oberst@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel J. Oberst) (04/11/90)
Hot off Applelink (Is this the start of the Lotus/Novell marriage?!?!?)
Contact: Steve Genova
Novell, Inc.
2180 Fortune Drive
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 473-8381
Catie Martin
Shiva, Inc.
155 Second Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 864-8500
Kim Criswell
Criswell Communications
(415) 549-7016
NOVELL LICENSES FASTPATH TO SHIVA
Companies Pledge Continued Product Evolution and Customer Support
April 10, 1990 -- Walnut Creek, CA -- Novell, Inc., developer of NetWare
systems software products, today announced the transfer of its FastPath gateway
business to Shiva Corporation, a local and wide-area networking company located
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Under the terms of the agreement Novell will no
longer manufacture and market the FastPath; Shiva will manufacture, sell,
support and continue development of the "Shiva FastPath" beginning in the
summer of 1990.
With assistance from Novell, Shiva will assume responsibility for support of
all current FastPath customers. Novell will register Shiva as a
Novell-certified NetWare Developer, entitling Shiva to special support,
development software, services and marketing programs. In consideration for
this business opportunity, Shiva will pay a royalty per FastPath to Novell.
Novell will retain ownership of the current FastPath technology.
The agreement continues Novell's consistent commitment to networking
software development. Licensing the FastPath to Shiva lets Novell refocus its
Macintosh development resources on NetWare and other Novell software solutions.
Shiva's strength in Macintosh networking promises FastPath customers ongoing
product enhancements and assures current users a continued high level of
service and support.
"Novell's intention is to establish strategic alliances with networking
companies who are committed to growing the Macintosh networking market," said
Steve Nelson, director of product marketing at Novell's Walnut Creek Macintosh
networking development center. "The FastPath fits well in Shiva's product
family. With an extensive background in the Macintosh networking industry,
Shiva is in an excellent position to continue development of the FastPath, and
has already demonstrated the expertise to give our current customers first-rate
support."
Both Shiva and Novell market their products through common distributors-
Micro D, Softsel, Microamerica and major resellers such as Businessland.
Customers should see no decline in service or availability. Because Novell and
Shiva have many customers in common, network administrators who use the
products will be familiar with both companies.
"The FastPath is the clear market leader in AppleTalk-to-TCP/IP
communications, and we're pleased to add it to Shiva's line of intelligent
gateways," said Shiva President Dan Schwinn. "We believe this agreement
represents the beginning of a long-term partnership between Novell and Shiva.
This partnership will augment Shiva's strategy to extend our network
communication services beyond the Macintosh market and into the DOS and UNIX
worlds."
The FastPath gateway connects LocalTalk, the AppleTalk-based networking
system used by Macintosh computers, with Ethernet, the high-speed
communications standard commonly found in DEC, UNIX and DOS environments. The
FastPath gateway supports multiple network protocols, including AppleTalk,
DECnet and TCP/IP. This lets Macintosh systems share printers, electronic mail
services, file servers and other peripheral devices located in other computing
environments.
Shiva Corporation has been developing Macintosh networking hardware and
software since 1987. Shiva's products have won critical acclaim for their ease
of use and innovative solutions to peripheral sharing, remote network access,
and local and wide area network routing. Recent developments include the Shiva
Ethergate, an EtherTalk serial and wide area gateway, and the Shiva NetModem
V.32, a 9600 bps AppleTalk modem.
Novell, Inc., is the leading independent provider of open, high-performance
systems software products. The company's NetWare network operating system has
become a standard for personal computer-based local area networks. Novell had
revenue of $422 million for fiscal 1989; its common stock is traded on NASDAQ
under the symbol NOVL.