In conjunction with that move, Novell is acquiring e-business consulting company Cambridge Technology Partners, whose top executive Jack Messman has long served on Novell's board.
Analysts say the management change was necessary.
He's definitely the guy you want to lead your strategic direction, but operationally he's dropped the ball and lost the opportunity to drive directory services when Microsoft was late with Windows 2000. Novell hasn't been able to sell its idea. Until last year, things had been looking up for Novell and Schmidt. The company had launched its One Net Internet strategy, made a foray into e-commerce with its iChain product and reported 16 profitable quarters. Schmidt attributed the drop to a downturn in sales of Novell's packaged products.