Novell ZENworks 6.5 Provides Reliable Identity-Based Systems Management Across Multiple Platforms

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Novell today announced the June 28 availability of Novell® ZENworks® 6.5, which allows organizations to consolidate the management of their IT resources and reduce the costs of managing their environment throughout the entire business lifecycle of desktops, laptops, servers and handhelds. Only ZENworks provides secure, identity-based, Policy-Driven Automation for efficient application management, patch management, asset management and OS migration to deliver and maintain a trusted and stable environment, while eliminating administrator effort and overhead.

Novell ZENworks 6.5 now includes ZENworks Linux* Management (formerly Ximian® Red Carpet Enterprise™) to provide secure, scalable and centralized management of SUSE® LINUX and Red Hat Linux server and desktop systems. ZENworks Linux Management delivers industry-leading dependency and conflict resolution for software packages and updates from a broad range of public and private sources -- including updates from Novell, SUSE LINUX, Red Hat and other third-party solutions -- more than any other competing product.

Novell ZENworks 6.5 also includes ZENworks Patch Management, which helps organizations defend their network against intrusion without placing a large burden on IT administrators. Detailed information is provided on each patch so administrators can determine which patches are needed for their organization and are the most critical to distribute. Automatic deployment then ensures companies have the latest protection on all of their systems.

"Most organizations have a heterogeneous environment and therefore require a complete systems management solution that supports the entire lifecycle of desktops, servers and handhelds across multiple platforms," said Fred Broussard, IDC senior analyst. "With the addition of Linux Management, Patch Management and enhanced Windows* management, ZENworks 6.5 and its unique, identity-based approach to managing both users and devices as one can meet the needs of customers in managing IT resources."

A special edition of InstallShield AdminStudio* provides automation of software packaging, customization and quality assurance to ensure reliable applications for enterprise use. The AdminStudio ZENworks Edition distribution wizard tightly integrates with ZENworks to automatically create application objects for easy distribution of software packages.

Unlike other suites, Novell ZENworks manages all network resources -- whether they are systems, applications, users or groups -- across multiple platforms. By giving each resource an identity, administrators can establish policies to automate their management processes. Organizations that are migrating systems to Linux will still be able to manage their Windows or NetWare® systems while having the ability to manage both SUSE LINUX and Red Hat servers and desktops.

In a recent independent test conducted by KeyLabs, a quality assurance consultant and testing provider, Novell ZENworks 6.5 received the highest overall score in a comparative analysis against the latest systems management suites from Microsoft, Altiris and LANDesk. The four suites, which were tested in a pure Windows environment, were ranked for quality and ease of use across the primary capabilities, and Novell ZENworks 6.5 received the top grade in 17 of the 35 categories while being ranked second in eight others ( http://www.novell.com/products/zenworks/keylabs_report.pdf or http://www.keylabs.com/results/novell/zenworks.shtml ).

KeyLabs CTO Eric Bowden said, "Novell ZENworks 6.5 received the highest overall grade after a series of test cases that accurately represent real-life scenarios for systems management evaluation. ZENworks 6.5 scored particularly well in software distribution and managed mobility and across all features for quality."

In order to reduce complexity and simplify the installation, Novell set up a large worldwide beta program for ZENworks 6.5 that has resulted in the most ever field-tested release of ZENworks. The beta has had more than 15,000 downloads, and Web traffic at the ZENworks site more than doubled following the release of the public beta.

City of Fresno Senior Network System Specialist Paul Pedron said, "ZENworks 6.5 finally ties together all components of our multi-platform environment, and it will pay for itself within months through the savings of time and personnel. It is apparent that Novell has focused on the quality of the product and on providing an easier installation, and now ZENworks gives our department credibility for confident, consistent maintenance of our desktops, servers and handhelds."

Pricing and Availability

Novell ZENworks 6.5 will be available June 28 for $130/user through Novell channel partners with a Patch Management subscription available for an additional fee. Customers can also purchase the individual components for Desktop Management, Server Management, Handheld Management and Linux Management. For more information about Novell ZENworks 6.5, please visit http://www.novell.com/zenworks .