In 2004, Novell officially moved its headquarters to Waltham, Mass. Only one member of its senior management team, Vice President Kent Erickson, remains based in Provo.

With almost two-thirds of Utah residents members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Novell also used to enjoy an advantage of having many employees and customers being part of the same faith. But not anymore, according to Nelson.

'No CIO in his right mind would make a serious enterprise decision based upon shared religious faith,' Nelson said. 'Are we perfect in this area? No, just as no area in the country where there is a predominant faith would be. But it has certainly decreased as a factor.'

The church itself is keeping its options open, too. 'We're evaluating our commitment to Groupwise and are considering other alternatives,' Joel Dehlin, acting CIO for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said in an e-mailed statement. 'We have not made any firm decisions or commitments.'

As for whether the church would consider Microsoft software, Dehlin said: 'We try to make technology decisions based on the value and cost of the product(s) and our analysis of the viability and service capabilities of the company. We try not to make decisions based on vendor loyalty or connections with the owners of our vendors.'