Novell To Deliver ID Management Solution

On Wednesday, the Provo, Utah, company finally announced the delivery of the first in a series of secure identity management solutions, officially named Novell Nsure, which integrate identity management products and professional services.

The first Nsure solution set, called Nsure Resources, is designed to enable employee access to network resources. It is scheduled to ship Nov. 1, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

Novell officially announced the planned "Mercury" e-provisioning solution for employees at Brainshare in March 2002, as reported by CRN. The "Mercury" solutions are targeted to offer out-of-the-box functionality for specific customer and vertical segments.

This week, officials said the first of the planned Nsure solution sets can save corporations millions of dollars in administration costs because it automates new employees' access to network resources and protects corporate assets when employees leave the company.

The nSure resource solution set integrates with a variety of HR applications including SAP and PeopleSoft HR, leading e-mail applications including Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange and Novell's Groupwise, and network operating system directories including Microsoft Active Directory and Novell eDirectory.

The Nsure Resources solution employs a graphical management interface, formerly code-named Pioneer," that offers workflow capabilities. "Mercury" was originally scheduled to be delivered in July but was delayed somewhat to integrate the "Pioneer" workflow features into this release, a spokesman said. "Pioneer" was expected to debut this month.

By the end of 2002, Novell plans another significant e-provisioning product code-named "Saturn" that is a Liberty Alliance-compliant identity management solution.

It uses the Liberty Alliance version 1.0 specifications to exchange identity information between companies, giving users single sign-on and federation capabilities between Web sites via open standards. Liberty Alliance is a standard-based directory specification endorsed by Sun and Novell and functions as a competitor to Microsoft's Passport authentication service.

Novell plans to ship the next Nsure solution set, code-named Apollo, in mid 2003. It will incorporate the full "Pioneer" feature set including reporting and notification services, the Novell spokesman said.

The Nsure Resources solution set will be offered through large systems integrators and channel partners as well as Novell Consulting Services and Cambridge Technology Partners. Novell emphasized that it had established strategic alliances with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte and Touche to sell the Nsure Resources, yet also noted it would be available to a variety of solution providers and systems integrators. Alphanumeric, Goliath Networks, IT Systems and Novacoast are some of the solution providers that plan to deploy Nsure Resources.

"With it, we can help clients automate the process of granting application access to employees, so when employees first come on board or when they change roles, they can have access to everything they need their first day on the job," Jim Gerkin, senior engineer for Novacoast, a Novell platinum partner in Santa Barbara, Calif., said in a statement issued on Wednesday. "When employees leave the company, their access to applications across the organization is automatically shut off. This not only protects confidential information stored on the network, it makes sure cell phones or pagers aren't left active."

The Nsure solution sets represent one of three strategic business lines for the new solutions-focused Novell under management of CEO Jack Messman and Vice Chairman Chris Stone following the company's merger with Cambridge Technology Partners in 2001.

In addition to shipping additional Nsure solution sets, Novell aims to capture more market share with its eXtend web applications and Web services development platform acquired with Silverstream and Nterprise cross-platform networking solutions such as eDirectory.