WALTHAM, Mass., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novell today announced that it has joined The Green Grid, a consortium of information technology companies and professionals committed to improving energy efficiency in the data center. As a contributing member, Novell is working with other members of The Green Grid, such as AMD, Dell, HP, IBM and Microsoft, to develop technology which aims to reduce data center energy usage globally. Through this collaboration, Novell will help customers reduce the power consumption in their data center through the operating system virtualization built into the SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise platform and the management tools that comprise the Novell(R) ZENworks(R) product suite. As a result, customers can lower the cost of managing their data centers while also helping the environment.

"Reducing energy consumption in the data center is one of the most significant issues facing companies today," said Rick Schuckle, director of The Green Grid. "Novell's commitment to The Green Grid, in conjunction with our other key industry organizations, raises awareness for this escalating challenge and demonstrates the possibility of developing real-world business solutions that are a win-win for corporations and the community."

A key area of focus around data center efficiency for Novell is virtualization. Virtualization technology, like Xen* on SUSE Linux Enterprise server, can increase energy efficiency by reducing the number of physical servers an organization has running, thus reducing the demand for power. Virtualization offers customers a substantial benefit as long as they can easily manage their environment. With the Novell ZENworks Orchestrator and Virtual Machine Management, customers can simplify the management of their virtual machines, thus improving flexibility and reducing costs without impacting the operation of their data center.

"It is critical that customers find solutions for making their data centers energy efficient without slowing down the speed of business," said Eric Anderson, vice president of engineering at Novell. "Working with The Green Grid, Novell will further help to shape efficient data centers by contributing to the development of technology standards and best practices that decrease power consumption while increasing productivity."

About Novell

Novell, Inc. delivers infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise. Novell is a leader in enterprise-wide operating systems based on Linux and open source and provides the enterprise management services required to operate mixed IT environments. Novell helps customers minimize cost, complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com/.

NOTE: Novell, SUSE and ZENworks are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Kerry Adorno of Novell, +1-781-464-8042, or kadorno@novell.com;
or Amanda Munroe of SHIFT Communications, +1-617-681-1216, or
amunroe@shiftcomm.com
Web site: http://www.novell.com/