In January 2010 Novell will consolidate four business units down to two and eventually say farewell to managers Jeff Jaffee and Roger Levy.

The new Security, Management and Operating Platforms business unit will absorb three others, the current Identity and Security Management (ISM), Systems and Resource Management (SRM) and Open Platform Solutions (OPS) units. Jim Ebzery will take over as SVP and GM.

Colleen O'Keefe, currently SVP of Global Services, will take over as SVP and GM of the new Collaboration Solutions unit responsible for Novell's Workgroup and Services businesses. Joe Wagner will slip into the role of SVP and GM of Global Alliances, the unit whereby Novell establishes strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts with cloud computing, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and telecommunication providers. The three managers will report to Novell president and CEO Ron Hovsepian.

In lower management roles, Markus Rex will act as GM of the OPS product lines, which also encompass the Linux business, and report to Jim Ebzery. Two senior managers will be leaving the company: current CTO Jeff Jaffee will stay on until February 2010 in an advisory role, and Roger Levy, most recently SVP of strategic development. If the restructuring has larger human resource implications is not something Novell is currently revealing.

In January 2010 Novell will consolidate four business units down to two and eventually say farewell to managers Jeff Jaffee and Roger Levy.