Novell buys into collaboration

Coillaboration is a big part of open source (making any software is collaborative, but in open source the collaboration goes beyond the team making the product) . So it's interesting to see Novell buying into collaboration, with its purchase of SiteScape.

The company has offered Sitescape products to its GroupWise customers since last year, and has now agreed to buy the company. "The acquisition of SiteScape fits squarely into the corporate strategy we have laid out," said CEO Ron Hovsepian in a press release. "It allows us to move aggressively to give customers a new, open option for collaboration, helping them escape vendor lock-in and offering easy integration across platforms, whether Linux or Windows."

Sounds like useful stuff for enterprise customers wanting to glue together multiple platforms, and pretty well-rooted in the real world. The purchase is another instance of the consolidation I've noted before in the open systems world.

SiteScape is one of those useful minnows, with a turnover of around $10 million according to reports. With big competition from the likes of IBM and Microsoft, it probably feels it's safer in than out.