Office Depot Taps SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell to Reduce
Information Technology Complexity and Control Costs
WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novell today announced
that Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products
and services, has chosen SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise Server as a core operating
platform for the company's global servers. The goal of the standardization is
to reduce complexity and control costs while maintaining superior stability
and performance for Office Depot's end-user applications.
"SUSE Linux Enterprise Server has been an excellent investment for Office
Depot and is the cornerstone of our global Linux strategy," said Tim Toews,
senior vice president and CIO of Office Depot. "As a global retailer, it is
critical for Office Depot to partner with a vendor like Novell that can
provide consistent enterprise-wide support."
With customers in 43 countries, Office Depot has grown its global business
both organically and through acquisitions. As a result, the company runs
applications on a variety of platforms including Solaris*, Windows*, Linux*,
z/OS and i5/OS*. To reduce complexity and control costs, the company selected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to standardize its IT environment as much as
possible. Moving to an open platform that runs on commodity hardware has
helped Office Depot to continue to reduce its hardware, power and cooling
costs. In addition, Office Depot has saved by moving some of its global ERP
applications to run on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Roger Levy, Novell senior vice president and general manager of Open
Platform Solutions, said, "Office Depot is taking advantage of the flexibility
of Linux, running several mission-critical workloads on SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server, including databases, middleware and applications. Moving to SUSE Linux
Enterprise has helped Office Depot maintain the security and stability
necessary for a global business that operates around the clock."
The next-generation platform for the open enterprise, SUSE Linux
Enterprise is the best-engineered and most interoperable platform for
mission-critical computing, from the desktop to the data center. For more
information on SUSE Linux Enterprise offerings from Novell(R), visit
http://www.novell.com/linux. For more on how customers around the globe are
leveraging Novell solutions, visit http://www.novell.com/success.
About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers infrastructure software for the Open
Enterprise. Novell is a leader in desktop to data center operating systems
based on Linux and the software required to secure and manage mixed IT
environments. Novell helps customers around the world minimize cost,
complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. For more
information, visit http://www.novell.com.
About Office Depot
Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers
in more countries than any other company.
Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot
has annual sales of approximately $15.5 billion, and employs approximately
52,000 associates around the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers
directly or through affiliates in 43 countries.
Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel -- from retail
stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of September 29,
2007, Office Depot had 1,212 retail stores in North America and another 384
stores, either company-owned, licensed or franchised, in other parts of the
world. Office Depot serves a wide range of customers through a dedicated sales
force, telephone account managers, direct mail offerings, and multiple web
sites. With $4.8 billion in online sales during the last twelve months, the
Company is also one of the world's largest e-commerce retailers.
Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press
information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.
Novell and SUSE 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.
SOURCE Novell, Inc.
Kevan Barney of Novell, Inc., +1-801-861-2931, kbarney@novell.com; or Amy
Anderson of SHIFT Communications, +1-617-779-1825, aanderson@shiftcomm.com,
for Novell, Inc.; or Melissa Perlman of Office Depot, +1-561-438-0704,
melissa.perlman@officedepot.com
