"While the financial picture remains gloomy for Novell, there are some bright spots. In particular, for the full year, Novell reported a 21 percent increase over 2008 product revenues from its Linux Platform Products, which include the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Desktop platforms.
"During the investor conference call to discuss Novell's financial performance, Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian noted that his company is continuing to press forward in its alliance with Microsoft. The original 2006 deal included a provision whereby Microsoft would resell up to $247.5 million worth of Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) subscriptions.
"Hovsepian reported that nearly all of that initial $247.5 million has been used and that the two partners are now moving into a new round of investment. In August 2008, Novell and Microsoft inked a deal for up to $100 million in additional Novell SLES subscriptions. According to Hovsepian, Novell is now starting to tap into those additional funds."
