Novell Simplifies and Improves Hi-Tech Classroom Training

• Novell Quick Classroom sets industry standard for rapid classroom setup
• Virtualization software based Novell solution helps Education Partners reduce costs and improve classroom experience

Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net services software, today announced Novell® Quick Classroom, a ground-breaking advancement in the way computer classroom training will be delivered through the rapidly expanding $25 billion worldwide IT training industry. Available immediately worldwide to Novell authorized education partners, the Quick Classroom solution allows for dramatically reduced classroom setup time for Novell training, freeing technical staff, equipment and classrooms for billable training activities. With increasing competitive pressure to trim administrative overhead, training partners will see immediate benefits with 70 to 80 percent reduction of the current setup time required for Novell classes. In addition, students will realize a richer education experience as hardware requirements for Quick Classroom allow students to move through class materials at their own speed, without having to work with multiple computers.

"Novell has long been a leader in streamlining processes and simplifying complex networking systems," said Debbie Maucieri, vice president of Novell Education worldwide. "Quick Classroom allows training partners to reduce costs, bringing more dollars to their bottom line. We are confident that this solution will push other vendors to develop more efficient systems for training partners in the Net economy."

Partners and Students Benefit
Training partners realize that Quick Classroom offers immediate and hard dollar savings for their businesses, as well as improved learning experience for students. For example, a typical training partner that teaches ten Novell classes per month could easily realize an immediate savings of $36,000* per year in class technician time alone with Quick Classroom setup time of under 60 minutes. In addition, with a minimum setup time savings of 5.5 hours per class the classroom would be freed up for training an additional 660 hours per year, or an additional 110 teaching days**.

"Novell Quick Classroom represents a significant cost-savings to our classroom setup process. There is no question that this tool will reduce classroom set up complexity. We applaud Novell Education for the effort in developing this new tool and improving our business model," stated Mark Lamberth, executive vice president for Athena, a Novell Authorized Education CenterSM in Nashville, TN.

Seasoned IT professionals who are certified on Novell Net services software see improvements as they compare past Novell classes with their experience in a Quick Classroom environment. One such improvement is the ability for each student to have their own learning environment without having to share computers.

"There is no question that I learned more by being able to perform all of the exercises on my own. Novell Quick Classroom made that possible," said Rick Shick, MCNESM, Ikon Office Solutions.

Groundbreaking Training Innovation
Developed by Novell Education, Quick Classroom leverages Novell and partner technology to create a first of its kind training platform. It allows training centers to set up any Novell class in 70 to 80 percent less time than it used to take without this tool. Novell Quick Classroom is comprised of two unique utilities: The Course Launcher and the Exercise Launcher. The Course Launcher manages the setup and configuration of the training environment, while the Exercise Launcher allows the student or instructor to load any exercise at any point in the course.

At the core of this new solution is virtualization software technology. Novell Quick Classroom leverages VmwareÔ Workstation. This software enables a user to configure and run multiple operating environments (with almost any combination of operating systems and applications) and network them together as virtual machines on a single PC. With Novell's industry recognized cross-platform technology it is vital to set up Novell Net Services classroom training in a heterogeneous environment. With Novell Quick Classroom and VMware Workstation, that training environment is made possible on one PC.

"We are extremely pleased to be working with industry-leader Novell on this trend-setting solution," said Diane Greene, president, CEO, and co-founder for VMware. "Novell Quick Classroom uses the power, flexibility, and security of VMware Workstation to leverage tight resources and drive higher quality educational offerings."

Pricing and Availability
Quick Classroom is available immediately and is offered free at Edge® 2001 to Novell Authorized Education Centers (NAECSM) and Novell Education Academic PartnersSM (NEAPSM) worldwide through Novell Education. After Edge 2001, Quick Classroom will be available at cost through normal ordering channels. Included with Quick Classroom are copies of VMware Workstation. Licenses for use of VMware Workstation must be purchased at special pricing from the manufacturer - see http://www.vmware.com.

About Edge and Novell Education
Edge is Novell's industry leading annual conference for authorized education partners. It offers partners an opportunity to experience Novell's newest training innovations. Novell Education provides the resources needed to keep pace with the incredible rate of technological change by providing the training and certification programs needed to simplify the complexities of the Net, securely extend your networks, and accelerate eBusiness transformations. A pioneer in technical education programs, Novell has been certifying network and information technology professionals since 1986. Since then, Novell Education has continued to be the industry innovator and leader in skills development and skills assessment creating certification and training programs that have become de facto global standards for hiring network support professionals. For more information see www.novell.com/education.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVL), is the leading provider of Net services software that delivers services to secure and power all types of networks-the Internet, intranets, and extranets; wired to wireless; corporate and public-across leading operating systems. Novell's Net services software provides the foundation for one Net-a single global network that supports new applications and forms of business. Worldwide channel, consulting, education, developer and technical support programs, along with strategic alliances, combine Novell Net services software with third-party products and services to form complete Net solutions.

For information on Novell's complete range of products and services, contact Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272), or visit Novell's Web site at http://www.novell.com. Press may access Novell announcements and company information on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com/pressroom. In addition, detailed comparisons between Novell products and competitive offerings from other vendors are available on the Web at http://www.novell.com/competitive.

*based on $55 per hour cost of classroom technician, 60 minutes setup time with Quick Classroom, 6.5 hours current classroom setup time.
**based on six hour training day.

Novell is a registered trademark, Edge is a registered service mark, Novell Quick Classroom is a trademark, and MCNE, NAEC, NEAP, Novell Authorized Education Center and Novell Education Academic Partner are service marks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.