrate and look at alternatives. We don't want to leave customers in the lurch."

Neil Ward-Dutton, principal consultant for analyst Ovum, said: "Oracle was one of the flagship software developers for Novell. I'm sure there will be a lot of unhappy Novell customers out there. But Netware is definitely on the wane as a corporate enterprise application platform, so Oracle's decision makes economic sense."

Last month, Novell said it would sack up to 900 staff after disastrous third-quarter results. Revenue fell from $327m to $270m, while profits fell 83 per cent to $8.6m, compared with the same quarter last year.

First published in Computing