Novell putting its eggs in security basket

Novell is pinning its hopes of recovery on security - one area which has seen continued growth throughout the darkest days of the IT downturn.

Wendy Steinle, director of marketing at Novell’s security arm Nsure, told silicon.com that despite tight IT budgets, consumers are still willing to be parted from their cash when it comes to security, with Nsure now featuring as the top growth area in the company and clocking up 80 per cent year-on-year expansion.

Steinle believes Novell's growth has been driven by a change in customers’ security demands.

"In the past, security was about preventing intrusion and perimeter security, now it’s about identity management and controlling access," she said. Financial institutions and e-government projects are leading the way for security vendors according to Steinle.

Novell is banking on the fact that users' fondness for writing down passwords is still undermining even the most sophisticated security programmes, with the company’s latest single sign-on product, Nsure SecureLogin 3.5, unveiled today at its BrainShare event in Barcelona.

Novell hopes that, for users, the enhanced Nsure SecureLogin’s promise of access to all the applications they need with one user ID will help put an end to the passwords-on-post-it-notes culture.

Steinle said the modular nature of Novell’s security products works to its advantage, with moneymen happier to introduce new security gradually rather than staring down the barrel of a several million pound payout for a complete overhaul.