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Open source suite for SMEs now in SA

Novell’s Linux-based productivity suite for small and medium enterprises, the Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition, has been released in South Africa. Find out what lurks inside the box…
A Linux-based desktop-to-server solution tailored to meet the needs of small businesses, the Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition combines the flexibility and cost efficiency of open source software with the support of an established enterprise software vendor, according to the distributor.

“The new suite provides small businesses with productivity tools and a networking infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of alternative, proprietary-only software bundles,” says Sally Berimbau, Novell product manager at Workgroup.

The Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise and includes Novell GroupWise for email, task management and calendaring; Novell Server for storage, print and management services; SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for running applications; SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell for complete desktop productivity; and the Novell edition of the popular office productivity suite OpenOffice.org for Windows and Linux.

Berimbau says that to accommodate growing businesses, the suite features support for up to five servers and 200 users.

“This suite is designed to enhance the service relationship between solution providers and their customers,” she says. “It features a simple yet customisable installation process that can deploy the suite in less than an hour using a single DVD, plus remote management capabilities and an easy-to-use help desk tool so solution providers can manage and support their small business customers’ IT infrastructures over the Web.”

To further help customers reduce cost and improve security, Novell’s suite also includes Novell-supported open source components, including Amanda for backup and archiving, the ClamAV anti-virus toolkit, HylaFAX fax server, iptables for firewall, MailScanner for spam filtering, the OpenVPN virtual private network and TightVNC for remote control of network clients.

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