Novell seems likely to increase its presence and that of open-source software in the New Zealand school market after concluding a nationwide agreement with the country"s Ministry of Education last week.

The 18-month agreement gives schools access to Novell Open Enterprise Server, Suse Linux server and desktop operating systems and other Novell applications such as ZENworks, Groupwise and Border Manager.

Previously, each school using Novell software had to enter into a separate licensing agreement. The centralized agreement will allow all schools to deploy a wide range of Novell server and desktop applications or Suse Linux operating systems on the server or desktop with full support at a competitive cost, Novell says.

In addition, Novell desktop management software will now be available free to schools that have previously not been able to afford it, says Douglas Harré, senior ICT consultant at the ministry

?Novell?s support for open source software will allow the increasing number of schools wishing to use such software to feel comfortable in making such a decision,? Harré says.