Office Depot Taps SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell to Reduce Information Technology Complexity and Control Costs

12 December 2007

Novell today announced that Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, has chosen SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server as a core operating platform for the company's global servers. The goal of the standardization is to reduce complexity and control costs while maintaining superior stability and performance for Office Depot's end-user applications.

"SUSE Linux Enterprise Server has been an excellent investment for Office Depot and is the cornerstone of our global Linux strategy," said Tim Toews, senior vice president and CIO of Office Depot. "As a global retailer, it is critical for Office Depot to partner with a vendor like Novell that can provide consistent enterprise-wide support."

With customers in 43 countries, Office Depot has grown its global business both organically and through acquisitions. As a result, the company runs applications on a variety of platforms including Solaris*, Windows*, Linux*, z/OS and i5/OS*. To reduce complexity and control costs, the company selected SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to standardize its IT environment as much as possible. Moving to an open platform that runs on commodity hardware has helped Office Depot to continue to reduce its hardware, power and cooling costs. In addition, Office Depot has saved by moving some of its global ERP applications to run on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Roger Levy, Novell senior vice president and general manager of Open Platform Solutions, said, "Office Depot is taking advantage of the flexibility of Linux, running several mission-critical workloads on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, including databases, middleware and applications. Moving to SUSE Linux Enterprise has helped Office Depot maintain the security and stability necessary for a global business that operates around the clock."

The next-generation platform for the open enterprise, SUSE Linux Enterprise is the best-engineered and most interoperable platform for mission-critical computing, from the desktop to the data center. For more information on SUSE Linux Enterprise offerings from Novell®, visit www.novell.com/linux. For more on how customers around the globe are leveraging Novell solutions, visit www.novell.com/success.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise. Novell is a leader in desktop to data center operating systems based on Linux and the software required to secure and manage mixed IT environments. Novell helps customers around the world minimize cost, complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation and growth. For more information, visit www.novell.com/.

About Office Depot

Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company.

Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $15.5 billion, and employs approximately 52,000 associates around the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 43 countries.

Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel – from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of September 29, 2007, Office Depot had 1,212 retail stores in North America and another 384 stores, either company-owned, licensed or franchised, in other parts of the world. Office Depot serves a wide range of customers through a dedicated sales force, telephone account managers, direct mail offerings, and multiple web sites. With $4.8 billion in online sales during the last twelve months, the Company is also one of the world's largest e-commerce retailers.

Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.

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