Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1998/10/22/novell_buys_into_netobjects/

Novell buys into NetObjects

Will bundle Web design tool with Netware

By Tony Smith

Posted in On-Prem, 22nd October 1998 11:33 GMT

Novell has taken a stake in Web page design software developer NetObjects. The first fruit of the deal will be the bundling of NetObject's Fusion with the small business edition of Netware, but the companies also spoke cryptically of "additional programmes and opportunities going forward". Fusion has so far been aimed almost exclusively at Web design professionals. As one of the first WYSIWYG Web page tools, and through its rapid adoption of new Web technologies, such as Dynamic HTML and XML, has won NetObjects many supporters in the design community. However, the company needs to push beyond designers into the business software arena, currently dominated by more prosaic apps like Microsoft FrontPage. The Novell bundling deal should provide it with just such an opportunity. Novell isn't the only major IT investor in NetObjects -- IBM also has a stake in the company. ® Click for more stories