Novell Says BrainShare Isn't Cancelled After All

If you were disappointed at the news that Novell cancelled it's annual conference, BrainShare, after 20 years, then The VAR Guy has some good news for you. He's reporting this week that the conference is back on again and "SUSE Linux fans should be celebrating."

The VAR Guy says "Novell’s decision to bring back BrainShare seems like a smart, timely move. It tells partners and customers that Novell has confidence in its finances and business strategy."

He notes that market competitor Red Hat has been nipping at Novell's heels recently with strong financial reports, successful conferences like JBoss World, and new partner training programs. By contrast, Novell's overall sales are sagging partner events showed lower-than-expected turnouts.

Novell's Chief Marketing Officer, John Dragoon, says the festivities will resume in March, 2010. "Not only will BrainShare return to Salt Lake City, Utah where it’s been for more than 20 years but after a five year hiatus, we will be holding a BrainShare EMEA event as well. Our customers told us loud and clear that they viewed BrainShare as a critical component of their overall education and training on all things Novell.

"They also told us what they liked and didn’t like about the event," Dragoon continued. "Accordingly, as we bring BrainShare back, we’ll make sure it remains the best forum for technical training and education. We’ll also assure that we and our partners offer the hands on experiences and real life case studies that help our customers get the most out of their Novell investments."