Novell Supports Linux Professional Institute's Upcoming Enterprise-Level Certification

TORONTO and WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), the world's premier vendor neutral Linux* certification and Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL), developer of the widely acclaimed Linux distribution, SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise, today announced a series of initiatives to promote Linux professional credentials and the global adoption of open source software. In particular, LPI welcomed the cooperation of Novell on the development of LPI's upcoming enterprise-level certification program, LPIC-3.

Jim Lacey, president and CEO of LPI, in recognizing Novell's assistance on LPIC-3 development, noted that the two organizations share similar strategies in promoting the adoption and growth of open source: "We are finding that LPI's Regional Enablement Initiative, which seeks out strong regional players with existing sales channels, is ideal in promoting the larger agenda of open source adoption and Linux professionalism. This coincides with Novell's previously announced global network of Linux Centers of Excellence. These channel initiatives are fundamental to the growing importance of Linux in the enterprise environment." Mr. Lacey pointed out a multiple city tour in Brazil on legacy modernization sponsored by Novell and IBM at which LPI has been a key player in promoting Linux professional skills development and open standards.

LPIC-3 will be LPI's senior certification level for Linux professionals, requiring candidates to hold both LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 designations. LPI will launch the program in January 2007 and will hold the first North American exam lab at Novell's BrainShare(R) event in March 2007. Mr. Lacey praised the involvement of Novell in the development of LPIC-3 and noted that the company brought important enterprise-level perspective to the certification program. Mr. Lacey also noted the growing interest of LPI training partners in Novell's recent announcement of an innovative free online "Train the Teacher" program: "This resource is beneficial to our own channel needs and is reflective of the open and resource-sharing nature of the Linux community. We welcome Novell's initiative in this regard as it will be an excellent tool in promoting Open Source education."

"Novell has always supported LPI's dedication to the development of Linux professionals," said Dan Veitkus, vice president, Novell(R) Training Services. "We believe in offering our customers and partners the best set of choices for raising their Linux IQ, and we're in full support of LPIC-3 as the next step for Novell's Linux Certified professionals. LPIC-3 specifically targets the needs of large enterprise, IT professionals and IT consultancies that require a broad architect level professional credential." Mr. Veitkus added that a number of Novell's technical trainers, engineers and developers have been engaged to assist LPI in the development of LPIC-3.

The Linux Professional Institute is an internationally recognized, vendor-independent organization advocating and assisting the professional use of Linux, Open Source and Free Software, through the certification of Linux professionals. Established as a non-profit organization in 1999, LPI is community based and supported. LPI's certification program is delivered worldwide in multiple languages. The organization has delivered over 120,000+ LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 exams and 35,000+ certifications, globally, since the program's inception in 1999.

About Linux Professional Institute

The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) develops professional certification for the Linux operating system, independent of software vendors or training providers. Established as an international non-profit organization in 1999 by the Linux community, LPI develops accessible, internationally-recognized certification programs which have earned the respect of vendors, employers and IT professionals. LPI's activities involve hundreds of volunteers and dedicated Linux professionals throughout the world in many different capacities, and the group encourages active public involvement through mailing lists and its website at http://www.lpi.org . LPI's multi-level program of exams is administered globally through Pearson VUE and Prometric testing centers. LPI's major financial sponsors are Platinum Sponsors Novell, IBM, Linux Journal, Linux Magazine, SGI, and TurboLinux as well as Gold Sponsors, Hewlett-Packard and IDG.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. delivers infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise. We are a leader in enterprise-wide operating systems based on Linux and open source and the security and systems management services required to operate mixed IT environments. We help our customers minimize cost, complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com .

NOTE: Novell and SUSE are registered trademarks and BrainShare is a registered service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.