Novell Celebrates 20 Years of BrainShare with New Linux Focus

• Conference expected to draw more than 6,000 to hear about Novell and partner offerings
• More than 50 leading technology firms to sponsor, including IBM, HP, Dell, and AMD
• More than 300 technical, developer and business sessions to focus on Linux, advanced networking services, identity management, Web services and resource management solutions

Waltham, MA — March 9, 2004 — Novell's 20th-annual BrainShare® Conference, taking place March 21-26 in Salt Lake City, will showcase Novell's full range of enterprise software solutions, with a special focus on its new Linux offerings. With more than 6,000 expected to attend, BrainShare will detail Novell's strategic direction and provide extensive hands-on opportunities to test-drive Novell® and partner technologies. Sponsors for the event include IBM, HP, Dell, Computer Associates, AMD and Ricoh. This is the first BrainShare since Novell's aggressive adoption of Linux and assembles key industry leaders who will assess progress in the ongoing move of Linux into the enterprise software space.

"As we look back on two great decades of BrainShare, Novell couldn't be better positioned for the future," said Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell. "With our 20 years of enterprise experience, Novell can bring together the worlds of enterprise software and open source better than anyone else. Linux is all about giving customers choice. Thanks to our Linux moves, we've seen incredible interest in BrainShare this year, both from customers and partners."

The week-long BrainShare conference brings together Novell customers, partners, employees, press and industry analysts for keynotes, more than 300 technical and business sessions, and hands-on lab training and testing. Messman kicks off the event Monday, March 22, with a keynote outlining Novell's strategic direction and highlighting initiatives around identity management, resource management, Web services and open source. Messman will address new advances in Linux management for the enterprise and Novell's plans for Linux on both the server and the desktop. Leading proponents of enterprise Linux from Novell partners will keynote later in the week. For the first time, the entire BrainShare network providing connectivity for show participants will be completely powered by Linux, including more than 300 desktop clients positioned around the venue.

Interest in BrainShare sponsorships has exceeded availability. More than 50 leading technology firms, including IBM, HP, Dell, Computer Associates, XIOtech, Messaging Architects and Blackberry, are sponsoring the event. AMD and Ricoh are among the 15 sponsors participating in BrainShare for the first time. A full list of sponsors is available at http://www.novell.com/brainshare/sponsors2004.html.

For more information about BrainShare, please visit http://www.novell.com/brainshare.

About Novell
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell Nsure), Web application development (Novell exteNd™) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise™), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian® and SUSE® LINUX brands, Novell provides a full range of Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries - helps customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com/. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

Novell and Ximian are registered trademarks; BrainShare is a registered service mark; Nsure, exteNd, and Nterprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE AG, a Novell company. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.