X

Novell to buy PlateSpin management software

The $205 million acquisition of PlateSpin's automated provisioning and disaster recovery products would help Novell flesh out its management software.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
See full bio
Stephen Shankland

Novell said Monday it plans to acquire PlateSpin for $205 million in cash, a move that could bolster Novell's software for helping customers manage their computing operations.

PlateSpin's software is used to encapsulate software and data running on a physical or virtual server, an infrastructure designed to make it easier to reconfigure hardware and software on the fly in response to equipment failures or changing work needs. The software also can handle the automated installation process called provisioning.

Novell, based in Waltham, Mass., is trying to rebuild its financial health by focusing on two main software areas, Linux and management software. The PlateSpin acquisition, which fits into the latter category, is expected to close in the second quarter of Novell's fiscal 2008, which concludes at the end of April.