NEST is a critical component of Novell's vision for pervasive computing, where people connect with each other and the information they need anytime, anywhere.
Networks are the underlying infrastructure for pervasive computing.
By extending networking capabilities into devices in nontraditional environments such as the home and factory, Novell and its partners expect to expand the reach of networking and its benefits of increased productivity, to a broader audience of non-technical users. As a result of NEST devices, networking will become an underpinning of everyday life, a transparent universal service like electricity and as easy to use as the telephone. Because network applications written for these devices will be the interface to the network and its services, users will not have to know anything about computing in order to access the information they need, maintain control over the tasks they perform and increase productivity. Users will want to have the same view of the network and logon only once to its services whether they are at home accessing shopping opportunities from their TVs, in their cars scheduling servicing from the nearest manufacturer-approved mechanic, or in their office accessing a file that resides on the mainframe. Information system managers will want a single point of administration as well as a single view of all these new devices on the network.