minshall@kinetics.com (Greg Minshall) (04/11/90)
I hope I will be forgiven the length and formality of the following, but I think it is of interest to enough readers of this newsgroup to justify its posting. Greg Minshall Novell, Inc. minshall@kinetics.com 1-415-947-0998 ------------ 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. RThe 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.S Both Shiva and Novell market their products through common distributors QMicro 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 Macintoshes 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. Contact: Steve Genova Novell, Inc. 408/473-8381 Catie Martin Shiva, Inc. 617/864-8500 Kim Criswell Criswell Communications 415/549-7016