Novell delivers an integrated toolkit

Novell has announced the availability
of a suite of new tools that significantly reduces the time and cost
for independent software vendors (ISVs) and enterprises to develop,
deploy and manage software appliances. With the availability of the
SUSE(R) Appliance Toolkit, Novell now delivers the industry's most
complete and integrated solution for building, testing, updating and
configuring software appliances across physical, virtual and cloud
environments. The Toolkit features an onsite version of Novells
innovative appliance-building solution SUSE Studio(TM) and new
management tools that enable ISVs and enterprises to reduce software
development time, installation cycles and maintenance costs.

“Software appliances can
significantly simplify integrating and managing the applications and
solutions that customers need," said Dr Bob Sutor, VP-Open
Source and Linux, Software Group, IBM . "The SUSE Appliance
Toolkit from Novell can potentially help our business partners
deliver IBM software to their customers quickly, efficiently and cost
effectively," he added.

Application development today is time
consuming and resource intensive. ISVs and enterprises are
recognizing that tailoring the operating system to specific use cases
can improve productivity, drive down support costs and enhance
security. Software appliances pre-configured combinations of an
application, middleware and operating system integrated into a single
image and tailored to run on industry-standard hardware offer new
possibilities for efficient and cost-effective software application
deployment. According to analyst firm IDC, $1.1 billion in revenue is
expected to be spent on software appliances by 2012 worldwide.

"Software appliances are an ideal
solution for organizations faced with delivering projects on
schedule, managing diverse development teams, and securely developing
and deploying applications across multiple hardware and software
platforms," said Brett Waldman, Research Analyst-System
Software, IDC. "However, the creation, support and management of
software appliances remain a mission-critical issue for ISVs and
enterprises. Addressing the challenges of building, deploying and
configuring enterprise software across widespread networks represents
a significant opportunity for the software industry as a whole,"
he added.

Engineered for ISVs and enterprises

For independent software vendors, the
SUSE Appliance Toolkit is an essential part of the SUSE Appliance
Program, a comprehensive program that enables ISVs to build, update,
configure and go-to-market with fully-supported software appliances.
With the SUSE Appliance Program and the SUSE Appliance Toolkit, ISVs
can quickly deliver existing applications to physical, virtual and
cloud computing environments, reduce sales cycles and pursue new
market opportunities. Since the July announcement of the SUSE
Appliance Program, nearly 4,500 ISVs have registered for the
web-based appliance-building tool SUSE Studio. Members of the SUSE
Appliance Program include Adobe, Black Diamond Software, BitRock,
GroundWork Open Source, IBM, Ingres, SEP, ROC Software and Zmanda.

Software appliances are the ideal
solution for enterprises faced with managing diverse development
teams and securely developing and deploying applications across
multiple hardware and software platforms. The SUSE Appliance Toolkit
provides enterprises with an easy-to-use solution that brings the
benefits of software appliances in-house yet maintains the integrity
and security of their software applications and reduces the cost and
complexity of managing deployed applications.

"Enterprises today are faced with
managing numerous applications across distributed networks in
heterogeneous environments," said Markus Rex, Senior VP and GM,
Open Platform Solutions, Novell. "Novell is responding to this
challenge by engineering innovative technology that enables our
customers and partners to take advantage of newer industry trends,
such as software appliances, to solve computing challenges. The SUSE
Appliance Toolkit makes it easier for enterprises and ISVs to quickly
create, deliver and configure tailored, ready-to-use installations of
their applications for physical, virtual and cloud computing
environments."