The Open WorkGroup Suite is built on Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise for storage management and user administration and GroupWise collaboration platform for email and calendaring. The Suite also incorporates a Linux server and desktop components like email and open source Office productivity tools like OpenOffice.org for Windows and Linux.

Novell said it has designed the application to be cost-effective to deploy with a streamlined installation process and remote management tools.

Customers get a markedly improved return on their IT investments and aren’t locked into expensive, proprietary-only software bundles, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company said, in a statement.

Novell’s Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition is slated for general release in September and will provides scaling support for up to five servers and 200 users.